Two classic CD's from 1994 here. Well, sort of anyway. If I recall correctly, Paul Holden's "Happy to be Hard" was originally released on tape in 1994. The edition posted here is dated 1997, and trumpets its status as "the first ever CD released by Australia's #1 DJ Paul Holden, remastered and edited into a 'Gold' collectors edition". Having never owned a copy of the tape edition I don't recall whether it differs greatly from the original, but I presume it's the same. The mix itself is nicely summed up by the puffery on the rear of the CD case: "This mix captures the essence of Happy Hard Bouncy Beats that is Australia's party scene". Although it's a pretty Sydney-centric view of Australia's party scene if you ask me.
"Jumpin' Jack in the Box" is my pick of the two. I can't listen to it without thinking about the period around Christmas and New Years '94/'95. To me, it's the real deal of the rave sound from that time. The predominant happy hardcore sound of the day features front and centre, but the mix itself offers so much more - bouncy techno, Noom-style hard trance, UK breakbeat. Despite the style jumps, the mix itself is (for the most part) quite tight and sounds fantastic today, probably because it doesn't rely on anthem after anthem after anthem to keep the energy levels going.
Download Jumpin' Jack - "Jack in the Box"
Download Paul Holden - "Happy to be Hard Gold"
