A nostalgic trip today for me: my very first compilation ever purchased! Well, I didn't spend a penny on this album, my parents did. This was around the era of Europop and my fascination for everything Dance related. Before this CD my parents bought me 'L.A. Style - James Brown Is Dead' on CD-single. Technically that's my first ever CD. But my first ever compilation was this weird contraption, released on Arcade NL back in 1994. And as you all know, I'm Dutch, and Arcade during the 90s was my go-to label. Yes, they also released shitloads of crappy compilations, but seeing as this is my first one ever, I cannot talk bad about this one.
Yabba-Dabba-Dance! was successful in a few countries. And I didn't know that each country had their own 'cover'. The albums were sold in the Benelux, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and the UK. And only in the first few countries was it successful. The least successful was in the UK, where they only released the first compilation, and stopped straight after. But for us Europeans they continued until 1996, releasing around 7 to 8 albums. But was it worth it? Was it worth your local currency? Was it worth the Guilders? Short answer, no.
My sister did buy a few of these albums, and judging the quality of them compared to the first one, pff, it's like they just crammed it with whatever they had in stock. I still think that the NL version of the first CD is the best. Still don't know why Arcade selected Fred Flinstone, but hey, it was the 90s, and we had some shitty album covers.
The NL tracklist for anyone who is interested?
01. 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor - Dreams
02. Maxx - No More
03. Atlantic Ocean - Body In Motion
04. T-Spoon - Take Me 2 The Limit
05. Twenty 4 Seven - Leave Them Alone
06. Edwards World - Soul Roots
07. Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Live At London
08. OT Quartet - Hold That Sucker Down
09. Jam & Spoon - Find A Way
10. Cappella - U & Me
11. TNN - La Cucamarcha
12. The Prodigy - No Good (Start The Dance)
13. Kafe - Can You See It
14. Brooklyn Funk Essentials - The Creator Has A Masterplan
15. DJ Bobo - Everybody
16. Clear Water - 100% Pure Love
17. Barbara Tucker - Beautiful People
18. 2 Men Will Move You - Goodbye Thing
19. Shawn Christopher - Make My Love
20. Klatsch - God Save The Queer
This is a nostalgic looking tracklist. Oh so 90s. Oh so Europop. This is during Europop's heyday, the biggest years for the continental pop music. It dominated the Dutch charts continuously, and it left a mark on our perspective of pop music, or 90s music in general. Yes, our charts might have looked different compared to the UK charts, but we loved our cheese, didn't we?
Was this a compilation worth spending your money on? No. There were others more suitable for your taste buds. But my mom and dad bought me this, so I couldn't say no. And truth be told, back in 1994 (I was 11 years old) I played this over and over. Funny side note: when they bought me this, I didn't even have a CD player! Only a massive music tower with LP and cassette options only. But this was a pre-big birthday present: the actual CD player was another present I received. All because of my parents. Maybe that's the reason why I'm into music so much?
God, there are some classics on here. Cappella. Twenty 4 Seven. Jam & Spoon. Maxx. The album is actually quite good, but obviously there are some too cheesy records, like DJ Bobo's song (never liked his music, and never knew he still produces music!), TNN (I did actually buy this single, probably when it was one guilder, but the majority of the records are timeless classics. So underrated. Where do you still hear 'Make My Love', 'Beautiful People', 'Soul Roots', or 'Body In Motion'? Nowhere. I'd rather hear these tunes on a 90s radio station than just Spice Girls, Take That, and all the other crap.
Which is the best on this album, seeing as you already know my worst. 'Hold That Sucker Down' and 'Goodbye Thing'. Wicked House classics.
Whatever you were into during the 90s, we all have to agree that the music was much better. The compilations weren't. But the music definately was.
This is one album I will NEVER throw away. It's unplayable, but nostalgic. This is what made TCD the best reviewer in the world (ahum).
Can I just add that I've never liked the Flintstones?
Ps. Underneath this review there's a nice video taken from Youtube of a few Dutch radio DJs talking about these gems. Only Dutch, sorry. No subtitles.
Artist: Various Artists
Genre/Style: House, Euro House, Euro Pop
CD Info: Yabba-Dabba-Dance!
CDs: 1 (one)
Length CD: 01:16:12
Tracks: 20 (twenty)
Label: Arcade
Product Number: 01.9260.6
More Information: ------