You might remember these old- schoolers, but chances are you don't. I mean, unless you were the hardcore mack daddy dope shit pimp in 1981 (and so few of us were), the name Liquid Liquid sounds about as familiar as an episode of "What's Happenin'?"

Well, hey. Give it up for Grand Royal, who've just released these guys' entire catalog on one hard and funk- filled dance fest. What's it sound like? Not like what you'd probably expect. Instead of the standard drum- machine- driven hip-hop of the early '80s, you get something totally original: hip-hop with real instruments and a sound like crossing the Sugar Hill Gang with the Talking Heads.

Honestly, though, it's a bit difficult to ease into. Most of these 17 tracks sound pretty similar. The real standouts come with "Cavern," whose music and bassline was blatently stolen by Grandmaster Flash for his world- famous "White Lines" (Liquid Liquid finally sued successfully a few years back), the out- of- control fury of "Out" and the totally weird "Bell Head." Otherwise, unless you enjoy listening to the same African rhythm played on tin cans and wind chimes for over an hour, it's gonna be hard to dig into the Earthiness of Liquid Liquid.

-Ryan Schreiber