John Morales is considered to be one of the true legends of the mix. And his work some thirty years later continues to be cutting wedge and inspiring. This, the second release in The M+M Mixes series continues his history lesson in dance music.

Morales was responsible for the club versions of some of the biggest records of the '80s ' including 'Axel F', 'Rhythm of the Night' and 'Dr Beat'. In addition he lent his talents to acts such as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, The Commodores and Rose Royce and '80s sensations like Debbie Gibson and Billy Ocean.

Morales formed M+M production with the late Sergio Munzibai. The resulting output of over 650 mixes is unmatched by many celebrity big name remixers of today. From the Rolling Stones to Gloria Estefan, The Temptations to Hall and Oates - we have all been moulded by Morales's influence.

This double CD presents some of John's finest works focusing on '70s underground disco anthems and previously unreleased disco mixes. CD one features classic boogie, cult favourites and showcases Morales's first credited mix of Inner Life’s 'Caught up in a One Night Love Affair' whilst CD two includes previously unreleased mixes of gems from the legendary Salsoul catalogue of anthems like 'My Love is Free' to the underground Cult hit Jocelyn Brown’s 'Make It Last Forever'.

Sadly we didn't get an entire copy of this album to review - only 14 of the 18 tracks on offer. And I'm not even sure these were 100% faithful to what will be on the finished release, as our CD slipcase had the following printed on it: "[These tracks] are edited versions of some of the tracks to be found on the final double CD..."

But, that aside, this is a fantastic release which collects together some of the classic disco tracks of the '70s all given that unique Morales twist.

10

Darren Rea