My Occupation is a revelatory collection of lost treasures, evidence that there is, after all, some justice in the world. As keyboardist and guitarist in the Blockheads, Chaz Jankel co-wrote some of Ian Dury's biggest tunes, including "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll" and "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick." In his solo work, however, Jankel indulged his love for classic disco and funk, scoring some hits in continental Europe in the mid-'80s before he slowed his recorded output to a trickle and was soon largely forgotten about. My Occupation compiles the brightest, most exuberant tracks from his golden-age, bringing these tunes back from the wilderness and into a world which, with the recent success of the likes of Hercules and Love Affair, is more receptive to disco that it has been in years.

This is some of the most joyous, life-affirming music you could wish to hear, leaping from one sing-along moment of perfect pop to the next. At points, the album is so extravagantly catchy and pleasure-centric that it's almost dizzying, with the breathlessly exciting sugar-rushes of melody on "Ai No Corrida" being a particular highlight. Jankel can be delightfully whimsical at times — he sings about exchanging… read more »