Let us start with some geo-political, global positioning satellite record pool logistics and history. There was once, or maybe still is a cobble stoned street in lower Manhattan, New York City called King Street. It is one of the streets with the left-over Dutch pavement, and because of the district where it lies, gives a kind of unforgettable charm to one’s memories of being there. Mine is that this is near 99 Prince Street, the home of my first record pool thirty years ago, and The Loft, so it just seems so necessary that a record label devoted to underground house rhythms named itself after royal roads.
Within that backdrop why wouldn’t a native New Yorker from the Bronx and nephew of latin Salsa icon Hector Lavoe, Louie Vega capture all the elements, phases and moods into a collection of house and club party jams? Exactly; that is why he does. I don’t have to go into a long rant here, trust me and just pick up this double CD set, a part of the “Mix The Vibe” series, and it will validate itself! The cuts are not only today, but some revive the memories of the very evolution of club music dating back to when Vega played the Paradise Garage in the 1970s, and Sound Factory later. It was a grandly creative and positively scandalous era that he captures at times here in the mix.
To enumerate favorite tracks here is superfluous, expecially because of the seamless mix, but I will soon. If you are say, a school teacher, and just thowing a party at your crib, just program these discs to repeat during the hours of maximum attendance, and your guests will be searching the house thinking you’ve hired an expert DJ. And in a way, you will have done just that by grabbing Louie Vega’s sonorously in the mix that was produced from a live set at Café Mambo in Spain.! Just like King Street, Vega is of the hoi polloi, and his choice of music to play in order encouage us to dance has made him a primo selector. Since I got this double CD collection, I play them at least once a day!
CD 1 seems the Nuyorican Soulman’s personal radio station with a trademark “Mr. V” vocal monologue intro and drops throughout; is that Louie or one of his cohorts on the mic? Maybe your eyes are better than mine, fore the CD artwork gave me nothing but eyestrain. Check the larger print on the label web sit founded by Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez, www.mawrecords.com for more clues. Break it down! You don’t have to wait long for a serious blast from Blaze on track three, with the churchy hook of “Most Precious Love”, (DF’s Future 3000 Mix) showcasing the delightful Barbara Tucker who, by the way, has been touring the Great Britan area with Louie recently. And that is one of the keys, boys and girls: keeping busy by endeavoring to entrancing every crowd he plays for. After that, the side continues cavorting along in that bouncy pocket.
CD 2 rocks ever more steadily, making that whole side ultra-dynamite! Marquee cuts are two versions of Urban Soul’s “Show Me”, the jazzy “Destination” from Dennis Ferrer, and Kenny Bobien sounding like the lead vocal of late 1980s group Ten City on “Brighter Days” with Big Moses. The track that is the anthem which sums up the feeling here is also on disc two, “It’s The Music” by Bassmental featuring Charles McDougal. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention a highlight from disc one, “Most Precious Love” All DJs please take note of how a master like this reciprocates trough his craft, and how the love regenerates inside a live and direct mix that is now here for the universe of dance to appreciate. So, if I could rate it with more than five stars, I would. That’s how much of a tight and flawless vibe this splendid olla podrida is. Nueva Yorrk!
