Night-Time Stories

Robert Owens is perhaps the voice most associated with Chicago House, providing his distinctive melisma and vibrato-heavy vocal services on some of the genre’s most enduring classics (Fingers Inc.’s “Can You Feel It,” Frankie Knuckles’ “Tears,” his own “I’ll Be Your Friend”). I998’s Night-Time Stories was an interesting concept; an album’s worth of contemporary underground house artists produced tracks for Owens, and it resulted in a strong and varied vocal house album with several stand-out jams. UK deep house producer/label boss Jimpster’s “Inside My World” is based around a single note square wave synth bass — a sound that due to Mr. Fingers’ “Can You Feel It” will be forever associated with Chicago House — and builds up into a lustrous driving, pulsing groover. German producer Ian Pooley’s “I’m Chained” opts for big electro-bass stabs and cleverly interlocking synth and key parts, Atjazz’s track is a cosy, swirling synths and clip-clop percussion affair. UK techno don Kirk Degiorgio turns in a customary superb production made of signature stately synths and gnarly modular basslines while Charles Webster’s “Don’t Give Up” is an intense, lean, haunting groove that allows for only the briefest moments of sweet-sounding melodic resolution. It’s like the producers gave Owens some of their best tracks, and the many different moods and styles (it’s all house, but different types of house) provide suitably classy settings for Owen’s forlorn and gracefully yearning vocals.