Close your eyes and imagine that you’re Gang of Four: the primary architects of British post-punk’s most ambitious short-riffed/ dissonance-choked wanderings, the most rational and sincere of all the irrational, insincere social-minded punk outfits whose mics attacked Cold War radios, and a notoriously dynamic live act that managed to reconvene after significant changes in both its lineup and musical surroundings to satisfy fans and critics alike even after its silver anniversary. Now open your eyes and ask yourself, “Why re-record your greatest hits?” The answers lay in the lines of said hits.
While “repackaging … keeps their interest,” the additional re-recording on “Return the Gift” holds some associated benefits as well. By buffing the corners of their angular classics and polishing their tight, early catalog on their new record label, V2, Gang of Four now can make an uncontested legal claim over the compositions of their “new” compilation, whereas any profits from a reissue of their original tracks would line alone the pockets of their former masters at EMI. In addition to gracing their latest release with capitalist chords, new copy also allows these anti-capitalist lads to illustrate their surviving chops while informing the fore-focused masses that if anyone is going to glam up covers of their legendary stripped-punk progressive opuses, it’ll be them and not Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads or Bloc Party.
Once the smoke settles, the result of this compensation/recognition-fueled reunion of post-punk legends is debatable. Alterations due to mechanical advances and time-settled human reflection are evident. Lost along with the advances and royalties from Gang of Four’s early albums are the knocky quirks, snarls, and cross imperfections that originally mapped Entertainment! as a voyage to uncharted musical territory and later plotted Solid Gold as a similar trip complete with the satisfying flaws that are associated with originality and the innovation of experimentation. Though lyrics and musical notation are almost entirely unaltered, modifications to production effects and style noticeably alter the songs textures. All is not lost though, for though redesigned, these updated recordings still preserve the bass-driven power of the originals while constructively editing away some pointless backing vocals and constricting noise.
Aside from displaying the band’s still-pertinent musical contributions, “Return the Gift,” arrives with relevant politics as well. Saved from extraction or amendment is the band’s social conscience. Just as the once-forgotten art of new wave and post-punk reference points is proving ever-more significant and inspirational in new music, the political and social beliefs of yesteryear’s punk lyricists are becoming increasing relevant in contemporary culture. “He’d Send in the Army,” a song outlining the inspiration of tyrants, is now as relevant and seemingly prophetic in regard to politics as the driving rhythm and funk-bass punk of “Ether” is to music. To see such influence, one needs only to compare the drum/bass combo on “Damaged Goods” to the same effect on Bloc Party’s “Helicopter,” or weigh Gang of Fours musings on poverty and freedom against whatever the hell Tom Morello is eloquently blabbering about this week.
Complete with an updated style of the “rock the speakers” attitude that first launched Gang of Four from their London flat to your bedroom in 1979, and fused with the same “challenge the system” call to arms that continues to motivate conscious-minded music fans, Return the Gift is an album with all the band’s signature markings, save for one; originality. Though it would make a killer live set-list, as an album, Return the Gift fails to deliver the single defining element for which the band will forever be both remembered and imitated. With their eyes locked in the rearview mirror and ignoring the road, Gang of Four is substituting innovation with retrospection on this latest release. So, If a ride back home is all the entertainment you need, pick up Return the Gift, but if you’d like to find out how we got where we are, pick up Entertainment! instead. |