The Indian Smiles, He Thinks The Cowboy Is His Friend.
* Taking their name from Maoists Communists figures, Gang of Four is composed of Dave Allen on bass, Hugo Burnham on drums, Andy Gill on guitar, and vocalist Jon King blending Marxists ideologies while mixing a rather sarcastic view of Western culture. Gang of Four's unison is one in which solidarity truly strikes gold, for their pop sensibilities became something avant, and this is the dance, funk excitement post-punk now provokes.
* On Entertainment! Jon King's melodic outbursts would end up sounding overbearing if it were artless; however, their whole disgust with indulgences, capitalism, and the politics regarding sex, society and one's own worth is undoubtably revolutionary for post-punk and fitting as it is in the spirit of their time. The opening track "Ether" is King's melodrama of deception as he sings, "Dirt behind the daydream," with Gill's erratic guitar and Burnham's more structured, funk drumming. "Not Great Men" is in competition with The Pop Group, with Allen's role being extremely prominent, in fact, Allen takes lead of many songs on Entertainment! ("Damaged Goods," "I Found That Essence Rare," "Contract," and "5-45").
* While Allen and Burnham tend of be in consonant structure (with "Return The Gift" as their dance song), Gill's presence is much more raw sounding, as his guitar rejects the conventions of solos or even constant rhythm for strange guitar yelps à la Glenn Branca or anything on Trout Mask Replica.
* In "At Home He's A Tourist," Gill plays on pauses while engaging in a melodic structure similarly to "I Found That Essence Rare." Gill's most impressive playing (in regards to style, though at times "At Home He's A Tourist" feels rather superior) is on "Anthrax" as it reaches something of a deep gradual drone, almost psychedelic and certainly amazing. As the former gives Entertainment! most of its sound, it is Jon King who gives the album its theorization.
* "Natural's Not In It," "Damaged Goods," "Contract," and "Anthrax" all deal with society and the way it reveres pleasure. None of them are love songs, as one views relationships as "a contract in our mutual interest," another detaches oneself from subjectivity ("Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you/ But I know it's only lust"), and one even questions free will in regards to love ("We all have good intentions/ But all with strings attached"). King continues to attack production possibilities and disregards national loyalism on "Guns Before Butter," speaks of dishonest politicians on "I Found That Essence Rare," and "At Home He's A Tourist" he sings about the conflicts society brings upon itself.
* He's at his best on "5-45" as he proclaims, "How can I sit and eat my tea with all that blood flowing from the television," and continues to shout, "Guerilla war struggle is a new entertainment!" What is so brilliant about this track is, aside from their critical view of social classes, is how they knowingly add themselves to the indulgent entertainment they so strongly dislike. This is not some sort of intellectual suicide as it is a realization that does not make them question what they've done.
Through his expressions, King goes from austere, with Gill being an echo or expansion, to such intensity, almost resembling a sort of rapture. With the post-punk revival movement, Entertainment! is quite possibly the most borrowed from album, and even with such an extensive blueprint for many bands to derive from, nothing ever sounds as striking as this record.
Tracklist
1. Ether
2. Natural's Not In It
3. Not Great Men
4. Damaged Goods
5. Return the Gift
6. Guns Before Butter
7. I Found that Essence Rare
8. Glass
9. Contract
10. At Home He's A Tourist
11. 5-45
12. Anthrax
13. Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time (Bonus Tracks)
14. He'd Send in the Army (Bonus Tracks)
15. It's Her Factory (Bonus Tracks)
16. Armalite Rifle (Bonus Tracks)
17. Guns Before Butter (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
18. Contract (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
19. Blood Free (Live) (Bonus Tracks)
20. Sweet Jane (Live) (Bonus Tracks)
GET; http://www.mediafire.com/?0deydeu0bkg
via http://forestroxx.blogspot.com/
* Taking their name from Maoists Communists figures, Gang of Four is composed of Dave Allen on bass, Hugo Burnham on drums, Andy Gill on guitar, and vocalist Jon King blending Marxists ideologies while mixing a rather sarcastic view of Western culture. Gang of Four's unison is one in which solidarity truly strikes gold, for their pop sensibilities became something avant, and this is the dance, funk excitement post-punk now provokes.
* On Entertainment! Jon King's melodic outbursts would end up sounding overbearing if it were artless; however, their whole disgust with indulgences, capitalism, and the politics regarding sex, society and one's own worth is undoubtably revolutionary for post-punk and fitting as it is in the spirit of their time. The opening track "Ether" is King's melodrama of deception as he sings, "Dirt behind the daydream," with Gill's erratic guitar and Burnham's more structured, funk drumming. "Not Great Men" is in competition with The Pop Group, with Allen's role being extremely prominent, in fact, Allen takes lead of many songs on Entertainment! ("Damaged Goods," "I Found That Essence Rare," "Contract," and "5-45").
* While Allen and Burnham tend of be in consonant structure (with "Return The Gift" as their dance song), Gill's presence is much more raw sounding, as his guitar rejects the conventions of solos or even constant rhythm for strange guitar yelps à la Glenn Branca or anything on Trout Mask Replica.
* In "At Home He's A Tourist," Gill plays on pauses while engaging in a melodic structure similarly to "I Found That Essence Rare." Gill's most impressive playing (in regards to style, though at times "At Home He's A Tourist" feels rather superior) is on "Anthrax" as it reaches something of a deep gradual drone, almost psychedelic and certainly amazing. As the former gives Entertainment! most of its sound, it is Jon King who gives the album its theorization.
* "Natural's Not In It," "Damaged Goods," "Contract," and "Anthrax" all deal with society and the way it reveres pleasure. None of them are love songs, as one views relationships as "a contract in our mutual interest," another detaches oneself from subjectivity ("Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you/ But I know it's only lust"), and one even questions free will in regards to love ("We all have good intentions/ But all with strings attached"). King continues to attack production possibilities and disregards national loyalism on "Guns Before Butter," speaks of dishonest politicians on "I Found That Essence Rare," and "At Home He's A Tourist" he sings about the conflicts society brings upon itself.
* He's at his best on "5-45" as he proclaims, "How can I sit and eat my tea with all that blood flowing from the television," and continues to shout, "Guerilla war struggle is a new entertainment!" What is so brilliant about this track is, aside from their critical view of social classes, is how they knowingly add themselves to the indulgent entertainment they so strongly dislike. This is not some sort of intellectual suicide as it is a realization that does not make them question what they've done.
Through his expressions, King goes from austere, with Gill being an echo or expansion, to such intensity, almost resembling a sort of rapture. With the post-punk revival movement, Entertainment! is quite possibly the most borrowed from album, and even with such an extensive blueprint for many bands to derive from, nothing ever sounds as striking as this record.
Tracklist
1. Ether
2. Natural's Not In It
3. Not Great Men
4. Damaged Goods
5. Return the Gift
6. Guns Before Butter
7. I Found that Essence Rare
8. Glass
9. Contract
10. At Home He's A Tourist
11. 5-45
12. Anthrax
13. Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time (Bonus Tracks)
14. He'd Send in the Army (Bonus Tracks)
15. It's Her Factory (Bonus Tracks)
16. Armalite Rifle (Bonus Tracks)
17. Guns Before Butter (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
18. Contract (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
19. Blood Free (Live) (Bonus Tracks)
20. Sweet Jane (Live) (Bonus Tracks)
GET; http://www.mediafire.com/?0deydeu0bkg
via http://forestroxx.blogspot.com/
