[RCA]

From a completely different era of clubbing when tracks had not quite taken over from the power of a song came one of the great dance floor anthems of the early nineties. Todd “The God” Terry was at the height of his powers; legendary for playing sets on four turntables entirely comprised of his own productions, almost as well known for his unmistakable syncopated snare heavy beats and having a bottomless bag of production monikers. He was already hugely popular for having redefined New York house music, essentially making it what it became, by fusing together elements of disco, Chicago house and Latin. He had already won over Europe and scored large by producing the crossover classic “I’ll House You” by The Jungle Brothers. He hadn’t quite reached the celebrity remixer status he enjoyed from the middle part of the 90’s when he inexorably helped along the career of Everything But The Girl with his anthemic remix of “Missing,” but he was well on his way with a litany of remixing credits to his name of the club stars du jour.

Martha Wash, the queen of the club hit, had her start with Sylvester before joining Two Tons of Fun and later The Weathergirls before going solo. She spent the first few years of the 90’s singing on Black Box and C+C Music Factory hits and in 1993 recorded her debut solo album with a handful of visionary house producers. “Carry On” and “Give It To You” from the self-titled album both scored No. 1’s on the Billboard Dance charts, but for me it was “Runaround” that holds the fondest memories. An unabashed call to the floor track, Martha’s vocals perfectly captured the spirit of hitting the clubs and letting loose for a night of dancing — exactly the mission she promotes in her lyrics. In terms of mixes, you needn’t look further than Tee’s 12″ Mix; although only marginally longer than his LP mix, Todd plays around with the vocals in his sampler and effects some crafty turns and twists for the club. The beats are classic, tough Todd Terry and therefore classic New York house. The clipped, disco bass line and ascendant chords fit Martha Wash’s vocals snugly, propelling “Runaround” into higher and higher states of feel good revelry. Unlike the BBH features to have already graced this site, “Runaround” is by no means a recondite piece of music. It is what it is; an infectiously happy house song epitomized by one of the biggest vocal divas ever espousing the desire to shake it out and have a good time.