Mad as Hell

2014 marks the 45th Anniversary of the launch of the Invictus, Hot Wax and Music Merchant labels – the trio of labels that Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland launched following their acrimonious split from Berry Gordy’s Motown Empire. Since the 45rpm record was the fulcrum of the new operation, we thought this would be the perfect excuse to celebrate the 45th anniversary by pulling together every single 45 release from the discography of Invictus, Hot Wax and Music Merchant - both A and B sides. That’s 96 x Invictus 45s, 44 x Hot Wax 45s and 17 x Music Merchant 45s – 157 singles and 269 original recordings total.

Having grafted hard for ten years, releasing a weight of great 12"s on Kilowatt and Plastic Raygun among others, Vandal finally comes in with a full album and it's an absolute beauty from start to finish. Rooted in tech-funk, he manages to take in a range of styles that avoids the album getting too samey or monotone. The vocals on "Fall With Grace" for instance give it an almost poppy sheen, without sacrificing any of the intense peak-hour club feel. The grimey boom-bap of "Tonight We Fly" is another highlight, while "Whatcha Got" is an incredibly itchy and funky delight. Old singles like "Captain Magic", "Idiots" and the classic, Network-sampling "Mad As Hell" are also included and still sound brilliant.

In 1975, vocalist Ken Shields, keyboard player Daryl Gutheil and bassist Kim Sinnaeve formed the band Wascana. After being renamed Witness, the group became Streetheart when guitarist Paul Dean and drummer Matt Frenette joined in 1977…