Taana Gardner: Heartbeat Vinyl 12″ Taana Gardner

Classic West End joint. Taana Gardner’s 1981 club hit “Heartbeat” is a sureshot party starter that has been proven on the dancefloor time and time again. This 2015 reissue is a faithful repress of the OG with both club and party versions, remastered for maximum bump. And now a throwback Lab review for your reading pleasure: Another driver’s license classic – you ain’t got no bidness being on the streets unless you’re packin’ this one in your crate. Although “Heartbeat” is now regarded a club classic and b-boy record due it’s early use by MCs like Sweet G, and subsequent sampling by De La Soul (“Buddy” remix) among countless others, “Heartbeat” was really broken by Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage. After clearing the floor 4 or 5 times with the test pressing over the course of a night, the crowd eventually went nuts for what was a comparatively slow (105 bpms or so) record for the Garage dancefloor. The rest is history, and the track is now the #1 seller of all time in the West End catalogue. Of course you know this record – that bassline etches itself permanently into your brain after the first time you hear it, and unless you’ve been living on the moon (or somewhere else where only Whitey lives), you heard this and hopefully danced to it. And girls like it, too. To paraphrase Prince, women and girls rule the world – buy this record and prostrate.

• remastered sound
• music label: West End Records 1981 / 2015

reviewed by Von Bee 08/2015