Where to begin with this massive three-disc set celebrating ten years of
multi-faceted, multi-cultural, and multi-rhythmic groove from San
Francisco-based Om? The first disc of House music from Om favorites old
and new? The second disc of the equally trademarked Om downtempo sound?
Or the slam-dunk goodness of the fourteen classics that comprise disc
three? With over three and a half hours of music between them, perhaps
the only choice is to begin at the beginning, with the the lead track on
disc one, since "Come Together, Love Better" is as good an encapsulation
of the Om mission statement as you're likely to find and Marques Wyatt's
signature smooth groove is the perfect vehicle to deliver the message.
From there the continuous mix of dance floor-friendly tunes leads us
through the Om roster like some kind of funky pied piper, with
contributions from relative newcomers like rising star Colette, old
skool house heads like Iz & Diz, or Om superstars like Rithma,
Afro-Mystik and, of course, Mark Farina.
Those last three artists,
along with Kaskade, are the only members of the label's stable to appear
on each volume of the comp and just another quartet (Colette, Marques,
King Kooba and J Boogie) show up twice, a testament to the depth of
talent that's graced the Om imprint over the last 120 months. Speaking
of Kaskade, his "Yeah Right" opens the second disc, a lucky thirteen
cuts that flow like Grey Goose chilled for a week in your freezer, slow
and clear and ready to mix with your favorite juices. Colossus checks
in from the other side of the bay with a bit of jazzy Oaktown hip-hop on
"Innacity," and we also get a nice bit of trumpet courtesy of JT
Donaldson via "Trust Me," which is just a little too sassy to be on a
downtempo disc but really, how could they leave this one on the shelf?
Fittingly, the Classics disc starts off with Blue Boy's "Remember Me,"
which goes all the way back to Mark Farina's first Mushroom Jazz
release.
Afro-mystik's contribution to this volume is the nu soul gem
"Infinite Rhythm" and it's nice to see Om held no grudges against
Manhattan's Ming & FS for their relatively brief stay on the left side,
"Madhattan Bound" drops the bombs like the project and is just one of
many highlights including Farina's "Dream Machine," "Golden Nectar" from
J Boogie's Dubtronic Science and the oh-so aptly named Soulstice classic
"Lovely." And then of course there's Marques Wyatt's "For Those Who
Like To Get Down," which, if it wasn't you when you started, it ought to
be now, taking us full circle. Or perhaps more like an ascending
spiral, like the growth of the crowd from a mere 250 at Om's first
Winter Music showcase to over four thousand strong for the 2005 edition,
proving cream ain't the only thing that rises.
