Back in the late seventies and early eighties I was privileged enough to have been included on the Warner Bros club mailing list hosted by a guy by the name of Fred Dove who at that time was one of the most respected black music pluggers in the UK and may well still be with the organisation to this day who knows. At that time the term 'disco' was becoming a thing of the past being replaced with a more cultured sound of soul and dance. Records didn't have to have a standardised dance groove to qualify for inclusion on a DJ's playlist  - it just had to be good and the twelve tracks found on volume two of 'Club Connection' are a testament to just that.

It was in a lot of ways no different to the northern scene as key DJ's across the UK became responsible for being the first to break these sounds on import prompting the the likes of CBS/Warner/EMI to hurriedly press them up on 12" and the rest as they say is history. This latest volume lives up to the same standard and quality as that of it's predecessor and is guaranteed to light up any respectable club party night. Opening with the fabulous 'Try It Out' from 1981 from the French/Canadian artist producer who only three years earlier had delivered another irresistible groove with 'Dancer'. This firm favourite owes a lot to the groove laid down by the Chic organisation during the previous decade.

Jenny Burton's famed track 'Bad Habits' is a straight lift from Jocelyn Brown's smash 'Somebody Else's Guy' and is a perfect example of the new groove being laid down by a new generation of black artists. Perhaps the most unusual track on this disc is Gilberto Gil's 'Toda Menina Biana' Brazilian flavoured dancer. Don't even ask what he's singing about, but who really cares as its just fabulous and is one of those latin grooves that niggles its way into your brain and will have your feet tapping in no time at all. Also recorded in the UK by Georgie Fame.

The lovely Chaka Khan who has had a long and chequered career with ABC and Warner Records since her inception back in 1973 as lead singer with Rufus before breaking out into a solo artists in her own right. 'Eye To Eye' is a fabulous piece of swing from her album 'I Feel For You' and was written by the Sembello brothers to great effect. It's not long before you hit the track 'Feel's So Real' by a little lady with a big voice - yes I'm talking about Patrice Rushen who is perhaps best known for her hit song 'Forget Me Nots'. Opening with a steady beat complimented by some neat electronic keyboard work before Patrice immediately gets down to business with a blistering 6:39 groove proving what a great artist she really was. Very similar in vein to Loose Ends' Hanging On A String.

The key track on this set has to be drummer Lenny White's 'Didn't Know About Love' issued here in the UK on Elektra Records from his 1983 LP 'Attitude' the female vocals are pure pleasure of the highest order leaving Lenny to deliver the backbeat on this brilliant song. Other 12" tunes of note include Larry Graham with 'I'm Sick And Tired' and the funk sensation Slave whose Cotiliion recordings are still very collectible and 'Watching You' became a funk favourite back in 1980 just one year after their 'Just A Touch Of Love' brought them to the attention of the masses a year earlier.

This is one powerful CD containing long versions of some of the greatest music to grace the nations dancefloors during 1979-1981. An essential purchase for DJ's and collectors alike.

Rating 9/10