Keep It Solid Steel

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Keep it Solid Steel Pt 1 from Mr Scruff is the first of possibly four releases by him for the Solid Steel radio show. As ever, it's eclectic but the theme is definitely dancehall inspired with a bit of hip-hop thrown in. Thirty-something tracks, a few of which may seem tricky to mix are blended smoothly for a CD that is not chillout, not danceable, but designed for that bit of the day before a big night out.

There are no "big tunes" as such but so many un-earthed gems that rarely see the light of day anymore such as BDP's cohort and ragga hip-hop pioneer Just Ice's "Way Back". Erykah Badu makes a welcome appearance with "Back in the Day" as do the Ultramagnetic MCs on "Ego Tripping". Back to the oldskool ragga and stalwarts of seminal UK hip-hop label Music of Life, the Demon Boyz, raise a smile with their big single "Recognition". Towards the end, things get more contemporary with upcoming UK hip-hop act Border Crossing's "Searching for Mr Manuva" and Warp's blip-hop crew Prefuse 73's "Detchibe" taking things up a notch.

Keep it Solid Steel Pt 1 is another triumph in the popular series and another great mix album from one of the most respected underground/overground DJs in Britain.--David Trueman

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Customer reviews

review by: Benny Benjamin date: 2008-03-17 rating:
Truley Amazing! 6 out of 5
Seen the master twice, and got tickets for Cheltenham Jazz Fest again this year! If you havn't seen Mr Scruff play live then you should do it now!!! Un-like DJ's who come to play a set and leave after 1-2 hours, Mr S gives you up to 5-7 hours of pure enjoyment and variety, while providing all his fans with cups of tea at the tea stall! Truley a LEGEND! I once went to speak to him while DJ'ing in Cardiff, and being a bit drunk I practically messed the mix up! But no-one noticed, and he still managed to pull it off! (And i guarantee that would have been hard work)

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review by: telboyofpeckham date: 2006-10-16 rating:
Peerless indeed
Made me tap my feet, dance & laugh, all on my own on Sunday morning. Thanks Mr. Scruff. Excellent stuff, play loud!

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review by: duttski date: 2006-03-23 rating:
Mr Scruff?
First I will reiterate what was said earlier, this isn't Mr Scruff's own songs.

This is a mix tape from the excellent solid steel range.

Difficult to review in comparison to the rest of the solid steel range, which are all brilliant. I do have to remember that this album is the first one off the range i bought and that it was an excellent introduction, made me go out and buy the rest.

Take Mr Scruff's own albums, step towards Mr Scruff live, then take a step further and this is roughly where you find this album.

Alot more vocal and less of the wall than his own songs, this album is an excellent listen. Keep it Solid Steel takes you through reggae, hip hop, funk, jazz and more in a seemless mix of songs that sound like they have classic status but are not known to most people. A great way of discovering new artists, or even a new taste in a different style of music.

This album is light on the ears but still has a great deal to offer, which is what makes it so brilliant.

If you listen to this album for the first time with a preconception based on Mr Scruff's other albums, you may be dissapointed. This aside, it is well worth buying if you are not hung up particular styles of music and welcome some fresh sounds.

I realise this review is a little sweeping, but I think going through giving points out of ten for different aspects of the album would not do it the justice it deserves, so I tried to give a feel for what you might want to expect. Hope this helps!

Thoroughly recommended (along with the rest of the solid steel range).

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review by: date: 2006-03-21 rating:
Buy this cd
Why has only one other person given this cd 5 stars? This is one of the best compilations I have ever heard, mainly because it has such a wide range of music on it. Too many DJ's stick to playing just one style of music (whether it's reggae, hip hop, dnb, etc), but Mr Scruff mixes the whole lot together in an unpretentious way. Every song on this mix cd is brilliant, and sounds great with the next and previous tracks. The whole thing is mixed really well and there's probably stuff on here that you would have never heard of before (since buying this, I bought Mungos Hifi meets brother culture and wasn't dissapointed). 5 stars all the way. Don't hesitate and waste time reading loads of reviews on this, just go and buy it, you won't be dissapointed (there's somehting on here for everyone)


review by: oookiezooo date: 2006-02-26 rating:
Take me through a time machine...
First off, if you've navigated your way here after hearing any of Mr. Scruff's prior albums, expect something a little...different. In no way am I saying that you won't like this album. It just may not be what you were expecting.

This album follows a very similar pattern to his live shows. Starting off nice and slowly, chilled with a hint of reggae. As the album/ night builds, so does the bass and the beats. Then it adds some great old school hip hop and you begin to grin like a idiot.

Admittedly this album doesn't contain as much of the jazzy, funky and sometimes silly sounds that many have obviously come to expect from this artist, yet it csn still be found in tracks such as "Tell Me How". Half of the fun of these solid steel mixes is finally getting inside the head of your favourite DJs and trying to understand what they were attempting with their previous solo albums.

It also seems that Mr Scruff has attempted to group and mix consecutive songs in terms of content as well as sound, for example, track 2 "ing" describes the modern world, with themes such as terrorism, money and marriage etc... then note the next few tracks; "Going way back", "Time machine", "Flashback"... notice a pattern?

To be honest I haven't picked up what the overall message is (if indeed there even is one) but this type of mixing takes real skill, it was popular in the 70's with DJs like Steve D'Acquisto. It's not something you see so much today as DJs just try and build the tempo up as quickly as possible, with little regard for the content of the music (or the energy levels of those on the dance floor). Thats what makes me love this CD more, it has a great, lazy build up. It doesn't force you to dance until you are ready; grab a drink, have a chat, tap your feet a little first!

As someone who admittedly prefered the hip hop songs such as "Jus Jus" and "Vibrate" from his older albums, it is no wonder that I love this installment, but I am confident that there is something there for everybody. I'm also glad that he didn't resort to including any of his own tracks, which is something Ninja Tune artists seem to have a habit of on similar compilations.

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