Search - Divine :: The Story So Far...

Divine Sampler

J. Collins | 07/13/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This relatively brief CD samples from Divine's early catalog of dance hits, and includes many Hi-NRG favorites from the early to mid-80s. Divine's earliest hits were produced by Bobby "O" (Orlando), and later the team of Stock Aitken and Waterman (of Rick Astley fame) wrote and produced the hefty chanteuse.The tracks on this collection are energetic if slightly un-imaginative, but such is the nature of 80's Hi-NRG dance music. The BPM (beats per minute) range starts at 125bpm or so, so much of this could be used for aerobics as well as dancing. These are all long-ish tracks, and feature fairly standard breaks and intro/outros for mixing. On the down side, like a lot of early dance mixes, the editing isn't flawless, so there are slight variations in the time signature. Of these tracks, "Jungle Jezebel" is the most memorable, and certainly the funniest. (Be aware that the lyric could possibly be interpreted as racist: "...I ain't your Aunt Jemima, and honey you ain't my pimp.") "Shoot Your Shot" and "Native Love" were fair-sized hits for Divine, and have enough double-entendres to keep camp fans and dancers happy. Most of these tracks appear on other Divine compilations; the only one I haven't seen elsewhere is "Alphabet Rap," which is more of a curiousity than a dance track. This collection omits many of the Eurobeat hits from S.A.W. that helped make Divine a music star, and the productions here are only vaguely similar to the frenetic, Dead Or Alive sound of "Walk Like A Man" and "I'm So Beautiful." As such, I'd suggest that fans and DJs consider the other Divine compilations before purchasing "Story So Far." Many of these discs are European imports, like the fantastic "Maid In England" CD. If you're just looking to purchase some classic NRG music with a tribal feel, this is a good disc to consider.-Mic"