Soul Jazz will eventually catalog and compile every genre of music, and you will be able to know everything. Alphabetically, ACID will be the first volume in your collection. Centering on that mid-'80s raw experimental house sound dominated by burping squelches of Roland's TR-series of rhythm machines, there's not, at first glance, a lot of variation in the tones you hear over the course of the two hours of music. This was never meant for thoughtful contemplation in the music library at home, though. These cuts gain their stature when blasted from frankenstein bass cabinets through chemical smoke. There are a handful of classics, including the Phuture essential "Phuture Jacks," Tyree's "Acid Crash," and Mr. Fingers' "Beyond the Clouds" (but no "Can You Feel It"). A few newer cuts are scattered in, but sound as true to the squeak and squirt as their inspirations (Maurice Joshua's "This Is Acid," and Roy Davis's "Acid Bass"). The set is filled out with lesser known but equally essential cuts for the connoisseur from Adonis' "Do You Want to Perculate?" and the legendary Virgo Trax cut, "Go Wild." Includes extensive liner notes by Tim Lawrence!

• music label: Soul Jazz Records 2013

reviewed by Salvador Smith 10/2005