M People

M People has always been one of my favourite groups. The songs they have published over the years have been so appropriate to the world we live in, even though many people have not always had the appreciation of being faced with that blatant truth.

Elegant Slumming starts off with One Night In Heaven, a joyful track. Moving on Up is one of those tracks that you play with vindication after a difficult time... the words "I'm movin' on up, you're movin' on out... nothing can stop me" are so true and are so self-medicating :)

Colour My Life is a bit sad. Renaissance is funky, although it is a bit repetitive. Don't Look Any Further is... just great. All in all, there is a track for every mood.

This album is definitely ONE-OF-A-KIND! If you want music and voice to say something to your soul listen to this. I've been hooked on this recording for years now and it's still the BEST! HATS OFF TO THE M-PEOPLE ! for giving me what I want..... ! Thanks !

If you are one of the disco fanatics of the eighties then these music tracks are for you. Definitely the music of the eighties revived with added touch of new age music technology. The beats are felt and the melody danceable. First time listeners would instantly feel the groove! M People would probably mean "Music People" as in real dance music!

Ever since 1991, when M People hit the music scene with Northern Soul, people for all walks of life have flocked to listen to them. One of the most memborable classic albums by M People is Elegant Slumming. Winning the Mercury Music Prize, by beating off groups like Pulp and Blur, M People have taken the world with storm with Elegant Slumming.END

A friend of mine who has a vast collection of music gave me the CD to check out and I was immediately hooked. On many of the tracks you find that you are tapping or moving some part of your body without even realizing it. Not a wrong move in any song and that's rare indeed. So... not a serious CD but definitely a must when you just want to have something to get your groove on.

The great Jazz saxophone genius who influenced so many tenor sax players said, "play yourself!" Which leads me to Heather Small. I first discovered her as she knocked my socks off singing the old Tom Jones 60's hit-I Who Have Nothing. It's part of a British tribute to American songwriting legends Lieber and Stoller. While all the current divas sing by not ever ending a note but fly unemcumbered into the stratasphere and never a brethe. Well Small sings in the range of the middle and often lower register. She stops for words! She sounds very much like the great Nina Simone and has a way of scooping n otes very reminiscent of Cher. And Cher is a much better singer than she is given credit for. Small and M People are refreshingly original, and side man Chris "Snake" Davis is an added thrill.

Mike Pickering's UK dance/soul act M People fronted by ex-Hot House vocalist Heather Small were an integral part of Britain's soundtrack in the 1990s. Clocking up an amazing 18 top 40 hits, and 3 major albums that spent the better part of the decade in the charts its hard not to see why. Despite all the hits the act amazingly never had a UK #1 single!

This release "Ultimate Collection" is an update from 2000's "The best of M People" which attempts to cover the M People's single output from 1993-2000 as well as Heather Small's solo work. This release perplexed me. Fans who bought the original "Best of M People" were excited to get 3 new songs but complained that the release omitted smaller hits "excited" and "love rendezvous"- the latter a hard to find single and very much different from the version that appeared on "Bizarre fruit". With the "ultimate collection" the label listened to fans and included the two tracks but then cut "dreaming" and the top 10 single "itchycoo park" which doesnt make sense.

Regardless of the track listing casual fans and listeners will find this to be an amazing album (especially those who passed on Heather's solo album "proud") as all the major hits are here including their worldwide hit "moving on up". For those looking for an upbeat positive dance/ soul album "ultimate collection" by the M People is definetly worth the import price.

First, a slight criticism. Like too many "Best of" albums, it includes songs I'd never heard before - at least not by the artists in question. I thought Mpeople had more hits than this album presents.

As for the content, I love the sound of Heather Small's voice. It was made for Jazz and I'd like to hear her explore that genre. Mpeople's music is all Euro-pop, up-beat, joyous dance music.

Their sound is all their own - and one I wish we could hear more often.

