Early nineties techno meets pop rap and we bust a move

When I bought this album, I thought it was contained a lot of really cool music. It was the stuff they played at our middle school dances. Oh, how times change! Now I think of this CD as a celebration of the past. It's fun, and if you're collecting the entire Jock Jams and Jock Rock set, then you should definitely own it. If you want to listen to some, well, amusing old club music- then go for it. But I wouldn't whip it out when I'm with my hardcore techno or rap fans, if you get my drift. Unless they have a really good sense of humor.

So what the heck is on said CD you ask. Why the early recommendations? I will name a few artists who appear: 2 Unlimited, Tag Team, Technotronic, C & C Music Factory. Getting the picture? Think early nineties techno music meets pop rap and everybody busts a move. Here's the line-up...
1. brief interlude (we will discuss these in a moment)
2. Get Ready 4 This
3. Whoomp! There It Is
4. Strike It Up
5. Tootsee Roll
6. brief interlude
7. Come Baby Come
8. It Takes Two
9. brief interlude
10. Gonna Make You Sweat
11. Hip Hop Hurray
12. Pump Up The Volume
13. The Power
14. brief interlude
15. Unbelievable
16. YMCA
17. Pump Up The Jam
18. Twilight Zone
19. brief interlude
20. Rock and Roll Part 2
(I don't see where 16 and 21 fit with the rest of the music here, they would work better with the cousin collections of Jock Rock. But obviously that wasn't my call.)

Brief interludes are basically ESPN's attempts to live up to the claim on the front, which states that this CD contains the hottest crows-pumpin' grooves of all time! . In other words, this series of CDs is meant to scoop up of the tunes played at major sports events that get everybody in the spirit. They range from catchy little tunes such as The Old Ballgame, to ESPNisms such as Michael Buffer's "let's get ready to rumble". Some people may be dismayed at having their music interupted, but I rather enjoy the little breaks.

Jock Jams is an easy CD to spot. It's obnoxiously colored with orange, blue, and some red. While its cousins (Jock Rocks) used players from various sports on the cover, the Jock Jams resorts to cheesy and outright annoying pictures of what I assume to be either cheerleaders or overzealous female fans dressed in athletic gear. They are surrounded by a blue haze that is supposed to pick up the blue from the "spine" of the case I guess. But the result is just, well, bad.I much preferred the soprts players, who actually looked like they were in action. This cover just resembles a bad cheerleading catalog. I know it doesn't really affect the music, but it's part of the CD and I don't like it, so you all get to hear me rant ;-)

But back to the music, since that's generally the point of writing about a CD. I might be making a fool of myself when I state to you all with clear honesty that I still throw this CD in my player. Even when I'm alone *gasp* Oh come on, I know there were some of you who could still "rap" the lyrics to Whoomp There It is or sing the refrain to Gonna Make You Sweat. I myself like and collect dance music. And I think very few would debate that these are some classics, whether you liked them or not. I think it's lots of fun to hear them again, despite their lack of quality and or technology. This is a great party CD for children of the 80's, some of us who grew into the club scene listening to these songs. And if you collect dance music, these are definitely tunes your collection should contain.

Which brings me to a point that came up fleetingly in my review of Jock Rocks, where I was discussing compilation disks. THe trouble with them of course, is that you often have many of the songs already if you frequently purchase collections rather than artists' albums the way I do. I have two or three copies of several dance songs, just because the CD I bought contained enough hard to find songs or remixes I was fairly sure would not be found again. If this bothers you, steer away from the Jock Jams collections. It's not so bad with this CD, unless you have an extensive collection of tapes or albums from the early nineties and could put the CD together yourself. But it gets worse as the volumes are born. Just a thought if you're considering adding Jock Jams as an entire set.

On the other hand, ESPN made their compilation CDs unique by adding the little extras, referred to above as brief interludes. You probably won't find those popular ESPN sayings anywhere else, so if you're a fan these CDs are great to own anyway. I could do without the cheerleading chants that pop up on this particular CD, but I'll live.
The CD is fun enough to carry and I enjoy it, although not for every day listening.