This entry in the Free Soul series is devoted to Salsoul, one of the truly great disco labels. The extensive track listing is appealing to the eye, but most of what's made available on this single disc is present in truncated, single-edit form. First Choice's "Dr. Love" is reduced to a slight three minutes, and Inner Life's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" -- a towering triumph in its 11-minute mix from Larry Levan -- is knocked down to an easier-to-digest four minutes. Original Salsoul Classics, released in 1992, shows how this really should be done, since it spreads its 20 tracks across two discs, providing each cut in full, dancefloor-igniting glory. Though this particular disc shortchanges the listener in that respect, it does cover a lot of ground, and the shortened versions of Loleatta Holloway's "Runaway" and Double Exposure's "Ten Percent" indicate to many a soul purist how disco could be just as songful as anything from the '60s and early '70s. Other highlights: Joe Bataan's version of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle," Ripple's "The Beat Goes On," Salsoul Orchestra's "Ooh I Love It (Love Break)," Instant Funk's "I Got My Mind Made Up," and Love Committee's "Just as Long as I've Got You." ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide