by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Marshall Jefferson needs no introduction as a house music master, for he is one of the genre’s cornerstone names, a founder member of house in its Chicago form.

If he had only made a single record – Move Your Body – Jefferson would already be of great importance to house music. Yet he used that as a springboard to decades of a consistently good output, where he crossed over easily to pop circles – or kept in with the deeper stuff.

With this House Masters compilation Defected have managed to assemble a set of 40 tracks from 1987 to 2022, no doubt overcoming a number of licensing issues on the way.

What’s the music like?

Consistently good – and often goose bump-inducing. Naturally the compilation starts with the piano-led Move Your Body, a bona fine classic – but it is the first of many, including a couple of the best cuts from Ten City, the quartet with whom Jefferson made house and disco-infused pop. The joyous, spring-loaded That’s The Way Love Is only gets better with age, likewise Devotion and Love Is Just A Game.

The deeper side makes itself known with the spaced-out Mushrooms shows how well he does the deeper side of things. The creeping chord sequence of The Cow (Is Already Waiting) works well, as do the volleys of percussion in Raindance.

Remixes and co-productions also feature, and Mission is slower – if a bit smoother. Vicky Martin’s Not Gonna Do It, meanwhile, is a classic extended mix. Other highlights are On The House’s Pleasure Control, a funky treat with busy piano, and Virgo’s R U Hot Enough, an excellent brass and piano workout. Ragtyme’s I Can’t Stay Away is a big room vocal winner, another linkup with Stingily, while Richard Rogers’ Can’t Stop Loving You features a particularly smoky trumpet.

Does it all work?

It does – a generously filled and well linked collection, partying its way through two hours.

Is it recommended?

Wholeheartedly – and more than that, it is an essential part of house music’s history lesson.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,221 – Wednesday 26 June 2024