I bought my CD way back 2000 when I was still in the Philippines. Two of my friends have it and I got lucky listening to the album one time in my pal's car. Ever since that time, I was mesmerized by every song of the album. I had to go to the States at 2001 and bought another one just incase my old one wears out. Only this album had made me buy a duplicate reserved copy just in case something happens to my original one. By the way, my mom has the album also and she dances to the tunes every single morning during her exercise regimen. IT's a fantastic album!

You'd think that with all the technology available today they'd be able to get Big Heather's vocals in tune with her backing band.

I bought my CD way back 2000 when I was still in the Philippines. Two of my friends have it and I got lucky listening to the album one time in my pal's car. Ever since that time, I was mesmerized by every song of the album. I had to go to the States at 2001 and bought another one just incase my old one wears out. Only this album had made me buy a duplicate reserved copy for any untoward eventuality that might happen to it. By the way, my mom has the album also and she dances to the tunes every single morning during her exercise regimen. IT's a fantastic album!

For Filipinos, this is the perennial album being played in
Ayala Station of the MRT!

This is great music for dancing by yourself (MOVIN' ON UP) or singing in your car (HOW CAN I LOVE YOU MORE)or if you need inspiration (SEARCH FOR THE HERO) or a theme song for you and your lover (JUST FOR YOU). A fantastic album of the group's best songs!

I had this cassett tape and my tape player ate it so I ordered the CD. I love M People!! This is a fabulous CD and I plan to buy many more of their CD's!!! Heather Small, the lead singer has a Beautiful rich voice. I think everyone would love this group, especially women. The songs are positive and empowering.

It took me a while to decide to pay the extra money for this import, but when I did, I wasn't disappointed. This is easily their best album yet (not counting the Best Of collection). Its quite a shame that their U.S. Label never released this great album, instead offering the pointless "Testify" bit of everything collection. However, the tracks "Last night 10,000", "Rhythm and blues", and "Believe It" offer more than enough reason for any true M People fan to purchase this instead of "Testify", and in addition to "Best Of".

From the opening strings of Just For You to the last broken beat of Avalon Fresco is another classic M People album, again delivering their timeless virtues of structure, performance and passion. It is also another musical advance for a band that will never be content with the status quo. As founder member of M People Mike Pickering declares "Everything we do, we feel, has to be better than what we've done before, and we certainly feel it here"

Recorded primarily at The Strongroom in East London [as were the previous two albums, Bizarre Fruit and Elegant Slumming] with trips to the leafy surrounds of Surrey's Ridge Farm Studios and the very urban Chun King Studios in New York's Lower West Side, Fresco. contains eleven original songs and one very startling adaptation.

Fans of M People's ability to stir the soul with songs such as Bizarre Fruit's Search For The Hero will luxuriate in the depths of songs such as Smile, Last Night 10,000 and the first single Just For You, with it's acoustic guitar, sweeping strings, insistent vocal refrain all building to a fantastic choral climax. There are few Bands as capable of lifting the spirit; Angel Street and Fantasy Island do just that, with their pace, drive and eternal messages of the need for both self-reliance and co-operation. The change of pace and rhythms carries on with bubbling reggae of Lonely and the ultra-contemporary drum + bass re-working of Roxy Music's Avalon, the stunning cover that closes out Fresco.

Fresco is M People's fourth album in their impressive career and like its predecessors was written, demoed and recorded in part at Paul Heard's North London house. Continuing another tradition the Band produced the album themselves assisted by a stellar list of old friends and new accomplices; engineering credits include Warren Riker [The Fugees], Neil McClennan [The Prodigy], Phil Bodger [The Lighthouse Family] and David Sussman [Mariah Carey].

Guest musicians include Pickering's long-time Manchester cohort Johnny Marr, who plays guitar on three tracks, Chris `Snake' Davis [familiar to anyone who has witnessed the M People live show] who plays sax and flute throughout and Terry Burrus, the legendary American keyboard player who's CV [including work with artists of the stature of Miles Davis] tells its own story. Backing vocals have been handled by the likes of Will Downing, Danny Madden, Carroll Thompson and Claudia Fontaine - singers all notable for their inidividual careers.

