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Album Reviews
Album Review: Various Artists – A Boys Own Odyssey: Acid House Scrapes and Capers (Junior Boys Own)
By Paul Vig | Published on Friday 2 October 2009
The Junior Boys Own label is celebrating two decades in existence. For those not old enough to remember, JBO was a seminal label at the time of the acid house movement and bridged the gap between dance and left-of-centre cool chillout, with some leanings towards the Madchester scene. The JBO Crew – Messrs Farley, Weatherall, Maize and Eckles – organised some of the first acid house parties and were about not taking it too seriously. They were a collective of like-minded blissed out clubbers, and a bit of a movement, and that backdrop is substantiated by the cuts on this double CD.
Disc one opens with Bocca Juniors’ ‘Raise (63 Steps To Heaven)’, and is filled with highlights, such as Terry Farley’s remix of Primal Scream’s ‘Loaded’, which still has such an anthemic feel, even now. Some tracks do sound old, though. Paradiso’s ‘Here We Go Again’ in particular, and Jah Wobble’s ‘Bomba’ is a bit off key. Happy Mondays ‘Hallelujah’ gets a club mix and takes us towards Madchester, while Bocca Juniors ‘Substance’ gives a nod to the chemicals of the era. Less great is ‘Come Home’ by James, which, even when remixed by Andy Weatherall, still isn’t too exciting, and Underworld ‘Mmm… Skyscraper I Love You’, for me, wasn’t the best tune they have made, but always did well.
Over on disc two we have The Chemical Brothers original mix of ‘Leave Home’, which is a shame as the Darren Emerson mix was far better. But X-Press 2’s ‘Say What!’ (London Underground Mix) goes directly for the party jugular, as you would expect from Rocky and Diesel with Ashley Beedle. Sunscreem brings dancefloor in a more rave style manner with the anthem ‘Perfect Motion’ while Black Science Orchestra ‘New Jersey Deep’ is all true US funky house. And it works well. River Ocean feat India’s ‘Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochun)’ appears with a tougher Junior Boys Own Super Dub, which is such a classic cut from Lil Louis Vega, and is the highlight on this compo. Underworld rear up again with the ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’, which has been played to death over the years on the back of its use in ‘Trainspotting’ of course, but does still evoke some nostalgia.
All in all, there are more hits than misses, and this collection does provide a fine snapshot of clubbing in the early 90s. As well as the two CDs, the physical release comes with a book with information on the tunes and also parts of the JBO fanzine, which contains references to football, the clubbing scene, anti-racism, and alternative comedy from back in the day. Which is a good thing, and if you weren’t there at the time this is a great lesson in British clubbing history. PV
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