the sky in love

Since I skipped yesterday, today I offer you two great house tracks!

The first is a record I bought simply because it was on the venerable Eightball Records label, now defunct, that released much house and techno by Japanese producers. This production, though, features producer Al Mack, who has more recently been doing a load of television and film work. The track, "Sky's the Limit," features a diva named Jacqueline and excellent backing vocal tracks, pianos with pluck and flourish enough, and an excellently high bpm for what essentially amounts to a fantastic riff on classic vocal house. Though every version on the EP of the same name is quite something, the best take on "Sky's the Limit" is the Toney D. Classic Vocal Mix-- there are literally moments where, if the sounds were a bit less compressed, you could be listening to Marshall Jefferson. Fantastic!

Mack Vibe featuring Jacqueline- Sky's the Limit (Toney D.'s Classic Vocal Mix



Next up is an old-school track from Satoshi Tomiie, featuring one of my favorite house and contemporary soul singers, Arnold Jarvis. Immediately following the release of the classic "Tears," Tomiie worked with Frankie Knuckles again, producing yet another perfect, luscious house track. At 119-bpm, the slowly changing piano chords, the soft backing synths, and the reverby horn samples make for something that is truly special. The congas and secondary percussive bits are also excellent, and only praise can be lavished on the strummed guitar chords and Jarvis' vocal work. The fact that the mix I am giving you today comes from the insanely prolific and fantastic David Morales only makes "And I Loved You" that much better. A real gem of early 90s house. Highly recommended!

Satoshi Tomiie featuring Arnold Jarvis (12" Red Zone Vocal Mix)

Tomorrow, a mix!