M People have notched up an incredible five million album sales in their six year career with eight Top 10 singles in the UK alone. From 1991's How Can I Love You More through an unbroken string of hits M People have forged a unique sound made instantly recognisable by Heather Small's extraordinary voice. The 1992 debut album Northern Soul showcased both the attitude and the ability of M People and earned them a prestigious UK `Brit Award' for Best Dance Band. The unbeatable combination of great songs and great live shows carried through with the Band's second album Elegant Slumming, a record that managed, as few others ever have, to achieve both mainstream success in the form of triple-platinum UK sales and critical success by winning the Mercury Music Prize for 1993. The forward march continued with M People's third album Bizarre Fruit; sales are two million and still rising and it spent an unbroken two-and-a-half years in the UK Top40 album chart, pushed along by a combination of spectacular stadium shows, four hit singles, massive airplay and the bonus of a Peugeot TV ad that utilized Search For The Hero to stunning effect.

History and chemistry might not be everyone's favourite subjects but they come together in the bond between the four members of M People to create a winning formula. Mike Pickering, whose initials create the basis of the Band's name, was a legend to Club-goers Worldwide before the Band ever existed for his tenure at The Hacienda club in Manchester. His leadership of seminal Bands such as Quando Quango [who had Billboard Club hits back in the mid-Eighties] and T-Coy [creators of arguably the very first UK House record Carino] ably qualifies him for his current responsibilities. Heather Small was only ever going to be one thing in life - a Star. She had already garnered plaudits for her singing with UK Eighties soul trio Hot!House. Paul Heard's musical dues were earnt playing keyboards, bass and programming with Orange Juice and Working Week. The final piece in the jigsaw is filled by Shovell, former percussionist with South London ensemble Natural Life and now all-round human dynamo!

This is their first attempt at R&B, and the critics sadly described it as a failure. I do admit that I like the normal bellowing of Heather more than the R&B Heather. This does not mean that this album is not good! If you really want to hear the 'old' M People then you can listen to the tracks 'Fantasy Island', 'Angel St' and 'Bohemia'. They are the typical M People happy dance songs. 'Just For You' is a beautiful ballad, laden with wonderful lyrics and has a very good musical arrangement. 'Never Mind Love' is a cross between the 'old' and 'new' M People. Though this album is more geared towards R&B, don't expect to find anything like Brandy and Monica in it.

This is a great new twist on classic M People hits! It is the perfect CD to have as background music for a coctail party.

In the early/mid 1990s M People exploded into the British charts as at least 5 hit singles from their 5-star debut CD titled "Elegant Slumming." Two of said singles ("Moving on Up" and "One Night in Heaven") became U.S. dance club smashes, but unfortunately they never caught on as they did in their homeland, while much less deserving acts managed to cross the Atlantic. They followed it up with the almost equally contagious "Bizzare Fruit". Then came "Fresco", but it is still only available as an import as by that time Epic records basically gave up on them with regard to crossing over to the U.S. It is a shame that only a few people really got a chance to hear these guys do their thing as they are probably the best "dance act" of this era as they blended British house with strong dozes of R&B, down tempo soul, gospel, disco, and even some electronica to create a fully original and instantly recognizable sound. The lead singer, Heather Small, has a warm and powerful voice that has to be heard to be believed.

So after this glowing introduction, you may ask why only three stars? The answer is that in 1998 BMG (their record company in the UK) released an amazing 17 song compilation, while in 1999 Epic had the audacity to jump on the coattails of this release with "Testify", which (almost down to the picture on the cover) is also a greatest hits collection. The huge problem is that it only has 12 songs, completely overlooks essential hits ("One Night In Heaven,", "Open Your Heart," and "Don't Look Any Further") just to make a few), and has meandering remixes of other key songs that don't do justice to the originals (with the exception of the remix of "Sight For Sore Eyes," which is awesome).

