The more I read record reviews and the more I hear people talking about influencial, important bands…the more I feel like I am missing out – because I (to my knowledge) have never heard a Gang of Four song in my life. I’d like to change this.
Any good starting points for a newbie?
Damaged Goods
Producer
A Man With A Good Car
Early stuff, I didn’t much like the later stuff I heard. It’s funny, because I’ve also seen them mentioned a lot lately. I think the self-righteous anger and obscurity probably appeals to kids dropping the name today.
Definitely get the early stuff. Entertainment and Solid Gold are both classics. There’s also a compilation called A Brief History of the Twentieth Century which includes most of their crucial tracks. Pay attention to the lyrics.
I really, really, really love this band.
You might want to pick up a copy of A Brief History of the Twentieth Century -a compilation of some of their better tracks. This will give you an idea of their style and sound BEFORE you end up loving them and buying everything they ever made.
Of course, then you’ll have to track down all the side projects and later bands the Gang of Four members were in.
…for the moment since it contains some material which is subpar. Go straight for the good stuff: Entertainment. This is certainly one of the most powerful and underreated musicical documents of its time. While you are at it, you could also look at bands like Television, The Minutemen and The Fall.
I’m already a huge Minutemen fan, have been since a friend introduced me them to me in college 12 years ago. “Double Nickels on the Dime” would probably make my top 20 or 25 records of all time I was so inclined to make such a list.
I know of the Fall, I’ve heard a couple of their albums. An old roommate of mine was really into them.
Television is another one of those bands that are on my radar screen that I know I should buy something by, but there always seems to be some CD that I want more. Any suggestions there?
Good info, everyone – keep it coming.
Television - Marquee Moon.
I wish all questions were this easy.
How could I forget the biggest hit of them all:
“To have ambition was my ambition.”
Gang Of Four - I Love A Man In A Uniform
I never cared for that song, actually.
My favourite Gang of Four lyric:
Love will get you like a case of anthrax
And that’s something I don’t wanna catch
In addition to Marquee Moon'' (be sure to get this year's reissue with the extra tracks), there's also an excellent two-disc live Television cd called The Blow Up.’’ Bits and pieces of the music on it have popped up before, I’ve got some of the tracks on a record called ``Double Exposure’’ that I picked up years ago.
When I read the thread’s title, I thought, “WTF? Who would be a fan of Mao’s wife?” So it’s a band, huh?
For Gang of Four, just get Entertainment. You might also check out Pere Ubu… get The Modern Dance or Terminal Tower. Like Gang of Four, avoid their later material. Also possibly Mission of Burma or early Public Image Limited.
-fh
Entertainment and Solid Gold are all that you need. Everything after that was disappointing. Mall is down right laughable. In addition to the tracks mentioned, I’ll throw in my suggestion of “I Found That Essence Rare,” also from Entertainment.
I also suggest Television’s Marquee Moon.
And while we’re at it with influential punk/post-punk bands, please give Wire a shot, too. I would suggest Chairs Missing, Pink Flag and 154 in that order. They also came out with a damn good album last year, Send. Check it out.
Ya got another Entertainment recommendation here… as well as Television’s Marquee Moon, Wire’s Chairs Missing and The Fall’s Live at the Witch Trials
Also want to add Mission of Burma… Vs.