When maverick New York producer Todd Terry first emerged in 1987, he instantly signalled the birth of a new style of dance music.  Taking the house template of Chicago and fusing it with the sample-heavy style of New York rap, while working in some of his favourite disco hooks, Terry engineered a freakishly raw and energised hip-house sound.  This triple-pack assembles all those seminal moments, including the massive ‘I’ll House You’ with the Jungle Brothers and killer productions as Black Riot, Royal House, Lime Life, Orange Lemon and Sax.  Featuring a few fresh interpretations of these classics and a stack of brand new material, with unmixed versions for DJs, we are spared what was possibly the biggest hit of all for ‘Todd The God’ – his remix of Missing by Everything But The Girl.  However, as always, the early stuff remains the best.

Published by The List, November 2005, and reproduced with their kind permission.