Club Classics Vol. One (1989)

Club Classics Vol. One (released as Keep On Movin' in North America) is the debut studio album by British musical collective Soul II Soul. It was released on 10 April 1989 through Virgin Records. The album featured the group's hit singles "Keep On Movin'" and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", the latter of which was a UK number-one hit and the fifth best-selling single in the UK that year. The album also reached number one and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 900,000 copies.

In the United States, the album reached the Top 20 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales in excess of two million copies. The single "Back to Life" was also a Top 10 hit in the US and was certified platinum. It found stronger success with R&B music listeners in the US, as the album went to No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, and the title track and "Back to Life" were number-one R&B hit singles.

Critical reception

The Sunday Times noted that "there are traces of dubbed reggae, jazz flute, orchestral strings and Zulu harmonies here, as well as the more obvious delights of Caron Wheeler's gospel-soul vocals and the metronomic itch of the percussion loops."

Record Mirror's Tim Jeffery called the album "a beautifully pure statement of underground soul" and stated that by "embracing elements of hip hop, reggae, soul and African, Soul II Soul have created a distinctively British sound that reflects the experience and cosmopolitan urban culture of anew generation of black youth."

Alex Henderson, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, commented that the musical influences ranged from "Chic to hip hop to African music", and that the album was "among the most rewarding R&B releases of 1989."

Legacy

In 2004 Q placed Club Classics Vol. One at number 28 in its list of the 50 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2006, the magazine placed the album at number 34 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the 1980s". In 2012, Slant Magazine placed the album at number 100 on its list of the best albums of the 1980s. In 2024, Uncut included "Club Classics Vol. One" in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of the 1980s".

In late April 2021 Sky Arts included the album in episode two of its newly released Classic Albums series. The hour long broadcast featured newly released interviews with the band members and friends including Trevor Nelson.