Legendary early-80s English postpunk band Gang Of Four has had a rather inconsistent history, breaking up and reforming several times over the course of their 30-year history. Originally made up of vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bassist Dave Allen, and drummer Hugo Burnham, Gang Of Four experienced member attrition after being together for about five years, with first Allen and then Burnham dropping out circa 1983. Gill and King remained together for over a decade, making albums with studio musicians and synthesizers filling out the lineup, but it was never the same, and these “gang of two” albums were woefully inferior to the work of the original band. In 2004, though, that original lineup reformed and began touring, playing songs from their classic first three albums with the vigor and energy one would normally expect only from a much younger band. I saw one of the shows on that tour and was very pleasantly surprised, considering my initial skepticism about the reunion. The reformed band really seemed to have the goods.
Now, six years after that original reformation, Gang Of Four has returned to the studio to bring us their first album of new material in 15 years. The reformed original lineup did record and release Return The Gift in 2006, but that album was a rerecording of the old songs they’d been playing on tour, and featured no newly-written material. And since that album, Allen and Burnham have left the band once again, with Burnham retiring to become a professor at the New England Institute of Art, and Allen leaving for undisclosed reasons. So does this mean that the version of Gang Of Four that’s finally brought us new material is as inferior as the “gang of two” incarnation that created the band’s noticeably inferior fourth through sixth albums? Where the full album, entitled Content, is concerned, it remains to be seen, but the first song released from the album offers reasons to be encouraged. On “Never Pay For The Farm,” new bassist Thomas McNeice has every bit the harsh, growling, yet extremely funky sound that Dave Allen brought to Gang Of Four, while Andy Gill’s bright, scratching guitar sound banishes any thoughts of synthesizers fogging up the mix. Mark Heaney’s syncopated percussion makes it easier for the listener not to miss Hugo Burnham, and Jon King is as manic and frustrated as ever, delivering politically-tinged lyrics in a powerful voice that is at the same time shaking with anger, or perhaps paranoia.
Perhaps this time, Gang Of Four have learned from their previous attempts to carry on after the disbanding of their original lineup. Instead of moving in a more synthetic direction, instead of acting like Gill and King are the band’s only members and filling in the holes with computerized instruments and people who don’t really care about the band, they’ve recruited new members who can play in the spirit of the original lineup and allow the band’s classic sound to stay intact. Hopefully this means that Content, unlike so many latter-day Gang Of Four releases, will be able to stand alongside their classic albums Entertainment! and Solid Gold. If nothing else, though, at least they’ve given us one more great song.
Stream or download “Never Pay For The Farm” from ReverbNation here. (Download requires email address)
Legendary early-80s English postpunk band Gang Of Four has had a rather inconsistent history, breaking up and reforming several times over the course of their 30-year history. Originally made up of vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bassist Dave Allen, and drummer Hugo Burnham, Gang Of Four experienced member attrition after being together for about five years, with first Allen and then Burnham dropping out circa 1983. Gill and King remained together for over a decade, making albums with studio musicians and synthesizers filling out the lineup, but it was never the same, and these “gang of two” albums were woefully inferior to the work of the original band. In 2004, though, that original lineup reformed and began touring, playing songs from their classic first three albums with the vigor and energy one would normally expect only from a much younger band. I saw one of the shows on that tour and was very pleasantly surprised, considering my initial skepticism about the reunion. The reformed band really seemed to have the goods.
Now, six years after that original reformation, Gang Of Four has returned to the studio to bring us their first album of new material in 15 years. The reformed original lineup did record and release Return The Gift in 2006, but that album was a rerecording of the old songs they’d been playing on tour, and featured no newly-written material. And since that album, Allen and Burnham have left the band once again, with Burnham retiring to become a professor at the New England Institute of Art, and Allen leaving for undisclosed reasons. So does this mean that the version of Gang Of Four that’s finally brought us new material is as inferior as the “gang of two” incarnation that created the band’s noticeably inferior fourth through sixth albums? Where the full album, entitled Content, is concerned, it remains to be seen, but the first song released from the album offers reasons to be encouraged. On “Never Pay For The Farm,” new bassist Thomas McNeice has every bit the harsh, growling, yet extremely funky sound that Dave Allen brought to Gang Of Four, while Andy Gill’s bright, scratching guitar sound banishes any thoughts of synthesizers fogging up the mix. Mark Heaney’s syncopated percussion makes it easier for the listener not to miss Hugo Burnham, and Jon King is as manic and frustrated as ever, delivering politically-tinged lyrics in a powerful voice that is at the same time shaking with anger, or perhaps paranoia.
Perhaps this time, Gang Of Four have learned from their previous attempts to carry on after the disbanding of their original lineup. Instead of moving in a more synthetic direction, instead of acting like Gill and King are the band’s only members and filling in the holes with computerized instruments and people who don’t really care about the band, they’ve recruited new members who can play in the spirit of the original lineup and allow the band’s classic sound to stay intact. Hopefully this means that Content, unlike so many latter-day Gang Of Four releases, will be able to stand alongside their classic albums Entertainment! and Solid Gold. If nothing else, though, at least they’ve given us one more great song.
Stream or download “Never Pay For The Farm” from ReverbNation here. (Download requires email address)
