The song samples liberally from many other works, including heavy usage of
Rose Royce's "
Is It Love You're After", and TZ's "I Got the Hots for You", which provided the song's
campy hook.[2] The song used the line "Drop that
ghetto blaster" prominently from the song "Tales of Taboo" by
Karen Finley. The
hi-hat is sampled from an aerosol spray.[citation needed] The track's "S express" refrain makes reference to the
42nd Street Shuttle, a line on the
New York City Subway. The train sample used is of an
InterCity 125. The cover artwork features a
cutaway drawing of a
British Rail Class 56, a contemporary freight locomotive. For the North American release, some spoken word samples had to be removed due to licensing issues, and were recreated by unnamed voice artists.[citation needed] The female vocalist is
Michel'le.[3]
Samples used
This is a list of samples used in "Theme from S-Express".[4]
Ben Thompson from NME wrote, "A mad
disco travelogue hosted by a spaced-out
Michael Rodd, this is probably in the top five already. The cinematic horny bit from Shaft (I think), lots of train noises. 'Uno Dos Tres Quatros' and they're off. All stations to
Dartford via
Woolwich Arsenal and
Slade Green and No Messing; a synthesiser thump catchy enough to be
'AE IOU' by Freeeze says this one cannot fail. If you were down and out and had only one leg this record wouldn't buy you a cup of tea, but I suppose that's not a factor in this day and age."[5] Nancy Culp from Record Mirror named "Theme from S-Express" Single of the Week, adding, "Coming on all Seventies and
Cerrone (who could forget '
Supernature'?)
Mark Moore's S'Express follows on in fine
Rhythm King tradition (can the label do no wrong, I ask myself?). You see, the reason these DJs are making such great dancefloor records is that they know what gets you in the groove, man! With this one, you can have a giggle while you dance, too! It has just the right amount of tack/trendy quota to make sure it follows '
Beat Dis' straight to the top."[6] The magazine's
James Hamilton wrote in his dance column, "London DJ Mark Moore leads the Seventies flares fashion with a
Rose Royce/
BT Express-type buzzing bass synth and hissing
hi-hat drive 117-0bpm semi-instrumental, full of samples, quotes and sound effects in current Eighties style, a likely hit."[7]
Impact and legacy
In 1999, Spex included "Theme from S-Express" in their "The Best Singles of the Century" list.[8]
In 2020, The Guardian ranked the song at number 51 in their list of "The 100 greatest UK No 1s".[9] They added,
"To watch
Top of the Pops as 1987 gives way to 1988 is to watch the freaks taking over the asylum: after
MARRS and
Bomb the Bass’s earlier acid house hits, S-Express’s sample-heavy track affirmed the sound’s chart coronation, making the
Stock Aitken Waterman stable look even more square, and stuck one in the eye of London’s throttlingly cool club scene with its euphoric, queer collage."
Track listings
CD maxi
"Theme from S-Express" – (3:55)
"The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) – (5:41)
"Theme from S-Express" (Herbal Tea Casualty Mix) – (8:05)
7" single
"Theme from S-Express" – (3:55)
"The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) – (4:18)
12" maxi, Europe 1
"Theme from S-Express" – (5:58)
"The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) – (5:40)
"Theme from S-Express" – (3:55)
12" maxi, Europe 2
"Theme from S-Express" (Herbal Tea Casualty Mix)
"The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) – (5:40)
"Theme from S'Express" – (3:55)
12" maxi, Canada & UK
"Theme from S-Express" (12" U.S.A. Mix) – (5:53)
"Theme from S-Express" (7" U.S.A. Mix) – (3:53)
"The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) – (5:53)
Cassette
"Theme from S-Express" (7" U.S.A. Mix)
"Theme from S-Express" (12" U.S.A. Mix)
"The Trip"
"Theme from S-Express" (7" U.S.A. Mix)
"Theme from S-Express" (12" U.S.A. Mix)
"The Trip"
CD maxi - Theme From S-Express (The Return Trip) (1996 release)
"Theme from S-Express" (Tony De Vit 7" Mix) – (4:04)
"Theme from S-Express" (Aquarius 7" Mix) – (4:12)
"Theme from S-Express" (Original Theme 7" Mix Plus-8) – (3:36)
"Theme from S-Express" (Tony De Vit 12" Mix) – (8:51)
"Theme from S-Express" (Aquarius 'Party On The Orient Express' Mix) – (7:36)
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
References
^Clover, Joshua (3 October 2023).
1989: Bob Dylan Didn't Have This to Sing About. University of California Press.
ISBN9780520944640 – via Google Books. "Theme from S'Express" begins with a Eurodisco synthesizer line of the sort pioneered in the seventies by Giorgio Moroder and Jean-Marc Cerrone; member Chilo Harlo intones "Enjoy this trip... enjoy this trip... and it is a trip," like the world's squarest tour guide, and the song is off and racing over a sampled Rose Royce bass line and house's standard four-on-the-floor drums.
^Reynolds, S., (2013), Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture,
Faber & Faber,
ISBN978-0571289134, Chapter Two.