94 & 10th: A Decade Of Fourth & Broadway (CD)

This really is a great general snapshot of 80's Soul Funk and HipHop as released by Island Record's 4th & Broadway label.

The two CD's are divided into 'Uptown' and 'Downtown'.

The Uptown is very much soul/R&B and of the two has dated the worst as it's very lightweight and full of that distinctive 80's synth sound. That's not to say it isn't good but it is as dated as some of the wet-look hairstyles from the period.

Ignoring the fact that most of the tracks from the Uptown side are full-strenghth nostalgia for a 40-something like me, probably the best cuts are those less dated e.g. 'Teardrops' and 'Where is the Love' but 'Thinking about your Love' and 'Love makes the World go Round' are still great pop-soul grooves.

The Downtown CD is the HipHop and Funk CD and has aged much better and much of the modern R&B/HipHop is still pretty much based on similar grooves 20 years later. Personally I've always loved 'Drop the Bomb' which has that very distinctive and underrated 'Go-Go' sound; 'Paid in Full' is a bonafide classic and the rest of the tracks include snapshots of the jazz and trip-hop sound and are all worth having.

So, the datedness of the 1st CD is a weakness and it's very possible that listeners who might like CD1 will hate CD2 and vice versa. If not, then this really is close to a 'Best of' 80's transatlantic black music collection.