The Big Chill Classics: Compiled by Mr. Scruff

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Customer reviews

review by: scoppied date: 2006-11-05 rating:
Scruff's Summer CD spoils for choice
Following the flawless Keep It Solid Steel compilation, Britain's best DJ offers another generous portion of audio treasures for your consideration. This time though he brings a less energetic selection than many fans might expect, and the entire thing is unmixed. However, even without Scruff's formidable turntablism his impeccable taste shines through on every track, and many of the 28 tunes are so good that having them spliced together would only distract from them.

This double CD has been released by thebigchill recordings, linking it with the cool-as-a-cucumber summer festival of the same name - at which Mr Scruff has been a regular performer for years. He describes it as a collection of personal favourites, and there is certainly an intimate vibe about it, including a track-by-track guide in the sleeve notes, displaying his fondness for each of the varied pieces.

So what's the music actually like? Well, there's a lot of mellow, funky soul, warm and wobbly dub and noodly jazz wig-outs, as well as loads of stuff that proudly sits between genres and dares you to define it. It's not as straightforwardly "Chill-Out" as the title might have some believe (there are no pan-pipes, and certainly no whalesong, even though Scruff has shown a fondness for these aquatic mammals in his previous work...) Highlights, in my own opinion, include Odyssey's smooth yet stately "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love", The In Crowd's vividly jolly "Back A Yard" and the lounge-pad-tastic "Serene" by Nobukazu Takemaru.

Not everything here is pure gold however - as with any double album there are tracks that seem superfluous, and there are a few ten minute self-indulgencies that aren't really to my taste. Having said there is so much to enjoy here, and the whole thing is packaged so cheerfully (with Mr Scruff's own instantly recognisable cartoons scampering about the colourful sleeve and cover), that it's difficult not to recommend this thoroughly - particularly for the price. Put it on in the winter months and you might even be able to imagine you're lying in a warm field instead of freezing in a squalid bed-sit.

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