Tom Moulton

When speaking to someone with zero to limited technical knowledge of mixing, it's almost impossible to convey exactly what Tom Moulton did to the originals he was given. One could say he made them glow, sprout wings, or -- to be less precious about it -- surpass their potential. If you were to compare the originals to his mixes, which were signified on the labels as "A Tom Moulton Mix," you might gain a better understanding, though you still wouldn't fully understand Moulton's process, let alone his instincts, intuition, and imagination -- especially when he made sure not to leave too many fingerprints. His mix might seem more expansive, more propulsive, more elegant. It might only seem longer. The good thing is that none of that really matters. Whether delivered in lavish, winding epics or succinct, radio-friendly bursts, the selections on this double-disc add up to one of the finest disco compilations, and it just so happens that it was put together to honor the work of a pioneer who played as much of a role in the development of dance music as any songwriter, producer, session musician, vocalist, or DJ. Released between the early '70s and the early '80s, the material is rather broad, even though each one of the tracks is clearly geared for the dancefloor. There's the supreme anthem, MFSB's "Love Is the Message": its radio edit is well short of three minutes, but the Moulton mix lasts nearly 12 minutes, allowing for an extended intro and lengthy breaks that seem increasingly relaxed and regal with each successive listen. A previously unreleased mix of Eddie Kendricks' "Keep on Truckin'" could have plateaued and faded out after a couple minutes, but it keeps giving, building and building in intensity until dropping into a dazzling all-percussion break. It'll be completely fresh to anyone familiar with the previously released mixes. All other edits and versions of Patti Jo's "Make Me Believe in You," originally written and recorded by Curtis Mayfield, plod when compared to the one here. Even Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More," one of the most overplayed and wrenched-of-value disco singles, seems like a pure thing of beauty in this context. Several endlessly enjoyable, successive volumes could be put together; across a few decades, Moulton has touched thousands of tracks. This set offers a mere drop in a bucket, but the drop makes a splash like a Barry White cannonball dive. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide