Gang of Four - Return the Gift

Making thought provoking political music is a very difficult trick to pull off. There’s a fine fine line dividing self-righteous preaching and clichéd sloganeering. And even when a band manages to successfully walk this line, the music is at risk of being dry rhetoric that can alienate the average music fan. But then again, every thirty years or so, someone gets it right. And the result is a brilliant mix of sharp wit and infectious melody. Radio 4 should really be taking notes. Having been an inspiration to the twenty-six or so dance rock acts currently flourishing on the musical landscape, Gang of Four now return with yet another compilation. Re-recorded live with the original lineup, Return the Gift'listens like a sold out comeback concert. The track-listing borrows entirely from their vastly influential Entertainment! and Solid Gold albums (as if pretending that the second half of their catalogue never happened). The sound is still bass heavy, and the rhythms are still tight as ever. The angular guitarwork is still drenched in feedback, and the vocals are still tinged with an air of sarcasm. Best of all, you can still dance to it. What’s most notable about Gang of Four’s music are King’s lyrics and their relevance to present day (despite having been written back in 1977). It’s not so much 'protest music' as it is 'social commentary,' the kind of thing coupled with The Clash or Pink Floyd. Take the cynical illustration of a young man preparing to ‘be all that he can be’ in “I love a man in a uniform” (“The good life was so elusive, Handouts they got me down, I had to regain my self-respect, So I got into camouflage”). A little more eloquent and cerebral than the “buck fush” brand of politi-punk we’re offered nowadays. But it’s not just about poverty or war: there’s sex, there’s drugs, and there’s alienation. Take for example the lamenting “We live as we dream, alone” (“Man and woman need to work, It helps us define ourselves, We were not born in isolation, But sometimes it seems that way”). Or my personal favorite, “Anthrax” (“Ought to control what I do to my mind, Nothing in there but sunshades for the blind”). It’s not so much about telling you 'what' to think, but just 'to' think (pardon my triteness, but in this case it’s true). I imagine the audience will probably be divided over this record. Veteran fans will likely dismiss a re-recording of GO4’s work from decades ago as kind of a cash-grab. On the other hand, this is a great place to start for new fans, especially those wondering how all these post-punk revivalists are fueling their ‘cultural revolution’ (har har). While the picky critic in me wants to flunk 'em for re-gifting, I can’t deny that it sounds bloody fantastic. They said they were back to burn the imitators, and they really weren’t kidding. [www.gangoffour.us]