Redefining what pop could be, the label wanted to create an experimental hit machine that could break boundaries as well as entertain. In a way it was a music factory producing songs strategically aimed at the charts, but with far more substantial and imaginative ideas than the rubbish that comes from Simon Cowell's modern day shitepile. The artists had talent too, skills which were taken to odd yet accessible new places with the famously perfectionist production skills of Trevor Horn. With Horn dealing with the musical side, his wife Jill Sinclair took charge of the business element, and NME journalist Paul Morley took the role of PR man to completely unprecedented levels, catching the attention of the public with unusual slogans and maverick promotional tactics. Until the late 80's, the label had its own internal cataloguing system where singles and albums designed with hits in mind were released as part of the 'Action Series', while the 'Incidental Series' featured experiments and more unusual records. Even objects, people and moments that the label had contributed to the era's culture were given their own 'ZTTIS' catalogue number, with examples including the day 'Relax' was banned and Holly Johnson's walking stick.
"The business is as good as people make it... We've got to make the marketplace a more exciting place for everyone to be" Horn said. Celebrating three decades since the company's birth, the tracklist of this two CD compilation reflects the diversity of ZTT's roster, inevitably making for a rather hit and miss collection.
The second disc deals with the label's experiments, oddities and songs that could have been hits if they appeared at a different time. Among the finest of these is Andrew Poppy's fantastic 'The Amusement' from 1984, which piles together varying elements and becomes somewhat trippy in places. What begins as some slap bass-fuelled funk turns into sample-heavy hip hop rock on Nasty Rox Inc's standout selection '9th Wonder', while Sun Electric give Cream's 'I Feel Free' an awesome 'Screamadelica'-esque psychedelic house makeover.
As well as those, other highlights of CD2 include Glenn Gregory and Claudia Brucken's lovely synthpop ballad 'When Your Heart Runs Out Of Time' and best of all, The Art Of Noise's extraordinary mini opus 'Overture From The Seduction Of Claude Debussy', riding through orchestral waves, drum and bass rhythms, hip hop lines and big beats. Adamski's Thing's 'Picadilly Circus' layers harpsichord, trumpet, strings and thrashy guitar over each other to create a pleasing atmosphere, while selections from Das Psych-oh Rangers and Mantra are also pretty great. It's best to avoid the post-2000's choices here: The nauseatingly bland 'Sign Of The Times' by Lee Griffiths on CD2 is an uninspiring dip and Lisa Stansfield's 'The Moment' is (as you'd expect) a bore. While it's understandable that they'd want to include some more recent material, it seems that they're using some of CD2 as an excuse to showcase new offerings that you probably wouldn't own unless they were on a compilation like this. Leilani's 'I Am The Greatest' is shallow and irritating in a sub-Lily Allen way, which is obviously very bad. Luckily another 2014 cut from Aurora fares a lot better, in fact 'Craving' is a catchy, shadowy tune which seems to borrow vibes and sounds from Mansun of all people. Elsewhere we get the good (Hoodlum Priest), the listenable (Instinct, Act) and the bad (Anne Pigalle, Sexus). Interestingly, ZTT also released early recordings by 90's girl group sensation All Saints, or All Saints 1.9.7.5. as they were known back then. What begins as a typically sleek bit of 90's soul quickly reveals itself to be a pretty shocking bit of songwriting, particularly in the lyrical department.
It does also feel like an incomplete document, and maybe they could have instead featured all 45 of the label's UK Top 40 hit singles across the two discs, and released the oddities plus more on another compilation. Since the hits ran dry after the 90's, ZTT has focused mainly on constantly reissuing it's back catalogue and no longer looks forward like it used to, so maybe a more extensive overview of the hits could appear one day. However, the eclectic nature of 'The Organisation Of Pop''s combination of hits and oddities is one of its most endearing qualities. An interesting and varied bag. 7/10
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