Various Artists – Message in the Music: The Ashley Beedle Re-Edits

People like Andrew Weatherall, Giles Peterson, Norman Jay, Stuart Maconie (whose Freakzone show on BBC Radio 6 Music remains absolutely essential) and of course, Ashley Beedle function as musical educators, enriching our knowledge by sharing their own, regardless of genre limitation: they teacher, we, pupil.

Beedle’s latest lesson is a masterclass in the art of the re-edit. The current trend for re-edits (as seen in recent highlights from the likes of Todd Terje, Mirror People, Disco Deviance and the recent Tom Moulton re-issues) takes the concept of the extended version away from the ‘remix’ and uses a more organic approach. There are no unrecognisable re-interpretations here; the re-edit respects the original track by giving us more of the good bits.

This is a simple way of producing an extended version, and takes it right back to the source – to 17 minute versions of Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby”, a track which was lengthened so the head of Casablanca records didn’t have to keep getting up to put the record back on whilst in flagranti. Shag parties aside, how Beedle exceeds here is that his record collection is way bigger and better than ours, so of course, there are some real gems contained within this release.

Over two discs, Beedle takes us on a journey that twists and turns itself through all kinds of genres and flavours. Beginning with the good time rock n roll of Family and radio friendly eighties soul from Ace, you can almost smell the Blue Stratos-drenched double denim seep through the speakers.

Other ear tinglers include an absolutely blistering cover version of The Rolling Stones’ “Gimmie Shelter” by one-time George Clinton collaborator Ruth Copeland, who blasts the song out so hard it makes her rival at the time Tina Turner sound kind of lethargic. Even The Fall get a doing over with possibly their last truly great song, “A Touch Sensitive”, Panama’s cover of The Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Runnin’” is extended into an extraordinary six minutes of tribal boogie, and “I’m A Love Bug” by Donna Mcghee is slick late night disco with an extended groaning breakdown that is just sheer filth.

Rock, post punk, disco, funk and soul are all visited on this collection and sit together with surprising cohesion. A compilation that took four years to come to fruition, it was resoundingly worth the wait.