Everything But the Trent

I am quite fixated on the last track of a year old Astrelwerks Label sampler from last year. It is Ben Watt (Everything But the Girl, Lazy Dog) and Sananda Maitreya (the alter-ego of Terence Trent D'Arby) which really is a brilliant track. It is TTD's classic vocal approach combining inflections of Stax, James Brown and Sam Cooke, but married to Watt's dancefloor science. An infectious bassline and faux Fender Rhodes vamp is propelled by a house beat and an overall vibe that puts this in a rare category for dance tracks: a great song.

This is not to say that many dance tracks are exceptional (on the contrary, many are staggeringly great), but this isn't a track, it's a song. TTD's vocal performance makes all the difference, as he actually sings a pithy narrative instead of just a one-line hook.