Gang Of Four
A Brief History Of The Twentieth Century

 

   I actually have no idea where this album went. The CD's gone, but I still have the liner notes. So while I won't be able to comment on it that well, I have strong enough memories of at least the first half to say it was pretty good. I became interested in the band after hearing Michael Stipe sing a little bit of "We Live As We Dream Alone" in a live version of one of my favorite R.E.M. songs, and I thought his delivery of just two lines had more warmth and sincerity than Gang of Four managed to put into the entire original song. However, despite failing to escape that overproduced, synthesized, English-vocal-fronted 80s Sound, the rest of it is pretty good anyway. Although I'm not sure I would classify them as punk, the way Spin seems to.

    Track listing:
  1. At Home He's A Tourist
  2. Damaged Goods
  3. Natural's Not In It
  4. Not Great Men
  5. Anthrax
  6. Return The Gift
  7. It's Her Factory
  8. What We All Want (Live)
  9. Paralysed
  10. A Hole In The Wallet
  11. Cheeseburger
  12. To Hell With Poverty!
  13. Capital (It Fails Us Now)
  14. Call Me Up
  15. I Will Be A Good Boy
  16. The History Of The World
  17. I Love A Man In A Uniform
  18. Is It Love
  19. Womantown
  20. We Live As We Dream Alone