Review: Brighton Treats compilations by Rob Luis

Various Artists
BRIGHTON TREATS WITH JAMAICAN BEATS
Compiled and Mixed by Robert Luis
[Mieven]

Various Artists
BRIGHTON TREATS WITH POPPED BEATS
Compiled and Mixed by Robert Luis
[Mieven]

The heads among you will be wondering why on earth I'm "reviewing" a pair of compilation albums that not only came out more than five years ago, but also in such small quantities (allegedly only 400 copies of each!) most everyone on the planet has little hope of procuring a copy. Not that I'm advocating illegal downloading or file-sharing, but I'm sure if you try hard enough you'll track these two gems down. The rewards are well worth the efforts, regardless of any legal wrangles which may ensue. Tru Thoughts label-founder Robert Luis butters up both selections with a fine array of music from his own label, among a deft selection of tunes from across the spectrum.

Brighton Treats With Jamaican Beats sees Luis lay out a chilled selection on disc one with a bunch of rare reggae tunes and downtempo grooves, while on disc two he throws down a tougher blend of hip hop, drum and bass, reggae and dancehall. This is all top shelf material, covering Junior Murvin, Byron Lee, The Upsetters, Papa Levi, Nina Simone, The Specials, Ghostface Killah, Butch Cassidy Soundsystem, El Michels Affair, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Emanon, Pete Rock, Lily Allen, Digitek, Lightning Head, Quantic, PD Syndicate, Stylo - and many more besides.

Brighton Treats With Popped Beats takes a different tack altogether, with Luis assembling a massive collection of covers, mixes, remixes, originals and rarities that have tickled the British Top 40 at some point over the last decades. It's a broad, sweeping selection that sees the underground collide headfirst with pop music, and with the likes of N*E*R*D, Breaks Co-Op, Olive, Radiohead, Christina Aguilera, Aretha Franklin, Zero 7, Eminem, Portishead, The Wild Bunch, Texas, Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, John Legend, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and plenty more on board, this is one of the greater guilty pleasures in my record collection.

4 stars from 5 (both compilations)

Check out my review of Tru Thoughts Shapes 11.01, also compiled by Robert Luis.