Walter Gibbons: Jungle Music

Walter Gibbons: Jungle Music
When Walter Gibbons died in 1994, he left a legacy that influenced modern house, garage, and hip hop music. Over a decade and a half later, he finally gets a comprehensive compilation of his greatest remixes in the form of the double disc, Jungle Music.
The collection sees Gibbons take on the likes of Double Exposure, Gladys Knight, The Salsoul Orchestra, Bettye LaVette, Arthur Russel, and Stetsasonic among others.
The compilation may seem banal compared to some of today’s production abilities but back in Gibbons’ day, he was doing it all with turntables and instincts. Gibbons takes Gladys Knight’s Philly soul classic “It’s Better Than Good Time” and repeats a section of the song so minute that other DJs of the time would not have dared to attempt to repeat. These type of abilities are what made Gibbons one of the premier DJ of the 1970s disco era.
The album does well to compile well known songs and other obscure artists that Gibbons gave exposure to simply by remixing their tracks. My only complaint is the length of the tracks. While I know modern trance and techno tunes can have some epic lengths, only one track on the two CD set clocks in at under six minutes while three tracks clock in at over 11 minutes. I feel like in today’s modern A.D.D. culture, some these tracks a hard to sit through.
I feel like for collectors or those who lived through this time period, this compilation is invaluable but for casual listeners, it might be a little overwhelming. Those who studied the art of turntablism might want to pick it up as a historical document but I am not sure this is the type of album I will be playing for years to come.
Rating: 5.3/10
MP3: Gladys Knight “It’s Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons 12″ Mix)”
Buy: iTunes or Insound!