Pure Groove - 80s compilation... Recommended?

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Would people knowledgeable about 80s disco/dance/r&b/soul/funk/pop recommend the "Pure Groove" compilation just out (and only £5 in Fopp, which is very tempting...)? I list the tracks below.
"One Nation...", "Sexual Healing" and "Upside Down" are classics everyone knows. Nu Shooz's "I Can't Wait" and Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots" are sublime pieces I've recently heard for the first time.
How would people rate the tracks on this compilation besides these?

Disc: 1
1. The Fatback Band - I Found Lovin'
2. Freeez - Southern Freeez
3. Cheryl Lynn - Encore
4. Maze feat Frankie Beverly - Joy and Pain
5. Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It
6. Candido - Jingo
7. Royalle Delite - (I'll Be A) Freak For You
8. Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove
9. Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent
10. Midnight Star - Midas Touch
11. Chaka Khan - I'm Every Woman
12. Loose Ends - Hangin' On A String
13. Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait
14. Evelyn King - Love Come Down
15. David Jospeh - You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)
16. The Limit - Say Yeah
17. Keni Burke - Risin' To The Top
18. The Jones Girls - Nights Over Egypt
19. Ashford & Simpson - Solid
20. Fat Larry's Band - Zoom

Disc: 2
1. Tom Browne - Funkin' For Jamaica
2. Rockers Revenge feat. Donnie Calvin - Walking On Sunshine
3. The Gap band - Oops Upside Your Head
4. Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots
5. Indeep - Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life
6. Shalamar - I Can Make You Feel Good
7. Sister Sledge - Lost In Music
8. Diana Ross - Upside Down
9. Luther Vandross - I Really Didn't Mean It
10. Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove
11. Gwen McCrae - All This Love That I'm Giving
12. The Blackbyrds - Rock Creek Park
13. Lonnie Liston Smith - Expansions
14. Mary Jane Girls - All Night Long
15. The Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything
16. Booker Newberry III - Love Town
17. Juicy - Sugar Free
18. M'Tume - Juicy Fruit
19. Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing
20. Zapp & Roger - Computer Love

― Tom May (Tom May), Sunday, 1 February 2004 19:26 (twenty years ago) link

I say get it! It's got "Expansions" "Love Come Down" "Computer Love" "Jingo" etc etc. Almost every track is classic. I'm sure you'll discover some new favorites.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Sunday, 1 February 2004 20:04 (twenty years ago) link

I approve.

― jody (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 1 February 2004 20:05 (twenty years ago) link

Definitely worth it for that price.

― Andy K (Andy K), Sunday, 1 February 2004 20:19 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, cursory ILM searches for posts mentioning these tracks seem to point to plenty of classics: i.e. loads are in the Top 100 80s r&b/hip hop thread, etc.

It is a great price for it, £5... (£12.99 on Amazon) I'll certainly snap it up tomorrow then. :)

― Tom May (Tom May), Sunday, 1 February 2004 20:44 (twenty years ago) link

Marks out of 10:

Disc: 1
10 9 10 10 9 9 8 8 8 7 10 10 6 10 9 7 10 10 10 3
Disc: 2
10 10 8 10 9 9 10 10 9 10 10 9 9 10 10 8 8 10 10 9

Superb. Get it!

― mike t-diva, Monday, 2 February 2004 16:14 (twenty years ago) link

3 for Fat Larrys Band!!!!! I SAY THEE NAY.

This looks grebt Tom, you won't regret it.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:20 (twenty years ago) link

i have something INCREDIBLY similar to this in title and tracklisting but mine goes like this:

