With their limited resources, the Scroggins sisters put the boogie down in the Boogie Down Bronx. Major kudos to Universal Sound for compiling ESG’s best works for A South Bronx Story, a crucial document of sparse, old school funk. Until 2000, the group’s scant material had been nearly impossible to find. The most legendary inclusion is the Martin Hannett-produced 7″ EP that was originally released on Factory (later released as a 12″ in the U.S. by 99 with live tracks backing it). This release featured their trademark “Moody,” which ended up being listed as a Top 50 classic by nearly all of New York’s dance clubs; it was also immortalized on a volume of Tommy Boy’s excellent Perfect Beats series, lodged between Liquid Liquid and Strafe. Like the remainder of their recorded output, it featured the three “R”s: rhythm, rhythm, and more rhythm. Also on the debut EP was their most sampled “UFO”; the nauseous siren trills at the beginning found sped-up use in at least half a dozen rap tracks in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Big Daddy Kane and LL Cool J used it, and the Bomb Squad slyly swiped it for Public Enemy’s “Night of the Living Baseheads.” But arguably their best moment was “Dance” with its jumpy Motown rhythm, post-punk bass, and narrative/old school vocals. It sounds like a wild mix of the Supremes and Metal Box-era Public Image Limited. Deborah’s bass, though not as musicianly, captures the spirit of PiL’s Jah Wobble copping Motown session bassist James Jamerson. It’s that sort of sprited, unconscious hybrid that made ESG so unique. After all, they played the opening night of Manchester’s Factory club and the closing night of Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage. – Andy Kellman