GANG of Four: Return the Gift
January 20th, 2006
Gang of Four set the bar for post punk slash, funk, and clang with their situationist rebel music related to Marxist cultural criticism. Their music remains incredibly fresh and totally relevant. This is the record to buy for your intro to the Gang of Four because some proceeds for this actually go to the band. They are dead serious about their work and maybe only smile with the sly smile of those that get away with something profoundly artistic. Wire songs over the years have taken many forms and could be called art-punk post-modern. To me this recording almost resembles a live album. The sound is full, rich and clear. The version of “I Love A Man In Uniform” seems even more danceable and funky now. “To Hell With Poverty” gains a bit in its ferocity. “Damaged Goods” still sounds as good as ever especially when the drums first come in like machine gun fire and Dave Allen’s bass seems even more powerful. “Ether” still sounds like the final warning, so cool and urgent as frontman Jon King and guitarist Andy Gill sing about the “dirt behind the daydream” and “white noise in a white room”. Brilliant.
This album is absolutely essential.
*****
Stay tuned. In late February I will be interviewing bassist Dave Allen of Gang of Four and Pampelmoose.
www.pampelmoose.com
January 22nd, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Essential? This? Not Entertainment or Another Day Another Dollar (or Solid Gold or even Songs of the Free), but THIS? Please. They should write & record some new songs and put those out on V2 if they’re still serious about art (and getting paid for it)! Alas, they seem uninterested in doing so.
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:14 am
Well, this is certainly one take on it. I am choosing to take a look at it from a different seat. However, stay tuned and listen to my interview at the end of February with Dave Allen. Hearing these tracks puts a smile on my face and a sudden dip in my noggen.