Ain’t Nobody --- RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN
Funkin’ For Jamaica --- TOM BROWNE
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life --- INDEEP
Got To Have Your Love --- MANTRONIX
Ghetto Heaven (Remix) --- THE FAMILY STAND
Cross The Track (We Better Go Back)
--- MACEO AND THE MACKS
You To Me Are Everything --- THE REAL THING
Pick Up The Pieces --- AVERAGE WHITE BAND
Runaway --- SALSOUL ORCHESTRA w/
--- LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY
I Believe In Miracles --- JACKSON SISTERS
Rock Creek Park --- THE BLACKBYRDS
Rapper’s Delight --- THE SUGARHILL GANG
And The Beat Goes On --- THE WHISPERS
Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now
--- McFADDEN & WHITEHEAD
He’s The Greatest Dancer --- SISTER SLEDGE
Forget Me Nots --- PATRICE RUSHEN
Roadblock --- STOCK AITKEN & WATERMAN
You’re The One For Me --- “D” TRAIN
The Message
GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE
Somebody Else’s Guy --- JOCELYN BROWN
Too Hot --- KOOL & THE GANG
I Can Make You Feel Good --- SHALAMAR
Down On The Street --- SHAKATAK
Walkin’ On Sunshine --- ROCKER’S REVENGE
Running Away --- ROY AYERS
Behind The Groove --- TEENA MARIE
Jingo --- CANDIDO
All This Love That I’m Giving --- GWEN MCCRAE
She’s Strange --- CAMEO
I Found Lovin’ --- THE FATBACK BAND
Hangin’ On A String --- LOOSE ENDS
Fool Paradise --- MELI’SA MORGAN
Outstanding --- THE GAP BAND
London Town --- LIGHT OF THE WORLD
All Night Long --- MARY JANE GIRLS
Don’t Look Any Further
--- DENNIS EDWARDS w/ SIEDAH GARRETT
Don’t Let Love Get You Down
--- ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS
Feel Like Making Love
--- HEATWAVE w/ JOCELYN BROWN

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:25 (twenty years ago) link

I say get it too, it's about 99% brilliant. I have fond memories of slow dancing with a certain girl to "Zoom" by Fat Larry's Band. Sigh.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:35 (twenty years ago) link

I've snapped it up, and it sounds wonderful from a cursory listen. :)

Just listening to "Zoom"... aw, this is sublimely *end of the night number*. Love it; it's very touching. That great late-70s sounding synth; real poignancy.
I don't have enough personal memories of teenage slow dances sadly...! :( I wish I could find clubs that played the sort of music on this compilation...

― Tom May (Tom May), Monday, 2 February 2004 21:28 (twenty years ago) link

There's actually another collection on the same label, released the same day, that I also saw in Fopp today: called "Pure Groove - The Classics"... as if the volume I have isn't packed with classics...!?

How would people rate this one, compared to the above? :

Disc: 1
1. Ain't nobody - Rufus & Chaka Khan
2. I want your love - Chic
3. September - Earth Wind & Fire
4. Give it up (album version) - KC & The Sunshine Band
5. Dancing tight - Fearon, Phil & Galaxy
6. Just an illusion - Imagination
7. Ooh la la la (let's go dancin') - Kool & The Gang
8. Somebody else's guy - Brown, Jocelyn
9. What I got is what you need - Unique (1)
10. Going back to my roots - Odyssey (1)
11. Let's go round again (part 1) - Average White Band
12. Disco nights (rock freak) - GQ
13. Stomp - Brothers Johnson
14. Spanish hustle - Fatback Band
15. Get down Saturday night - Cheatham, Oliver
16. Got to be real - Lynn, Cheryl
17. Brighter tomorrow - Browne, Tom
18. Walking in rhythm - Blackbyrds

Disc: 2
1. Ain't no stoppin' us now - McFadden & Whitehead
2. There it is - Shalamar
3. Down on the street - Shakatak
4. Intuition - Linx (1)
5. Big fun - Gap Band
6. Mine all mine - Cashflow
7. Let it all blow - Dazz Band
8. Single life (album version) - Cameo (1)
9. Magic touch - Loose Ends (1)
10. Headlines - Midnight Star
11. Tossing and turning - Windjammer
12. Stop to love - Vandross, Luther
13. Thinking about your love - Skipworth & Turner
14. I'm in love - King, Evelyn 'Champagne'
15. Happy (album version) - Surface (1)
16. I just gotta have you (lover turn me on) - Kashif
17. I am somebody - Jones, Glenn
18. Back in stride - Maze & Frankie Beverly
19. Music - D-Train

Does this rate as highly, Mike? (or for others?) If it's even reasonably close, I'll pay the £5 for it. :)

I'd personally have liked to have seen that ripsnorting 1982 D-Train one... "You're the One for Me"?? And possibly things like Van McCoy's "The Hustle", though that would take it more into the realms of pure 70s disco (there are however tracks from 1975 & 1976 on the "Pure Groove" comp. I bought today).

― Tom May (Tom May), Monday, 2 February 2004 21:53 (twenty years ago) link

holy fuck! get it! as good! better!

