Ze 30: Ze Records Story 1979-2009

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 11, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Strut Records
• ASIN: B002ALRVHW
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,167 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A small sample of zat label's classics & rarities, February 15, 2010

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ze 30: Ze Records Story 1979-2009 (Audio CD)

This compilation commemorates the 1979 birth of NY City's legendary ZE Records. The label's best tracks were released on the collections Mutant Disco volumes 1 to 3. This 30th anniversary album offers some classics and some rarities; not all the choices are inspired. Kid Creole & The Coconuts and Was (Not Was) released many masterpieces that tower above their contributions here. John Cale and Lydia Lunch are conspicuous in their absence. What makes it a Must is the booklet on its history, interviews with original musicians and photographs.

ZE's music encompassed a rich array of styles. The label's trademark mutant disco is represented by the aforementioned Kid Creole, Was (Not Was) and Cristina Monet's bleak Christmas lament Things Fall Apart. Sympho States' soulful You Know What I Like and Deputy Of Love by Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band resort under pedigreed 1970s disco. The best of the obscure tracks include the quirky Re Bop Electronic by Marie et Les Garçons, the punk-rock Beat Goes On by Casino Music, the 'Seize the Beat' mix of Bustin' Out by Material & Nona Hendryx and more recent recordings like the Michael Dracula song.

Synth pioneers Alan Vega and his band Suicide contribute two exquisite slices of synth-driven sonics. The band reveals its kinder, gentler side on the hypnotic and tuneful Dream Baby Dream which is titled Keep Your Dreams on their seminal first album. The track Jukebox Babe blends rockabilly rhythms with edgy electronics, a style that Vega perfected on his 1980s solo albums like Collision Drive in songs such as Magdalena 82, Be Bop A Lula and Outlaw.

Now for the omissions. To get a more comprehensive or representative understanding of the ZE magic, the following gems are available on various of the artists' own albums or the aforementioned Mutant Disco compilations: Is That All There Is?, The Lie of Love & He Dines Out on Death by Cristina, Ghost Rider by Suicide, Out Come The Freaks & Wheel Me Out by Was (Not Was), I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby & Annie I'm Not Your Daddy by Kid Creole and The Coconuts, Me No Pop I by Coati Mundi and Contort Yourself by James White & The Blacks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard, Hot Post Disco Dance Music of the '80's, January 27, 2010

By 

R. M. Hatch "Raydance" (Windsor Mill, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ze 30: Ze Records Story 1979-2009 (Audio CD)

I bought this item specifically for "Bustin' Out" by Material featuring Nona Hendrix of LaBelle. I have this monster dance tune on vinyl on an album called "Seize the Beat". The dance version of the song on this CD is the very one from the original release w/it's funky, twisted, bass-laden, ultra-3am-in-the -morning-catchin'-your-second-or-third-party-wind beat. It's fantastic! "Deputy of Love" and "Out Come the Freaks" are also included in this set. This CD is great for anybody who remembers the super dance clubs on the '80's and wants to remember what the noise was all about. For those of us who were lucky enough to live through it; it's a look back on far less oppressive times. For those of you that may find yourselves interested in what we were moving to in the hippest places; give it a listen. Great off the beaten path dance music.