Inner Life

One of the smartest moves from Suss'd upon acquiring Salsoul's vast catalog, The Anthology adequately summarizes Inner Life's time spent on the label, in addition to including a couple other tracks featuring Jocelyn Brown that were credited to the Salsoul Orchestra and Joe Bataan. Suss'd is also keen enough to incorporate the Prelude material and "No Way," a phenomenal and otherwise obscure 1983 single released on Personal that involved the work of Greg Carmichael and boogie king Leroy Burgess. The set contains two discs. While the first disc contains the original mixes, it's really the second disc that is the greater draw, since it features six of the Larry Levan mixes that helped make Inner Life one of the most significant names in disco history. There's the group's 11-minute version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," considered by many DJs and clubbers to be the disco anthem, full of dramatic sweeps and turns, followed by a lonesome heartbreaker in "I'm Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)" and the sunshine-splashed "Moment of My Life." These three songs should be owned by any disco fan. In fact, they should be owned by any soul fan as well, since disco and soul -- in these, as in many other, cases -- are one and the same. At the center of it all is Jocelyn Brown, one of the most emotive and dynamic disco divas, as well as a rotating (and oft-interconnected) all-star cast of disco giants: Patrick Adams, Stan Lucas, Burgess, and Carmichael. This is as invaluable as The Very Best of Chic. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide