Lyn Collins: Think (About It) [BGP]

Why you'll love it

BGP's reissue is pressed in the EU from the original People Records album. Its title track holds some of the most borrowed breaks in hip hop, drum and bass and dance music.

This edition

• Pressed in the EU
• Stereo mix

About the album

Lyn Collins started singing lead with a girl group at 14, then sent a demo tape to James Brown, who eventually made her the lead female voice in his touring revue. Her first single, "Wheels of Life," came out in 1971, and a year later Brown produced this album for his People label, with the J.B.'s on full, fizzing form behind her.

"Think (About It)" is the big one, a gospel-charged call to action with five breaks that producers have been lifting ever since, among them the loops behind Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two." Around it Collins takes on "Ain't No Sunshine," "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Fly Me to the Moon," digs into "Women's Lib" and "Reach Out for Me," and shows she was much more than a hook machine.

She's one of the most sampled female artists of all time, with pieces of her records in over 3,500 songs. Chances are half your playlist has been quietly quoting her for years, so you may as well own the original.

Also at Kops: more Lyn Collins on vinyl · browse Classic Soul

Tracklist

Listen

On People / BGP (cat# HIQLP 167), a reissue of the 1972 album.