Even the 60 tracks that comprise this compilation hardly scratch the surface of the impact of the club that soared from its Liverpool roots to become one of the most influential places of its era. No prizes for guessing the content here, of course: everything is represented over the club’s 15-year existence.
Some names to drop: Ultra Nate’s Free, Theme From S-Express, Stella from Jam & Spoon, The Prodigy, Way Out West, Nightcrawlers, Sasha – the cuts and the hits are relentless over a three-disc treasure. It’s not, of course, the definitive story of dance, but more the soundtrack to a host of real and imagined lost Liverpool nights and hazy Ibiza sunrises; of house parties and farmyard raves. The CDs occasionally feel like a set of familiar dusty tracks from the vaults but somehow, with the hi-energy mixes, they retain a vitality that transcends the sometimes cheesy samples.
Ultimately, dance music, and clubbing, was always about the togetherness it engendered. This release brings that feeling back into sharp focus, reminding the listener that, while memories may fade, and though the sun always comes up to engulf the magical night, the good times don’t have to end.
