Jesse Saunders - Funk You Up [12"]

All Music Guide

Though Jesse Saunders will always be remembered for "On On," arguably the first house track, "Funk You Up" stands as a much better song, though it, too, hasn't aged well at all, relative to the work of his later Chicago peers. Sounding a bit like a Prince track if not for the blatant 808 beats, "Funk You Up" is primarily composed of synths with a female vocal that tries -- unsuccessfully -- to sound seductively sexy and a synthesized male vocal singing the chorus -- "those pretty girls/they'll funk you up." The record features an extended club mix that would never make it into a modern club, but this record isn't important for its dancefloor quality, but rather as one of the first experiments with house music.

- Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide