490: Gang of Four - Entertainment!

Year: 1979

01. Ether
02. Natural's Not in It
"03. Not Great Men
04. Damaged Goods
05. Return the Gift
06. Guns Before Butter
07. I Found That Essence Rare
08. Glass
09. Contract
10. At Home He's a Tourist
11. 5.45
12. Anthrax"

RollingStone Says:
Formed in 1977, Gang of Four combined Marxist politics with punk rock. They played staccato guitar-driven funk, and the stiff, jerky aggression of songs such as "Damaged Goods" and "I Found That Essence Rare" invented a new style that's still influencing young bands such as the Rapture
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Adam Says:
While I wasn't as in love with this record as my partner below, I did find that I liked it quit a bit. It's a very dirty record. the music is just raw, (seemingly) no frills rock, though the vocals in comparison, are somewhat tame. the Bass on the opening track track "Either" is absolutely filthy, love it to death.  Likewise the Guitar on the third track cuts through the funky groove like a razor sharp knife.

I love hearing the mix of Funk, and Punk. It's somewhat jarring at first, The Bass and Drums are very heavily influenced by Funk, but then you have it juxtaposition with some overtly punk vocals and guitar playing, it comes together in can almost be described as "a perfect storm". Oh, and the Melodica? Don't even get me started on how amazing and quirky that sounds thrown in to the mix. Had the vocals stood out a bit more, I think I may have liked it more, but honestly they're raw, unpolished and part of the charm, and changing anything on this would have resulted in a radically different record. I'll take it as is, thank you.

*Note: Melodica - An odd instrumental that I had never heard of before. Look it up though, it's pretty neat. I almost thought it might have been a Harmonica, or even possibly an Accordion I was hearing at first, had to look it up to be sure.

Overall - 4/5
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Dan Says:
This is the best album that I have listened to thus far on the list. This is raw, angry, fascist, pissed-off, noise rock n' roll. And I love it! I can see why so many bands have drawn from it's influence. Listen to it! Respect it!

Overall - 5/5