Trying to find an old house track

March 8, 2011 12:54 PM

NameThatSongFilter: A gospelly house track from a mix CD, sometime in the mid-90s...

Here's what I remember:

• I think the track actually had the words "Gospel House" in the title—something like "Track Name (Gospel House Mix)". There's no Christian context to the song or the mix CD, though—it simply borrows musical conventions from gospel.
• There was a prominent female vocal. There may have been a churchy organ involved. Partway through the track, everything drops out except for a synth pad and the vocal, which quietly says "give me the key of hope" (or something like that), and then repeats it with increasing urgency as the track builds back up to a climax.
• It sticks in my head that the mix CD might have been from the Platinum on Black series, the United DJs of America series, or from DMC (one of their releases that was commercially available in stores—not their subscription-only releases). I've pored through these series, though, and I can't seem to find it.
• I think the cover was predominantly black.
• The track was about halfway through the CD.
• The DJ who mixed the CD may have been Doc Martin, Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, Little Louie Vega, or someone similar. It might have been an unmixed compilation CD.

Any ideas? I've been trying to figure this out forever. The track may or may not have aged well, but I'd like to find out...

posted by ixohoxi to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Yeah, there were a ton of gospel house tracks like this in the mid 90s.

Was it an American or a UK mix CD?
posted by empath at 5:40 PM on March 8, 2011

Was it on this CD?
posted by empath at 5:52 PM on March 8, 2011

Response by poster: It was purchased in the US. I couldn't be sure whether it was on an American or UK imprint, but I'm pretty sure most of the artists featured on the disc were American.

empath: Sadly, no. I definitely had that CD, but I just listened to all of the tracks to be sure, and none of them are the one I'm looking for. ("New Jersey Deep" still brings the funk, though!)

I could be blurring together a couple of different mix CDs in my mind. I'm sure of the first two bullet points, though.
posted by ixohoxi at 6:05 PM on March 8, 2011

Best answer: Could it be The Absolute f. Suzanne Palmer "There Will Come a Day"? Like the Half Tab mix?
posted by last night a dj saved my life at 7:05 PM on March 8, 2011

Best answer: There Will Come A Day (MARK!'s Epic Gospel House Mix) - The Absolute featuring Suzanne Palmer
posted by empath at 7:25 PM on March 8, 2011

Response by poster: Hey, I'd totally forgotten about that track!

That's not it, but the style and title are very close.

So close, in fact, that I figured out where I'd heard this track—which turned out to be on this CD.

Which contains another track by the same artist (credited here as "The Absolute US")..which is the track I'm looking for!

The Absolute US feat. Suzanne Palmer—"I Believe"

(The build I mentioned in my original post starts at 5:55. The vocalist says "give me the key of faith", not "give me the key of hope".)

And, yeah, this is still pretty dope.

Thanks, guys!
posted by ixohoxi at 6:25 AM on March 9, 2011

Cool, Tribal was such a good label in those years. Totally holds up today and is still banging.
posted by last night a dj saved my life at 12:34 PM on March 9, 2011