Best Italy Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Best Italy continues to do a wonderful job of unearthing much-sought after gems and giving them the re-press they deserve. Lily Ann was a quintessential one hit wonder of Italo disco perfection that surfaced in 1984, and "Going Crazy" captures the mood of early 80s dance music perfectly. Adding value to the release beyond the fresh mastering job and high-end modern pressing, as well as the previously released vocal and instrumental we also get treated to a dub mix of "Going Crazy" to give you even more options for dropping this impeccable slice of Italian dance music history.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Best Italy continues to do a wonderful job of unearthing much-sought after gems and giving them the re-press they deserve. Lily Ann was a quintessential one hit wonder of Italo disco perfection that surfaced in 1984, and "Going Crazy" captures the mood of early 80s dance music perfectly. Adding value to the release beyond the fresh mastering job and high-end modern pressing, as well as the previously released vocal and instrumental we also get treated to a dub mix of "Going Crazy" to give you even more options for dropping this impeccable slice of Italian dance music history.

Review: A genuine one off, largely made using the then-new Yamaha DX-7 synth, Joe Car's sole single from 1984 has long been one of the rarest Italo-disco 12" singles around. This reissue has been a long time coming, with the revitalised Best Record finally securing the rights to re-release it earlier this year. It remains a fun and surprisingly on-point release. It appears in two takes, both of which we think were laid to tape at the time. On the A-side you'll find the 'Electro Potato Mix', where chiming lead lines, Fairlight style sampled stabs and male vocals rise above a chuggig, arpeggio style bassline and machine drums. Nestled on the flip is the original vocal version, which sounds like the sort of thing Chris Lowe from Pet Shop Boys may have been dancing to during the period - there are certainly a few cuts in the duo's earlt catalogue that utilise similar sounds and grooves.

Review: Silvana Noris was tragically overlooked back in her mid 80s heyday, laying down just three singles before drifting onto pastures new. Best Italy have dug out her shimmering Din-Don single and given it the new lease of life it so richly deserves, helped a little by DJ Harvey testing the cut out on his turntable travels. Noris' vocal is a curious wonder to behold, hitting a low register and imparting a gravelly tone that sits atop the punchy boogie production. Another slice of disco manna makes its way back into the limelight thanks to Best.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Giorgio Gordano and Giorgio Dolce originally produced "KKK" back in 1983, and the track was taken into the hearts of the blossoming Balearic scene hovering around DJ Alfredo at Amnesia. It's as gentle and sweet natured as Italo disco can be, and of course it makes perfect sense that Best Records would dig it out of the archives and give it the shiny new reissue it deserves. The "Club Mix" of "KKK" is a feast of simple, charming programmed melodies and crisp drum machine rhythms with the innocence of the early 80s in its heart. The "Dub Mix" and "Bonus Beats" on the flip are handy for the technical DJs out there, but the "Club Mix" is where it's at for the lovers.

Review: Six tracks by some of the less conspicuous names in 1980s Italo disco scene get pressed to a singular unifying 12" here. Commemorating Cruisin' Records' 40th anniversary (1983-2023), 'Takes Over' is a delightful compilation scouring the exclusive vaults of its back catalogue, with label mainstay Nello Jay handling curation duties. Largely centring on the year 1985, two cuts from, 'Japanese Girl' and 'Lady Fantasy', come courtesy of Max Him, while the likes of 'For Your Sweet Information' by PJ Marcus, 'In Your Eyes' by Roxana', and 'Heigh Ho' by Fabian Nesti all stomp, gyrate, and whoop away, indulging the very same escapist fantasies as those involved in the scene back then.

Review: Phono's 'Music Is My Sex' is one of those delicious obscurities that seem to have been a feature of the original Italo-disco scene. It was the work of Phono, a one-off project helmed by sadly departed Italian DJ, occasional producer and radio and TV presenter Attilo de Rosa, and originally slipped out back in 1983 via the legendary Mr. Disc Organization label. As this reissue proves, it's a pleasingly eccentric and alluring affair. Available in vocal and instrumental versions, it's a rough-round-the-ages chunk of electrofunk/boogie rich in squelchy synth-bass, Roland JX3P solos, unfussy drum machine beats and clipped guitar licks. The timbales-sporting, dancefloor dub-style instrumental is probably our pick of the pair, though the accentuated English vocals on the A-side mix are undeniably fun.

Review: Sahara Band's 'Habibi' is an Italo-disco classic from 1983. It was reissued digitally once in 2017 but now finally makes a welcome return to wax. An original copy will cost you a fair few quid on the second-hand market so do not sleep on this one as it is incredible Egyptian-influenced Italo with Arabic vocals. It has been remade by other artists over the years but this version remains the best with its cultural sounds and worldly grooves set to bring greatness to any set.

Review: REPRESS ALERT! Best Record Italy take the time machine all the way back to 1979 to revisit the wonderful Italo-Disco delights of Adolf Stern, whose "More... I Like It" represents the strangest end of the genre as it was taking shape. With heavily processed vocals injecting some serious strangeness into the chirpy disco backdrop, it's the kind of track to turn heads without a doubt. "Twenty Seven" on the B-side is equally magical in its capturing of the era, with the more obvious surface elements underpinned by a truly intoxicating line in synth arpeggios. Once again Best comes up trumps refreshing the history of Italian music of all shapes and sizes.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: This is a reissue that will have all Italo hunters rejoicing - Topo's "Ba Ba Go, Go" is the kind of holy grail jam that gets bootlegged and still commands high prices. It's not hard to see why - it's a masterclass of otherworldly electronic disco with a prog rock bent and an insanely catchy, oddball vocal hook. With its minimal synth lines and subtly spooky futurist mood, it's every inch the curveball classic. It's shocking it's taken this long for an official remastered version of this track to surface, but don't sleep because it might not be around for long.