Sylvester - Over And Over - Kontemporary

“Over and Over” was an Ashford & Simpson-penned release from Sylvester’s fruitful Fantasy period, dropped in 1977. (Weirdly, the b-side, “Down, Down, Down,” was actually the first single from the self-titled Sylvester album; “Over and Over” was the second, and failed to chart.) DJ KON remixes these with a beautiful touch: Sylvester’s vocal is nestled into the chants and background singers that made the original feel so friendly. There’s a genius to this, that magical alchemy by which engineers and mixers take many tracks and blend them into an impenetrable whole. You can’t hear the drums or the bass or discern them from the rest: they bleed into one another and all you hear is beautiful music. The B-side features a slightly shorter, more up-tempo and dare I say almost RELIGIOUS rendition. For whatever sins the compilers at Billboard committed in 1977, Kon brings the best traditions of his craft to the table here and holds nothing back. It’s 20 more minutes added to the work of an artist for whom we could never have enough.