Although your reviewer personally found the previous "Badmeaningood" collection (by ROOTS MANUVA) a little too scrappy to be truly successful, he certainly appreciated the thinking behind it: broadly that hip-hop has been happy purloining from unlikely sources over the years in its' restless pursuit to break down barriers via beats and rhymes.
Like Roots Manuva, San Francisco Bay Area DJ PEANUT BUTTER WOLF is keen to reinstate an old skool electro vibe with this mix collection, but as he says in his press release, "it's all about the drums for me" and indeed the pervasive, rhythm-heavy party mood remains intact throughout the album as a slew of funky anthems segue peerlessly into one.
Admittedly, it helps if your tolerance level of classic '70s funk a la Earth, Wind and Fire remains high, as tracks like Johnny Hammond's "Fantasy", Roy Ayers' "Can't You See Me" and Alicia Myers' "Don't Stop What You're Doin" never stray too far from such louche, horn-pepped, clavinet-assisted grooves. One suspects Wolf may also have greedily devoured a number of Curtis Mayfield albums in his youth.
More traditional electro beats'n'scratching come via Grandmaster Flash, Lord Alibaski and the very "Buffalo Gals"-ish moves of The B-Beat Girls' "Jungle Swing", but as ever it's the tunes sourced from the rather less obvious backgrounds that raise "Badmeaningood" to a higher plane altogether.
The Human League's "Hard Times" shows that (as was often the case) the Sheffield synth mafia got on the electro case quicker then most, though - by comparison - few people would expect to find Joe Jackson and (hunh?) Iron Butterfly of all people cropping up in these surroundings. Both choices make perfect sense, though: Jackson's "Steppin' Out" remains as classy as ever, while "Soul Experience" shows that even hoary old Proggers like t'Butterfly can exist in this open-minded atmosphere.
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There are several cuts that this wrier would have jettisoned without further ado. The Cold Crush Brothers' "Punk Rock Rap" falls between too many stools and Michael White's jazz-funk fusion "Let Love Be Your Magic Carpet" sounds scarily like Shakatak (don't go there!) although it is thankfully superseded by the subterranean fire'n'brimstone dub of Prince Far I's "Black Man Land", so there's no terminal damage done.
Indeed, like the depiction of the bricked-up police car on the cover of this beautifully packaged CD, PEANUT BUTTER WOLF'S mix is mischievous, cheeky and gutsy. Your reviewer's previously been pretty hardline in his dislike of most 'indulgent' DJ mix sets, but this one's capable of thawing out such an enduringly chilly attitude.
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