If you were to ask the average Rock fan about Gang of Four, most likely they would shake their heads in bewilderment. Even someone identifying themselves as a Punk listener might do the same. Like The Velvet Underground, Gang of Four's influence on subsequent bands vastly overshadows their commercial visibility. But like that seminal New York band, the relative few who bought Gang of Four's albums in the late 1970's often started their own much more recognizable musical careers.
I'm no expert on the band, and I'm basing these impressions on their first two albums alone. From what I've read, the quality of their music dipped dramatically soon afterward and I haven't yet felt the need to experience that dip. The two albums I own are the landmark debut Entertainment! and the underrated sophomore follow up Solid Gold. The former is usually hailed as one of the greatest, must-hear albums from the Punk era while the latter is mostly familiar to fans, even though its a refinement of the music heard on the first and boasts an equally strong set of songs.
While elements of their sound can be heard before, during and after their rise to prominence, there really hasn't been another band like Gang of Four. The power trio's mix of Punk aggression, Funk arrangements and a distinctly English sociopolitical sensibility was an anomaly in the Post-Punk era, a time when bands tweaking rock's traditions was the norm. Indeed, they weren't quite a gloomy Post-Punk group in the vein of Joy Division, but their sound was too stiff to be considered Funk and not as driving or distorted as the average Punk band.
Vocalist Jon King spits out vitriolic rants that are sparsely melodic, joined by his band mates for unsettling backing vocals that sound not unlike a cult chanting at a football match. Guitarist Andy Gill forges a slashing sound that was cleaner than the typical Punk guitar tone, and more reminiscent of Pub Rock heroes Dr. Feelgood. Yet Gill might also augment a song with Flanger effects set to the extreme, or unaccompanied feedback for a whole minute. The rhythm section mixes or (or clashes) the syncopated groove of Funk with some touches of reggae, with Dave Allen and Hugo Burnham on bass and drums respectively. Allen often slaps and pops his bass, but it's rarely done with the intent of making the audience dance. Burnham similarly doesn't respond to his bandmates' Funk sensibilities with a dance floor-ready hi-hat groove. Instead, he's more likely to pound his toms and bass drum in a foreboding, militant style culled from The Velvet Underground's Maureen Tucker.
Gang of Four dabbles in the same social, political and economic subjects as late 1970's punk bands. However, they align themselves more with the intellectual approach to poverty, consumerism and corruption as their Punk cohorts Wire. Lyrically, Gang of Four could be described as a "thinking man's punk band". Even when they deal with the all-familiar topics of love and attraction, they offer a bleakly twisted perspective. When they're not boiling down attraction to its ugly, animal instincts in "Damaged Goods", they're describing the experience of love as akin to feeling like a 'beetle on its back' in "Anthrax".
Though music history will forever remember them as a cult band, their influence on the Alternative Rock era is incalculable. Only a few years after their peak, underground bands like Sonic Youth and Minutemen learned from Gang of Four's arty minimalism. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain described the early sound of his band as being a mere ripoff of Gang of Four and later listed their debut in his list of all time favorite albums. Perhaps more obviously, bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine were taking Gang of Four's mix of Funk and Punk elements to their logical conclusion, with Rage in particular adopting a similarly aggressive political character.
It took me awhile to finally hear Gang of Four in all their glory, as I first heard "Damaged Goods" around the same time as I was swooning over Boston's "More Than a Feeling". When I was finally at a bleak enough point in my life, there was no better consolation than the energetic release of Gang of Four's angry outsider music.
Recommended Albums: Entertainment!, Solid Gold
Recommended Songs: "In the Ditch", "Natural's Not In It", "Anthrax", "Armalite Rifle", "What We All Want", "Damaged Goods", "Outside The Trains Don't Run on Time", "He'd Send in the Army", "At Home He's a Tourist", "Cheeseburger"
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