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Carrie Lucas - The Best of, Dance with you - SOLAR

This is a double album package containing 30 cuts by Carrie Lucas from between 1979 and 1985, and is thus fairly comprehensive. This is certainly the music of the time and the music of Solar that was so successful.

Starting with the 'anthem' Dance with you containing the sample now popularised even more by Armand Van Heldon. This is probably the best track on the album and also her only UK success. 'I gotta keep dancin' is much the same but for me not so good, although it was a number 1 Billboard Disco smash. Its follow up 'I gotta get away from your love' is also featured. 'What's the question' is a mellow jazzy ballad whilst not brilliant does show her vocal prowess in a different light.

The next series of tracks are from the 'Street Corner Symphony' album including the title track with a sensual vocal over a throbbing beat but then ruined by the 'homage' to some old soul tracks. 'Tic Toc' was a popular track in the UK from the album. 'Danceland' is a mellow disco track that is actually quite good. 'Are you dancing' picks up the beat in typical format. 'I'm gonna make you happy' is a track that I really like with a good vocal and some fine backing by The Whispers perhaps, although they are not credited on this track. 'Just a memory' is with The Whispers and this is a dead slow soulful ballad.

Disc 2 starts with the beat-y, pop-py 'Its not what you got'. 'Career Girl' is next which also reached the lower charts and is typically 'Solar'. Into 1982 we get 'show me where your coming from' the excellent and ever popular two step anthem. 'Men' follows but this falls back into the Solar norm.

'Is it a dream' is a bit of an unknown gem hidden in here, a nice cut indeed. The album closes with some tracks from the last of her Solar albums in 1985. These were moderately successful but clearly Carrie's popularity was on the wane, relying on some fairly mundane, pop disco tracks. 'Hello Stranger ' with the Whispers is quite nice though.

There is some good material on here but I find that for much of it it is too formulaic of the genre at the time. The big disco cuts that made are extremely good, but that said there are some predictable and substandard tracks in here. The shame also is that Carrie's voice is very good and within the formula it is not allowed to front as much as it should.