ARCHIVE005: Glenn Underground – Lounge Excursions
One of the biggest Deep House labels through the nineties and beyond was Guidance Recordings – I proudly own an awful lot of their catalog of which my prize piece would be the ‘Lounge Excursions’ album by Glenn Underground.
For many, GU would need no introduction; his consistent and prolific rate of the finest Deep and Jazzy House music releases over the years takes some beating. I also own many 12″ EPs by Glenn Underground but my all-time favourite of his releases has to be ‘Lounge Excursions’ for the sheer volume of excellent music and its coherence as an album.
The album opens with the wonderful City People, which takes the whole A side to introduce you to the vibes of Lounge Excursions. Jazzy keys, simple percussion, vocal accents and warm guitar set the tone perfectly. On the flip, ‘Funki Ghetto’ extends deep into the jazz hinted in the opening pieces. Saxophone joins this slower rhythm for possibly the most jazzy piece of this incredibly jazzy album. ‘Translucent Blues’ is a downtempo cut with soft beats and a warm vibe. Reaching for the second disc, you’ll open with ‘Society Rules’ which pits warm rhodes and organ keys against offbeat percussion. The vocals (by Cei Bei) on ‘Come Fly With Me’ will make their mark on you as the stand-out track to this album but the funky late-night vibe to ‘Midnight Oil’ continue to add depth to this remarkable long-player.
The last of the three discs offers arguably the Housiest set of cuts to play out Lounge Excursions, opening with ‘7th & Rhodes’. ‘Head Of House’ does return back to Jazz territory with hints of bossa percussion and a piano melody. ‘G&S Motion’ moves things back to House with a square 4/4 beat, funky bass, warm rhodes and electric piano keys before ‘Return To Zion’ closes the record with something a little deeper.
All in all, this is a real classic record by one of the best Deep House producers in history, on a huge label. Whilst the 3 x 12″ vinyl package may not be so easy to track down, you can grab a digital version on Amazon HERE
