Junior Boys Own – 'A Boy's Own Odyssey: Acid House Scrapes & Capers'

Acting as both a retrospective of the Boys' Own label and, in some ways, a history lesson on the British dance scene of the 1990s, the double-disc set A Boys' Own Odyssey: Acid House Scrapes & Capers traces the career of Boys' Own founders, Terry Farley and Steve Hall, and the evolution of their productions and remixes through the unfolding of the Balearic, Manchester, and UK Garage movements.

When Farley and Smith first started the label, a new sound was arising from the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, a heady mixture of House, Rave, and Indie Rock dance tracks dubbed Balearic. Disc One of “A Boys' Own Odyssey” focuses mainly on this sound and the influence trippy Rock/Dance hybrids like the Ghost Dance Mix of “Stepping Stone” by the Farm, the Club Mix of the Happy Mondays’ “Hallelujah,” Terry Farly’s Re-Mix of Primal Scream’s “Loaded,” and the Andy Weatherall mix of James’ “Come Home” made in the emerging 'Madchester' dance scene. However, the Balearic sound was a stylistic mélange, and as such, more straightforward House tracks are intermixed, like the dubby Eight Minutes of Madness mix of DSK’s “What Would We Do” or Extortion’s soulful “How Do You See Me Now?” as are leftfield, downtempo tunes like the Miles Away Mix of Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart’s “Bomba” or the beautifully druggy Cellophane Boat Mix of “Breakdown” from One Dove.

By Disc Two the feeling begins to shift as the impact of the American Garage scene becomes more prominent with Fire Island’s funk fest “In Your Bones” or Black Science Orchestra’s Disco cut-up track “New Jersey Deep” and the inclusion of New York anthem River Ocean’s “Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochùn)” included here in its Junior Boys' Own Super Dub. The gorgeous Boys' Own mix of Sunscreem’s “Perfect Motion” is a highlight with its skipping beat and interplay between vocal refrains and fluid synth lines, as is Outrage’s elegantly sumptuous “That Piano Track.” Rock influences are still felt, but the hard edges of the Chemical Brothers’ frenzied “Leave Home” or Underworld’s stadium anthem “Born Slippy” are a marked contrast to the freewheeling feel of Disc One. One of the more intriguing selections is Rob & Goldie’s “The Shadow;” beatless and ambient with a female spoken vocal in its first half and ominously heavy when the frenetic Drum & Bass percussion kicks in during the second.

It’s fascinating to listen to an album with as many prominent tracks as this and note how fresh and eminently playable something like the London Underground Mix of X-Press 2’s “Say What!” sounds with its slow horn riffs and ringing bells, while another like Paradiso’s “Here We Go Again,” with its weak and dated vocals, makes you scratch your head and wonder why it was ever popular. Fortunately though, while a few inclusions on A Boys' Own Odyssey feel like throwaway snapshots from the 90s underground dance scene, on the whole there are enough tracks that still stand strong to provide a satisfying listening experience.

Released September 2009 on Junior Boys Own

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