Pepite Vinilo y CD

Review: This 45 from Pepite should excite all those who dig high-quality, little-known boogie-era brilliance. Both tracks originally featured on little-known French artist Nel Oliver's second, self-titled album, which hit stores in 1980, but have since become secret weapons for a handful of European record collectors. A-side 'You Are My Dream' is smooth, soulful and groovy, with Nel adding emotive, accented English language vocals to a warming, laidback boogie groove full of metronomic bass, bongo-laced drums, crunchy guitars, fluttering flutes and starry synths. Flipside 'I Have a Good Job' is arguably even better, with Oliver's echo-laden vocals rising above heavy Clavinet ruffs, spacey synths and more luscious, laidback grooves.

Review: "Please Don't Make It Funky" is one of those delicious curiosities that dusty-fingered crate diggers unearth every now and then. Recorded and released in limited qualities in 1980, it was apparently an attempt by Frank Pisani, then a veteran American singer who had last tasted success in the rock and roll era, to capture the disco/jazz-funk zeitgeist. While it was a commercial flop, the track is undeniably attractive and fun, with squelchy synth sounds, ear-catching horns, fluid piano solos and Pisani's blue-eyed-soul vocals rising above a tidy groove. This surprise - but most welcome - reissue backs Pisani's cheery original with a fresh re-edit by the Patchouli Brothers. This includes some filter trickery and a DJ-friendly arrangement, but otherwise sticks close to the original mix.