Classic Album Review: Dreamland - Black Box

Been a while since a classic album review and the awesome old school Black Box songs from "Dreamland" keep following me this year. I hear them and remember how much I loved this album when it came out. Listening to the songs again this afternoon literally made me smile - these are some great songs.

This Australian number one album (only place in the world it went to number one) is not without some major controversies. The face of Black Box, French model Katrin Quinol was less a lead singer and more the female equivalent of Milli Vanilli. In fact all the vocals, bar "Ride on Time" were actually from Weather Girls veteran and music icon, Martha Wash, hired as a session singer to lay down demos. "Ride on Time" used an original sample and just kept the voice. They have had the hell sued out of them and the rightful people are now getting royalties so I don't feel guilty telling people to revisit or check out this great album.

This album came out in 1990 and was at the forefront of the massive Italian House movement. I was in year 10 at high school in Western Sydney and Black Box were a favourite to blare from my ghetto blaster, it was red, it was cool. I got this on cassette for my birthday and played it to death. And most of these songs are recognisable, because this is an album of nine tracks, seven of which were released as singles. Here in Australia, five of those songs charted quite highly.

Listening to the album now, yes, most of the tracks sound similar, but that's not new for dance acts and still happens today. It was an amazing sound for the time and then, was highly original. Though they did mix it up with some great instrumentals, "Ghost Box" is a haunting song. I remember the film group I was a member of, bought the rights to this song and used it over the closing credit of our award winning short film.

Let's talk those singles, those great singles. "Ride on Time" was our intro to Black Box, and probably their best known song, reaching number two in Oz and one in the UK (becoming the highest selling song of that year). It sampled Loleatta Holloway's 1980 disco hit "Love Sensation". Hilariously, as Black Box ripped off this hook of the song, they thought she was singing, "Cause you ride on time", not "Cause you're right on time", hence the tracks name. It's a catchy song that is easy to sing along with as you dance enthusiastically on the dance floor.

The next two singles are my favourites, they are also quite similar. "I Don't Know Anybody Else" and "Everybody, Everybody" are perfect dancefloor anthems, with amazing hooks and catchy lyrics. I have some wonderful memories of these songs. "I Don't Know Anybody Else" has an amazingly strong start, the build under the lyrics, "Tell me what you want and nothing else" is my favourite part of the whole song. As for "Everybody, Everybody", this is my favourite of all their songs. The clip is great and the lyrics are really strong. "When I said it was over you aimed at my heart" - love it. This song sits proudly in my iTunes top 25 most played songs.

Black Box's other huge hit in Australia is their cover of the Earth, Wind and Fire classic, "Fantasy" which got to three in the singles chart. It's a little different from their other tracks, almost a house ballad. Still to this day, whenever this comes on my iPod at work, people sing along happily, it's iconic and a damn fine track. This is the perfect example of a great cover, changing a song enough to make it yours but still keeping what made it such a great song in the first place.

"Strike it Up" was the band's biggest hit in the US, reaching eight on the singles chart. It's another corker from the Italians. The thumping horn sound is a winner and the added male vocals really adds to the feel of the song, and gives them a slightly different sound. Another track I was obsessed with in 1990-91.

The one thing these songs, bar "Ride on Time", have that makes them so good is the amazing and effortless vocal talents of Martha Wash, who also did secret vocals for C&C Music Factory and Snap at the time. Her lungs sound incredible over a dance beat and are always flawless. It's fantastic she finally has the credit she so rightfully deserves for these awesome songs.

So obviously I love this album, how about you? What's your favourite song from Dreamland? Tell me in the comments section below.