Pete Tong is back with another triple CD collection that serves as a surefire start to even the most discerning clubber’s weekend.
He has been churning out reasonably respectable dance music compilations for, well, as long most people can remember. Likewise, his Essential Selection show on Radio One brings underground music to the masses each week, gaining Tong a reputation that is based more on the records he chooses than any exceptional mixing talent. But don’t get me wrong, that’s why we love him.
With this in mind, who better to deliver a retrospective of timeless dance classics than the very man who broke these records into the mainstream all those years ago?
Tong was inspired to produce Essential Classics from the favourable reaction he got when he started including classic dance tracks on his show each week at 7pm. “So much happens in peoples’ lives, but it is music that can bring back memories and make people feel good,” he says. “Tunes can give you goose bumps when you hear them as the memories come flooding back.”
And goose-bump-inducing it is. Divided between an Ibizan terrace warm-up, a super-clubbing and a warehouse anthem vibe, each of the CDs showcases Tong’s capacity as both an innovator and a legend, including only the choicest cuts as they do. “Bearing in mind the recent classic compilations, I have tried to select a meaningful and original collection that deserves to stand up and be counted,” says Tong. “A special thanks also goes out to the Daft Punk crew for giving us some rarities that mean a lot to the Ibiza scene though rarely see the light of day on compilations.”
Highlights include Pete Heller’s seminal Big Love, MJ Cole’s masterpiece Sincere and LFO’s quirky LFO but with everything in between and a spattering of almost unheard of tracks also thrown into the mix, this is a really unique stab at a ‘classic’ collection. And one that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
