We started dancing and love put us into a groove...

Y'know, when I looked at this cover, I wondered why "freestyle" music got its name. So I looked it up. Apparently I'm not alone - Wikipedia doesn't give a definitive reason, but yet speculates on possibilities. All I know is in the late-80's freestyle was huge. Underground, but still huge. Tons of faceless interchangeable acts were spun out with the prolificness of the girl-group era. And as such there were a lot of similarities: groups of mostly young Latin or black girls with not-always-so-strong vocals and basic, puppy-love lyrics. Add to this a beat that sounds closest to a manual typist on coke with somebody playing Pong in the background and you've got about 85% of what is freestyle. Mostly the lyrics involved dancing, love, heartbreak, and then more dancing. Not so free, eh? Well, in its evolution from incorporating primal rap to Latin music and evolving to embrace house music as the 90s closed in. And just like girl-group music, as simple as it is, there was a lot of great music made within its confines. Now since it was more of a singles-oriented genre, there are a ton of compilations on the market, most in unending volumes. Well, this one by Atlantic Records, The Best Of Freestyle, promises none of that. No "volume 1", no "Best of 1988". Simply the best of. Does it deliver? Well, sort of. Atlantic's stable had a lot of acts to cull from, and a many of the biggest acts are represented. You've got Sweet Sensation's dramatic "Hooked On You", Linear's Top-5 smash "Sending All My Love", and Shannon's universal classic "Let The Music Play". Second-team groups like Pajama Party's "Yo No Se" are a great addition, especially with the sole bilingual moment, and other major groups have lesser songs on, such as Company B's "Perfect Lover" (instead of "Fascinated") and Corina's "Give Me Back My Heart" (instead of "Temptation"). There are some underground fan faves like Giggles with "Hot Spot", Debbie Deb with the seminal freestyle song "When I Hear Music", and Cynthia with the house-charged "Endless Nights". For the rabid freestyle nuts you have hard-to-find nuggets like Genuine Parts' puerile "Did It Feel Like Love", G.T.'s rote "I Need You", Chrissy I-Eece's "You Should Know By Now" (I never heard of her before this), and the Beat Club's experimentally wacked "Security". And for the cherry on the sundae, the set has the eternally fun "There's A Party Going On" by Yvonne, a song I was in love with back in my Chicago days, and deserved a wider reception that it got. In total, the set is a great representation of the different facets of the genre, and though by all means not definitive (you at least need to cross-license yourself some Cover Girls, Stevie B., Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Expose, and TKA just to start, as well as some classic songs like "Silent Morning", "Together Forever", and "Diamond Girl"). But the album itself is enjoyable and varied enough to get down with your leg warmers and parachute pants.

Grade: B
Best Cuts: "Let The Music Play", "Yo No Se", "There's A Party Going On", "Hooked On You"
Weakest Links: "Did It Feel Like Love", "I Need You"

"Sending All My Love" by Linear made #5 pop and #8 dance single sales.
"Yo No Se'" by Pajama Party hit #75 pop and #14 dance club play.
"Let The Music Play" by Shannon hit #8 pop, #1 dance, #2 R&B, and #14 in the UK.
"Give Me Back My Heart" by Corina made #26 dance single sales.
"Did It Feel Like Love" by Genuine Parts hit #32 dance club play.
"Hot Spot" by Giggles hit #48 dance club play.
"Perfect Lover" by Company B made #12 dance club play.
"I Need You" by G.T. made #17 dance club play.
"There's A Party Goin' On" by Yvonne hit #88 pop.
"Endless Nights" by Cynthia made #28 dance single sales.
"Hooked On You" by Sweet Sensation made #23 pop.
"You Should Know By Now" by Chrissy I-eece hit #26 dance single sales.
"Security" by Beat Club hit #14 dance club play.

Listen: "There's A Party Goin' On" by Yvonne [click link to listen]

Buy: You can pick up a copy of The Best Of Freestyle at websites like here and here.

And here's some tasty flashback clips...first up Linear's "Sending All My Love"...