Foundation

A gorgeous collection from the early heydays of Chicago House, from when plenty of house music — including this album — was much closer to other contemporaneous black music genres like soul, R’n’B and swingbeat. Indeed, among the carefully crafted early vocal deep house classics on there, there’s also a swingbeat track (produced by Chicago house legend Steve Hurley) and a quiet storm-style soul song complete with fuzz guitar solo outro. This is a house album that is all about the songs, the singers, the performances and the lyrics, a soul album in house form. Tracks like “Suspicious,” “For You,” and “Satisfaction” are all classic-era Marshall Jefferson cuts, with higher production values than the initial flurry of Chicago House records and perfect vehicles for lead singer Byron Stingily’s angelic vocals. Despite occasional moments of melodic and lyrical melancholy, Foundation is joyous and uplifting all the way through, as though the production approach itself, the arrangement decisions, and even the EQ tweaks were imbued with a positive spirit. Way ahead of most of its musical peers at the time, Foundation remains one of Chicago house music’s finest moments.