Release date: 16.05.2011
Rush Hour continues to unearth never released Chicago house classics from the eighties, also known as the golden era of house music.
This time RH teams up with Gene Hunt, who started out dj'ing in 1986 at the tender age of 14. Gene soon became a key DJ in the local scene due to the many gigs he did at legendary hotel parties, like Bismarck, La Mirage, Sauers, Da Vinci Manor, AKA and the Riviera. He was also a resident at the the Hyde Park Athletic Club, where he dj'ed alongside Ron Hardy. Gene gradually became Ron's protégé. Ron passed on his musical knowledge onto the youngster and the pair started recording music together as well.
While being on the scene, many local producers gave Gene reel-to-reel tapes of their new productions for Gene to play out in the clubs. Many of these were never released and most producers lost their own tracks over time. Luckily, Gene had stores all his copies like a librarian and now, 25 years (or more!) later, the time has finally come to share this great music with the rest of the world.
The tracks included here are all rough, uncut versions, oftentimes home made drum computer jams, which never made it to final production at a professional studio. They represent early output of the artists involved, some tracks dating back as early as 1982-1983.
The compilation features unreleased tracks by Mr. Fingers, Steve Poindexter, Ron Hardy, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Virgo Four, Virgo & Adonis, Steve 'Silk' Hurley and even by Dion, who later kickstarted Common's career and more recently has been Kanye West's sidekick. It also includes reworks and original versions that were never properly released, like Ron Hardy's original version of 'Sensation' or Gene Hunts version of 'Donnie' and Mike Dunn's rework of Gherkin Jerks' (Larry Heard) 'Acid Indigestion', or reworks of classic Lil Louis and Larry Heard tracks. These tracks were deemed not commercial (i.e. radio friendly) enough by labels such as Trax or DJ International, but were all the more popular in the Chicago clubs. These were the tracks that people lost their minds to and danced off their asses to, hence 'Chicago Dance Tracks'.
The CD version is jam packed, 12 tracks in total. Some tracks have been edited down to fit the format. All tracks have been restored and remastered from the original, first generation reel-to-reel tapes. The artwork shows original Chicago flyers. Comes with with artist interviews, Gene Hunt interview and original photo's from back in the day!