Shake the Foundations is a compact outgrowth of earlier Cherry Red boxed sets such as
To the Outside of Everything and Optimism/Reject. Across three discs, it emphasizes the post-punk bands who, in the spirit of having a go, investigated funk, disco, reggae, and other forms that could be reshaped for the sake of moving bodies. The tracks were selected and annotated by DJ/author
Bill Brewster, one of the best in the business, so it's no surprise that the set appeals to curious listeners as well as those who have cherished compilations such as Mutant Disco, Disco Not Disco, Nine O'Clock Drop,
Metal Dance, Science Fiction Dancehall Classics, and Fac. Dance -- some of which overlap a little and/or involved
Brewster's handiwork. A few of the first names that come to mind with this sort of thing aren't here. Whether due to familiarity, licensing restrictions, budgeting, or taste, the exclusions are of no consequence given the depth and range of what's on offer.
Public Image Ltd. don't make an appearance, but the band's
Jah Wobble is responsible for an Eastern disco dub highlight.
Rip Rig + Panic's "You're My Kind of Climate" would have been an ideal inclusion. Instead, there's something from root band
the Pop Group, whose insurgent racket is no mere consolation, and besides,
Maximum Joy's "Stretch" is just as energizing and obliquely funky. In addition to picks from funk loyalists such as
A Certain Ratio,
23 Skidoo, and
Ian Dury, some of the material is from unexpected sources. Take
the Stranglers, who slapped a crawling instrumental with sounds of tennis play on the B-side of "Golden Brown," or
Haircut 100, makers of a funk-deficient if beatific instrumental with a hint of
Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross." A fair quantity of the tracks haven't previously appeared on compact disc. Among the worthiest are Perfect Zebras' slinking "What Dance Is This?," akin to an extroverted
Japan, and the 012's "Asbestos Lead Asbestos," an anti-carcinogen rant that rumbles, screeches, and startles like nothing else, including the covers by World Domination Enterprises and
Meat Beat Manifesto. Also, somewhere in the realm of
A Certain Ratio,
Palais Schaumburg, and the also-present
John Cooper Clarke, there's Group Therapy's "Arty-Fact," featuring
Brewster himself. ~ Andy Kellman