Various Artists - The Perfect Beats, Vol. 4

Unlike the previous three volumes in the series, the final chapter of The Perfect Beats strays a bit from its subtitle, New York Electro Hip-Hop + Underground Dance Classics 1980-1985, by tracing the R&B roots of club culture and offering up some of the genre's ancestral beats (from the likes of Blackbyrds' "Rock Creek Park," Lonnie Liston Smith's "Expansions" and Herman Kelly + Life's "Dance to the Drummer's Beat") for dissection. They add historical perspective to the series, but it's the solid futuristic electrofunk that anchors Volume 4. Read More