Those who weren't convinced by Two Banks Of Four's 'City Watching' album will probably miss this selection of re-workings. Which is a great shame.
An immaculately chosen and varied line-up of producers have been called-in by the Sirkus crew to do the honours and the result is an album that's as deep in quality as it's wide in appeal.
First up is Herbert's typically hard-edged-noodling rendition of 'Street Lullaby'. His unsettling rhythms underpin the plaintive jazz vocal line, adding a disconcerting "all that is solid melts into air" quality to the rhythm track, while jazz instrumentation is tweaked in and out of the relaxed mayhem.
Ski turns in a sublimely deep and funky house version of 'Time Flies', which is followed by Ewan Pearson's highly sought after warm jazz house Maas treatment of 'Skylines Over Rooftops'.
Chicago's long playing jack-master, Derrick Carter, sprinkles his groove dust over 'Afro Blue' to bring the party forward.
Signalling a change of mood, if not tempo, Zed Bias provides the first 2Step foray on the album, as he adds the click and thrust rhythm patterns to 'Hook and Line'. But the more adventurous and surprising UK garage contribution is delivered by Fourtet, who ditches the sleepy aspects of 'Street Lullaby' to concentrate on the 'street' in a left field jazzy 2Step work sense of the word.
Similarly Attica Blues twist the garage skip into a soulful, up-beat-jazz-love-chant on 'Last Dance'.
Two Banks give 'Skylines Over Rooftops' their own re-treatment on 'Noggi's Starch Trouser' re-mix, taking it through a short sharp shock of the big room beats.
Anjali's version of 'Theme De La Tete' is suitably crammed with symphonic head rushes.
Finally two new Two Banks' tracks, in the form of a jazz-ed out version of Super Grass's 'Movin' and a fresh ballad called 'Homegirl', bring the package to a mellow close.