If you have not heard these guys before or just want to have their best work, DO NOT buy this and get your hands on the imported "Best Of M People," which you can find at reasonable prices if you look for it. That release earns 5++++ stars. This one is fine if it were not a derivative version of a much better release that should have been the only one released by Epic.

I agree with some of the feedback written by other MPEOPLE fans about this CD. What I am curious about is why the greatest hits CD is not offered by AmAZON????? It is clearly the best MPEOPEL recording around. It took several trips to specialty shops, I think it is hard because it was an import that was intended only for the brits!! Clearly MPEOPLE hass broken incredible boundries through their music and acute selection of lyrics, I can think of only Tracy Chapman and Natalie Merchent comming close to the socail impacts that MPEOPLE is breaking through with. Fantasy Islans is a good exampe of drawing critical social issues in to a song, the words are incredible.

Thanks MPEOPLE for countless hours of relaxation and enjoyment!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have been a loyal m people fan for quite some time now...was very excited to see this new ced..but was a bit miffed with the remixes of songs i already had...but 'testify' and 'dreaming' make up for it. i love listening to 'dreaming' really loud on my way back from a hard days' work!

I am a huge M People fan but am a bit disappointed in their latest release. I was hoping for more upbeat songs. Many of the track are remakes or remixes of other artists or old M People stuff. I would much rather hear new and original tracks. Bring us some new stuff M People!

I love so many of the songs on this CD, especially "Testify", "Dreaming", and "Angel St". One thing I don't like about it is the inclusion of the remixes. What is the point? Perhaps they are a bit interesting, but I would have much rather had more tracks from "Fresco". In some ways, I don't see the logic behind this track selection. Ok, so it includes the three new songs from the import "Best Of" and the three singles from the import "Fresco". Great, but what was the logic behind the other tracks? Hmm, should this be the U.S. release of "Fresco"? Well maybe, let's through in two more album tracks. Or should it be a "best of"? Perhaps, lets include two singles from "Bizarre Fruit". Or should it be a remix album? Ok, that too, we'll add three pointless remixes. I am planning to just buy "Best Of" to get the shorter radio versions of some of their earlier tracks, and "Fresco" to get the other album tracks, so in the end, I really won't have any need for this CD. It does have a lot of great songs on it though.

M People has always been one of my favourite groups. The songs they have published over the years have been so appropriate to the world we live in, even though many people have not always had the appreciation of being faced with that blatant truth.

Elegant Slumming starts off with One Night In Heaven, a joyful track. Moving on Up is one of those tracks that you play with vindication after a difficult time... the words "I'm movin' on up, you're movin' on out... nothing can stop me" are so true and are so self-medicating :)

Colour My Life is a bit sad. Renaissance is funky, although it is a bit repetitive. Don't Look Any Further is... just great. All in all, there is a track for every mood.

This album is definitely ONE-OF-A-KIND! If you want music and voice to say something to your soul listen to this. I've been hooked on this recording for years now and it's still the BEST! HATS OFF TO THE M-PEOPLE ! for giving me what I want..... ! Thanks !

If you are one of the disco fanatics of the eighties then these music tracks are for you. Definitely the music of the eighties revived with added touch of new age music technology. The beats are felt and the melody danceable. First time listeners would instantly feel the groove! M People would probably mean "Music People" as in real dance music!

Ever since 1991, when M People hit the music scene with Northern Soul, people for all walks of life have flocked to listen to them. One of the most memborable classic albums by M People is Elegant Slumming. Winning the Mercury Music Prize, by beating off groups like Pulp and Blur, M People have taken the world with storm with Elegant Slumming.END

A friend of mine who has a vast collection of music gave me the CD to check out and I was immediately hooked. On many of the tracks you find that you are tapping or moving some part of your body without even realizing it. Not a wrong move in any song and that's rare indeed. So... not a serious CD but definitely a must when you just want to have something to get your groove on.