This is a sweet set made up of five records in a textured box. Each record is themed in the colours of sleeve and label. Each record has 6 tracks covering a career of work from 1984 to 1990. I'm certain I would have bought each of the individual records as singles, making this box all the more special.
I've ranted at length before about VIrgo Four, but I'll recap quickly. I love Virgo Four based on the single i got years ago and was always sure there must be other tracks of the same standard by these boys. This box set makes it apparent that the songs were many, they just never got released. I reckon if more of these tracks had come out at the time then there would be another indisputable giant name in the Chicago House pantheon.
There is a wide variety of sounds covered on this compilation, ranging from the familiar lush house sound like the old single, through Detroit sounding instrumental techno and there are also a few unusual and surprising sounds. The tracks generally sound very fresh, despite their age although there are couple which have not aged so well, but are still an interesting document of the range of Virgo Four. I've had this set for a couple of weeks now and it has taken this long to get a proper idea of range and quality of the songs it contains.
I'll add videos for some of my favourite tracks, although for the moment it seems that only songs from the CD are available, which is a shame as the CD only has about half of the songs and many of my favourites are not included. Never mind though, there are enough quality songs available to demonstrate the quality of this set.
Another rubadub special, this is the first new music released by Virgo Four since 1989 and it is really something special. There are two tracks, Lites Go Out and Look Into Your Eyes and it is more of the smooth late 80s, dreamy deep house that has made Virgo Four a favourite of seemingly all who have heard them. I've spent a while trying to find links related to this record, but the rubabub one above and this Fact magazine site are all that I could find. It's not on rubadub's website as they say they are only selling it out the shop and its not even on the site for Rush Hour. This is probably because the single was meant to be for sale on a Virgo Four tour.
While trying to find either samples or pictures for this record, I came across so many gushing reviews of Virgo Four, the regard they are held in is obvious. I'd almost forgotten how good they were in the years since I first heard them. I still really love their stuff and I am not surprised when people who are hearing it for the first time through being compiled and re-released are just as taken with it now as I was all those years ago.
The picture I've used is a generic picture of a clear vinyl record with black labels like this single, but its not the right record. I've added videos for other Virgo Four tracks so you can hear how great they are. If I ever find anything related to the actual single I bought, I'll add it later. I'm not sure how likely that is given that this seems to be a fairly rare purchase. However, the tracks on the new single would have fitted right in on their album, so the videos below will give an idea of the sound of this single.
