Ramsey Lewis – ‘Do What You Wanna (Mr Scruff’s Soul Party Remix)’ [Verve]

Launched in 2002, The Verve Remixed series opened the vast vaults of its salubrious back catalogue to a choice selection of production and remix outfits, letting them run with whatever they chose whilst appeasing purists with a simultaneous Unmixed releases. The outcome was a favourable ratio of genius upgrades to regrettably insipid reworks.

The trend continued throughout its multiple sequels; compilations that are never quite consistently fabulous but smattered with gems like this understated little jazz joint jam, dug up and beefed out by sometime pie loving tea peddler Mr Scruff.

Scruff does little more than take down The Ramsey Lewis Trio’s brief good times key joint – complete with vocally appreciative audience – and sew up the pocket with a shuffling hip hop beat and pleasing coda not present in the album original, but in doing so turns out a potboiling soul party starter that, to coin an overused Ronseal tagline, does exactly what it says on the tin.

‘Do What You Wanna (Mr Scruff’s Soul Party Remix)’ by Ramsey Lewis features on Various Artist compilation album and 12″ sampler Verve Remixed 2, and the Verve Remixed Deluxe four-disc box set.

The Ramsey Lewis Trio original featured on the album Another Voyage [Chess/Cadet Records] and Verve Unmixed 2 [Verve Records].