Soul Heaven Presents Masters At Work in the House

Everyone who knows MAW will know pretty much what to expect from this double cd (the third cd is just a selection of mixes of individual tracks, and not the best selection, so should be regarded as what is, strictly ) But, as a long time fan, I have to say it's been a real pleasure to buy this and listen to it in the last few weeks...the quality stands up and you'll pop this on your cd deck for years to come.

As other reviewers have said, there is too high a percentage of "downtime" on the 2 cds as a whole. This may be acceptable in a club (where you need the downs to lift the highs up as high as they can go ;) but it feels like a bit of a waste on a short compilation like this. Just one or two minutes less of the "deeper" tracks could have kicked this album into the stratosphere. Having said that, if I heard a mix like this in a club I would be delirious...this is real hug-your-friend-and-try not-to-crush-the-breath-outof'em feelgood house music.

I love this cd, and at the price on Amazon YOU MUST HAVE THIS!! Absolutely ideal either for a pre-club warm-up to get those toes a-tappin' or to chill with friends at home over a bottle of wine. Enjoy!!


Slightly disappointing   July 30, 2004
The Fisher Price King (London)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Masters at Work know everything there is to know about beats, and have made some great mixes in the past. This isn't their finest hour. There are lots of strong tracks, and the mixology is everything you'd expect, but some of it isn't very funky, and there are times when the mix sags, to the point where it's actually a little boring. The second disc, after a brilliant start, is really quite a grind for twenty minutes or so. There's a lot of music for your money, but don't believe the hype - it's of variable quality. Worth owning, but you won't play it to death.


More MAW   July 22, 2004
paul brooker
Well the boys have done it again under the Soul Heaven label,those that wanted more got it but this time they have put more effort into it ...to me anyway.These guys have given us what the S.H listeners wanted..more..better and equally if not better mixed.If you bought Vol 1 dont hang around buy this.If you are new to Soul Heaven...please just go and get it...another CD for this summer,along with Jay-J "loveslapped" so far these 2 CD's should be all you need for the first half of this summer......have a good one.


The usual ingredients?   July 19, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Another release from the MAW stable, and as you would expect the main two disks consist of nothing other than the highest quality house music, but if you're expecting hands in the air stylie house then just take a pause, this is no Frankie Knuckles set. The usual ingredients are all there; vocals; instruments; breaks; funk; jazz; twangs of sounds you can relate to past MAW tunes and remixes, they've even thrown in the odd classic from '94 for good measure (although thankfully the majority of the tunes chosen are relatively recent).

House music of the highest quality but no surprise there, so what's the exception? The exception is this music owns and operate in a space not successful occupied by any other DJ(s), and that's the real joy. Put the first disk on and simply listen to the intricate layers of sound change from the utterly amazing beats of Three Kings - Shake Dat Booty to the real heart and soul of the set being Deep Sensation - Soul Heaven, all joined together in ridiculously layered mixes with reworked MAW base undertones. Listen to the second disk and enjoy the change of gear producing hair tingling vocals from Kathy Brown that keeps slab after slab of seamlessly stitched/layered house flowing together in an engaging, gorgeous, effortless journey.

If you love MAW I'm surprised you've read this far, you should have already made the purchase. If you're new to MAW or sceptical take a leap of faith. What's the worst that can happen?


Great Album, Masters At Work Prove It Again!!   July 13, 2004
Tokunbo Sobowale
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

A very funky album by the Masters at Work (Kenny Dope and Little Louie Vega. It explores into the depths of "Funk Soul", (a Masters at Work trademark)while keeping the funky house theme running throughout the album. Look out for track 2 on CD2 for the full Latin House and track 10 on CD2 for simply "a Phat Funky track".