808 State - 808:88:98 (ZTT)

I was incensed when Jonathan King once described Art of Noise's 'Close (To The Edit)' as "a medley of their hit", but that's exactly how the new mix of 808 State's 'Pacific State' sounds. Thankfully it's also here in its original form, kicking off a career retrospective that continues with probably the most accomplished dance record of the nineties, 'In Yer Face'. 808's 'The Only Rhyme That Bites' should have made MC Tunes a global star, but it wasn't to be. Forget the Dust Junkies - Tune's finest moment was with 808 on the era-defining 'Tunes Splits The Atom' - the only chart hit that's actually missing from this LP.

Fate then put a spanner in the works with the release of 'Lift', a track which fell far under par and seriously skewed the quality-expectation level of an 808 record. A real shame because after this point came their best - if completely overlooked - work: 'Plan 9', '10x10' and the Gorgeous album is by far the best (but least successful) 808 period.

On to 808's more recent work. 'Bombadin' (released more as a ZTT knee-jerk reaction to other, more impressive things going on at the time) and the three singles from the Don Solaris album certainly saw a new, mature direction, with guest vocals from James Dean Bradfield. But being mature never really suited 808 State. As this album proves, they are (were?) at the best when full of youthful energy and it's that they'll be remembered for. 7/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine