Frankie Knuckles
Nervous
2009-10-20
Frankie Knuckles is a legend, an architect of the original Chicago house sound. He’s hardly into innovation these days, though. The first Motivation was released to provide some uplifting music in the wake of 9/11. Nearly a decade on, Motivation Too is a smooth, continuous mix of a dozen soul and gospel-inflected house tracks. Upbeat and energetic, it is. However, aside from Twinkie Clark’s heartfelt emoting on Timmy Vegas’ “Timmy’s Choir”, it’s all a bit too clean to really sink in. This style of music hasn’t changed much in the last 15 years, but that’s not the point here. Still, Motivation Too works better at the gym than it does on the heart.