For Dancers Only – Various Artists CD (Kent)

Who could have guessed that, when Ace Records invited soul connoisseur and 6T’s Rhythm And Soul supremo Ady Croasdell to have a rifle through the Modern catalogue, and see if he could scare up enough dance floor-oriented sides to put an album together it would be the start of 25 (and counting) years of lovingly compiled, legitimately-licensed albums, CDs and even occasional 45s that have made the Kent imprint known throughout the world as a trademark of quality and integrity?

In the intervening years, Kent has expanded its remit way beyond the Modern catalogue, and also beyond music mostly aimed at the dance floor. But every label has to start somewhere, and as ‘starts’ go, FOR DANCERS ONLY is still a mightily impressive one. Most of the tracks that Ady selected have either maintained their popularity or, in many cases, gained an even stronger one, as audiences not yet born when the original album came out have become part of the wide and wonderful world of Northern Soul. It’s entirely fitting that we kick off the year that will see all sorts of 25th Anniversary celebrations for the Kent label with ‘the record that started it all’, in a format that’s more suited to the 21st century, and in a size that’s more suited to playing in the car on the way to a dance than a cumbersome old vinyl album would be…  – Ace Records