Glitterbox comes alive in the summer and so does their label. Nobody saw this coming, though: out of all the material they could have released they settled on the Ron Hall & The Muthafunkaz 2005 release “The Way You Love Me” featuring the vocals of Marc Evans. This is an era of dance music that is mostly unloved; though every new era seems to be a rejection of the one it’s passed out of, there seems to be an extra-strong prejudice against material from the mid-’00s. You might even call the entire lo-fi and before it the raw analog house & techno track frenzy something of a counter-revolution against the sometimes over-produced and sterile tracks that found favor back in the years just before.

None of this applies to “The Way You Love Me,” which was just one more baby chucked out with the bathwater by the new barbarians. The original on Hustle Music (not included here) had one of the most powerful vocal performances from Marc Evans ever captured on record, backed by those live Muthafunkaz drums. Dimitri from Paris released a two part “T.S.O.P.” remix that made this thing sound like it emerged from the portfolio of Gamble & Huff in 1978. Dimitri “retouches” that remix for Side A of this release. I’ll just say “soul with strings.” You won’t find a more textbook homage to this sound than the A side of this record.

On the B side is the legendary Tom Moulton. His “Philly Re-Grooved Remix” makes the chorus so bright and sunny it’s almost blinding. One master of the craft and one who has ascended beyond.

Ron Hall & The Muthafunkaz ft. Marc Evans: The Way You Love Me / Glitterbox
A1. Ron Hall & The Muthafunkaz ft. Marc Evans: The Way You Love Me (Dim’s T.S.O.P. Version – Dimitri from Paris Glitterbox Retouch) (08:12)
2. Ron Hall & The Muthafunkaz ft. Marc Evans: The Way You Love Me (Tom Moulton Philly Re-Grooved Remix) (12:53)

 


 

5 Magazine Issue 164Originally published inside 5 Magazine #164 featuring Cassy, DC LaRue, Sean Haley, Titonton & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $1 per issue!