Ron Trent: Primitive Arts (Marble Colored Vinyl) Vinyl 3LP - PRE-ORDER

After ace represses of classic LPs by Moodymann, Theo Parrish, Paul Johnson & Glenn Underground, Peacefrog continue to give the people what they want with Ron Trent’s Primitive Arts from 1999. This triple LP collects some of Trent’s most beloved tracks released on his own Prescription Records, and rounds it off with a few new cuts that easily assimilate with Trent’s best material. “Love” opens the set with the next-level polyrhythmic deepness and some anonymous vixen sprinkling sultry Italian vocals over top, and “Time” is equally deep with flecks of jazz and dub accompanying a classic 909 house groove. Nothing screams “1999” quite like two downtempo tracks tacked onto a deep house album, but the two slower inclusions on this set are vintage R.T. despite their low tempo: gorgeous pads, sublime atmosphere and deep, dubby bass. “Woman” could have easily been plucked off of a MoWax 12” from that same year, and playing “Family” at 45rpm transforms it into a killer broken beat stepper (tip!). The real bang for your buck comes on “Sometimes I Feel Like” and “I Feel The Rhythm,” both taken from Trent’s Hip To Be Disillusioned Vol. 1 from 1994, and the rare vocal version of “Morning Factory,” co-produced by Chez Damier; all classics. If you were too cheap (like me) for the Prescription boxset, this is a rare chance to grab some of Trent’s best work in one package, so don’t blow it. Recommended.

• 'smokey' marble colored triple vinyl pressing (please note: actual pressing color and packaging may differ from mock-up photo)
• limited edition
• original release year: 1999
• music label: Peacefrog Records 2026

reviewed by peanut dust 09/2017