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 2 February 2004 22:01 (twenty years ago) link

Looks like a considerably better representation of good R&B music than anything you may find on the hitlists today.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 February 2004 22:04 (twenty years ago) link

Nice to see Shalamar's terrific "There It Is", that doesn't pop up on comps very often.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), Monday, 2 February 2004 22:19 (twenty years ago) link

I know "I Want Your Love", "September" (one of the finer EW&F tunes), "Ain't Nobody", "Going Back to My Roots" (though there are other Odyssey numbers I prefer) and indeed the fab "There It Is". "Just An Illusion" is a classic too, as many of you will appreciate... Don't know any of the others really. "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" I know, if it's the same one that Vandross covered in later years. I don't believe I know this version.

― Tom May (Tom May), Monday, 2 February 2004 23:52 (twenty years ago) link

ain't no stoppin is classic philly/disco. i'm pretty sure you would know it. dunno if vandross covered it. other sure fire classics on here: somebody else's guy, to be real, walking in rhythm, thinking about your love...it does tend to wander all over the shop though.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 00:01 (twenty years ago) link

Shakatak were a bit duff.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 00:23 (twenty years ago) link

OK, as requested by Tom: "Pure Groove - The Classics"

Disc: 1
10 10 10 8 2 10 9 10 8 10 9 10 10 9 8 10 ? 10
Disc: 2
10 10 5 10 8 6 9 9 8 ? ? 9 10 9 ? 6 10 10 10

As for Stevem's "incredibly similar":

10 10 9 9 9 10 10 10 9 10 9 9 10 10 10 10 8 10 10
10 7 10 5 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 10 10 10 ?

Average scores per track: (excluding dunnos)

Pure Groove - 9.025
Stevem's "incredibly similar" - 9.459
Pure Groove - The Classics - 8.848

My choice: Stevem's "incredibly similar". Whatever that might be called.

― mike t-diva, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 10:27 (twenty years ago) link

it was called Pure 80s Groove, 100% 80s Groove or something like that. however the tracklisting above is wrong as the Roy Ayers track is actually 'Love Will Bring Us Back Together' not 'Running Away' though both are equally good really so shouldn't affect your verdict much.

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 11:02 (twenty years ago) link

Why can't I find these compilations anywhere :-(

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 12:50 (twenty years ago) link

these comps made me want to pull my vinyl out of storage (and made me feel old). a few skips: "Body Music" The Strikers "Pull Up To The Bumper" Grace Jones "Funky Sensation" Gwen McCrae "Heartbeat" Taana Gardner "Body Rock" Treacherous Three "Just an Illusion" Imagination "Don't Make Me Wait" Peech Boys and so on. Still, solid stuff.

― soniclifer, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 14:17 (twenty years ago) link

For 80's groove, I'd add:

over like a fat rat - fonda rae
every way but loose - oneness of juju
play at your own risk - planet patrol
weekend - class action feat chris wiltshire
in the name of love & beat the street - sharon redd
jazzy rhythm - michelle wallace
this beat is mine - vicky "d"
the sound of music - dayton
i'm out of your life - arnie's love
who needs enemies (with friends like you) - montana sextet
keep on - d-train
you are in my system - the system

― mike t-diva, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 14:45 (twenty years ago) link

B-but 'You To Me Are Everything'is 1976!! It's also one of the best 10 recds ever made.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 15:05 (twenty years ago) link

i have this comp on vinyl - its a great great thing.

― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 15:15 (twenty years ago) link

Whatever happened to the Street Sounds label? Man, those albums were great, especially the "Anthems" series.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 15:56 (twenty years ago) link

two months pass...

I found 'Pure Groove' for peanuts and it is awesome! Next up the Classic collection.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 00:49 (twenty years ago) link

fourteen years pass...

An earlier iteration of these, '100% Pure Groove 2' is very solid indeed (maybe more so than the first volume,) and très OTM for the season.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-100-Pure-Groove-2/release/934852

― Gonk Steady Crew (Noel Emits), Wednesday, 25 April 2018 11:43 (six years ago) link

Disc two goes pretty deep.

https://youtu.be/z8rxl8C7yiY

― Gonk Steady Crew (Noel Emits), Wednesday, 25 April 2018 16:38 (six years ago) link

Actually forget that.

Thelma Houston - You Used To Hold Me So Tight (amazing Jam & Lewis job) & Dayton - The Sound Of Music are of importance here.

― Gonk Steady Crew (Noel Emits), Friday, 27 April 2018 11:11 (six years ago) link

three years pass...

I have the real deal Pure Groove compilation now fyi.

― Noel Emits, Monday, 9 August 2021 09:09 (three years ago) link

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