For those unaware, it’s time to come dig it, baby! A rare club album that crossed over into the mainstream and became an international success, World Clique seemingly came from out of the blue from a band whose whimsical, quasi-psychedelic name — Deee-Lite — hints at the sheer fun, quirky personality, and humorous flair within its diverse borders.

Renowned for the smash “Groove Is in the Heart,” ranked #233 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 2 on Billboard’s 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time, the 1990 record is a good-time dive into funk, house, disco, and pop waters that never fails to put a smile on listeners’ faces or a spring in their step.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents World Clique in audiophile quality for the first time. One of the most important aspects of the effort — rhythmic grooves, natch — tremendously benefits from the fact the 48-minute album gets spread across four vinyl sides.

The upgrade allows for a boost in groove velocity and near eradication of inner-groove distortion all the while enhancing high- and low-frequency reproduction. Unless you’ve got out-of-print 12-inch singles from this Billboard Top 20 set, you’ve never even come close to hearing how good it sounds.

Side One:
1. Deee-Lite Theme
2. Good Beat
3. Power of Love

Side Two:
4. Try Me On…I’m Very You
5. Smile On
6. What Is Love?

Side Three:
7. World Clique
8. E.S.P.
9. Groove Is in the Heart

Side Four:
10. Who Was That?
11. Deep-Ending
12. Build the Bridge

In all truth, I still really like this album. It makes me happy for some unknown reason, as this was their only album that I ever go into. But there is something about this early 90’s house pop that I always found a bit appealing. C+C Music Factory would be another contemporary example. But there are a number of tracks I still really dig here, such as the highly infectious Groove Is In The Heart, of course Who Was That? and the aptly-entitled Good Beat; all outstanding, first class cuts, for sure.

I even liked the opener which I had never heard until today since it was omitted from the vinyl LP of the time, would you believe. Not so much a great song, but most certainly a great intro to the album. There are a few slogs that keep this from being a 10/10 album, mainly at the end of side one, but overall the music here is just so damn joyful that once spinning on the turntable it’s like all your cares drift away and you cannot stop smiling! So yes, this album, especially now having been recreated by MoFi, is a exceptionally Deee-Lite-ful musical adventure, even today!

Formed in 1986, the trio was led by vocalist Lady Miss Kier (born Kier Kirby in Youngstown, Ohio) and fleshed out by a pair of DJs, Super DJ Dmitry (a classically-trained guitarist and Russian emigre born Dmitry Brill) and Jungle DJ Towa Towa (born Chung Dong-hwa in Yokohama, Japan).

Fusing house, techno, rap, ambient and funk music with an outrageous visual flair largely influenced by the Lower East Side’s drag-queen community (Kier’s fondness for Fluevog platform shoes helped the 1970s fashion revival gather steam), Deee-Lite became hugely popular among New York club denizens, and the trio’s own unique cultural make-up earned them a following which ignored racial and sexual boundaries.

In 1990, they debuted with the album World Clique, a crossover smash thanks to hits like the looping classic Groove Is In The Heart (featuring the fluid bass guitar sampled from a Herbie Hancock song, vocals by Bootsy Collins, and a rap by a young Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest) and Power Of Love (the latter of which hit #35 in the Top 40 Billboard).

With Bootsy Collins as musical director on the road, the band toured (without Towa) for two sellout world tours in 1991 opening for the likes of Grace Jones, Prince, Kid Creole And The Coconuts, and Parliament Funkadelic.

De-lovely, Delightful, and Truly Delicious: Deee-Lite’s World Clique Makes Deliriously Fun Dance Magic with House, Funk, and Soul Music, Includes “Groove Is in the Heart” and Contributions from Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, and Fred Wesley.

Hear the 1990 Club Favorite in Audiophile Sound for the First Time: Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Abounds with Tones, Colors, Definition, and Spatial Details.

1/2” / 30 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.

Official Purchase Link