Various

Trax Records began life in the ’80s in Chicago, back when house, techno and electro were still uncharted territory and often interchangeable. This compilation brings together forgotten hits, b-sides and rarities. Anyone interested in examining the roots of modern dance music can find its prototypes here. For instance, Darryl Pandy’s "Searchin’ for Love” sounds like 90 percent of today’s vocal house tracks, Mike Dunn’s "Magic Feet” is rough acid techno from 1989, whose echoes are still being heard today through Sven Vath and Jeff Mills, and Pete Black’s "Chaka Vedo” outclasses most modern break beat tracks with its inventiveness and complexity. There are other good tracks, including one of Byron Stingily’s first house tracks, "Funny Love,” with its powerful male vocals, Paris Grey’s electro-pop song "Don’t Make Me Jack” (she’d rather "house you” slowly instead), and M.E.’s beautifully melodic deep house track "It’s Hot.” Overall, it shows proof the good old days really were good.