Some of us certainly have waited for this album for years. Gary Des-Etages first came to my notice on the Expansion Records' compilation Soul Steppin' in 1999 with If You Ever Fall In Love. And then there were some obscure 12" releases and Gary looked like he would become one of the many unsung heroes of British soul music. But then there were a few 12" releases on FER (First Experience Records) - like Anything/Don't I Know You - that promised us an album. And the album No Compromise is finally with us.
With fourteen songs on offer No Compromise offers something for everyone. There are pleasant urban-influenced tracks like Anything or Bad Mutha Luva that features some rapping by Bee Dogg respectively Mr Taylor. But Gary's really at his best with ballads and midtempo tracks like Why, a great, soulful ballad about a lost love. Or the funky cover of Change's Glow Of Love (then sung by Luther Vandross) that really shows Gary's singing abilities.
Other highlights are All I Wanna Do, that has already been released as a 12" single, another catchy dance track with nice background vocals by Tracie Riggins. Tracie also sings background vocals on the equally wonderful Dance With Me.
How Can I Love You Down is a fine duet with female singer Sioban, while 2 Much 2 Loose is another strong ballad that tells the story of longing for somebody but at the same time you're aware that you might have too much to loose if you'll start a relationship.
Almost all songs were written by Gary himself, most of them together with Barry Offloh and I suppose he's the Barry Bee who produced most of the songs here. So all in all, this is album brings us 100% of Gary Des-Etages with no compromise. Highly recommendable.