Album: Entertainment!
Artist: Gang of Four
Release Date: September 25, 1979
Genre: Punk Rock
Length: 0:39:53
Label: EMI (Internationally)/Warner Bros. Records (North America)
Producer: Andy Gill/Jon King/Rob Warr
Rolling Stone Top 500 (2012): #483
Rolling Stone Top 500 (2020): #273
1,001 Album Book: Yes
Where was this album in 2020...?
The debut record of punk group, Gang of Four, Entertainment! was one of the last true punk albums during the 70s. When released, the album peaked at #45 on the UK Albums Chart of 1979 but has remained fairly underrated and under appreciated, especially in the U.S.
Drawing from influences like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, Gang of Four's Entertainment! is the perfect late-punk album. Containing stylistic ideas that are undoubtedly punk, such as the heavy use of bass guitar, frantic drum style and the call-and-response of the vocal parts, Gang of Four may have debuted with this record, but certainly became notable names in the punk world very quickly. From the first song "Ether" you're instantly transported into the world Gang of Four has so perfectly created for the listener. The discombobulated, yet organized instrument parts, the almost sloppy, yet strangely articulate vocal part and the pure emotion breathing out of every note is beautiful to witness, or I guess listen to in this case.
The following song "Natural's Not In It" continues to expand on the notorious punk ideologies "Ether" set up but after that, the album continues to surprise the listener with songs like "Not Great Men", "Damaged Goods" and "At Home He's a Tourist". Even though the songs are definitely considered punk, you can hear influences from other genres Gang of Four was influenced by and the ability to mix punk rock with genres like funk and dance pop make the album truly an Entertainment!.
Lyrics containing critiques of relationships, science, world politics and other major issues happening during the time is still unfortunately, as relevant as ever. Even though the exact situations may have changed, the words sung by Jon King have continued to motivate groups of people and continued to resonate well with the majority of individuals. Just for example, "Damaged Goods", which is about a breakup over finances, "Not Great Men", being about opposing the idea that powerful people constructed the world as we know it (Great Man Theory), and many more, the lyrics in the album can be applied to life then, now, and most likely in the future.
Sometimes, punk albums can seem to drag on as a lot of the songs start to adopt a formula, or the sound quality can make it hard to listen to for extended periods of time. This isn't the case for Entertainment! as the songs do differ enough from each other to keep each song fresh and exciting. The ability to make this possible contributed to the high production quality for a punk album of the time. The mix in Entertainment!, while far from the best, is impressive for the technology of the time and how clean the instruments sound for the most part despite the intensity of the instrument parts. This prominent intensity within the instrumental parts is something that makes recording punk albums particularly difficult, especially in the late 70s, which only makes this record that much more remarkable.
Favorite Songs: "Not Great Men", "Damaged Goods", "At Home He's A Tourist"
Least Favorite Song: "Love Like Anthrax" (Not a horrible song, just wouldn't listen to it freely as the beginning is a little ear-piercing)
Production Quality:
Mix = 8.5/10
Innovation = 7.5/10
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 9/10
Lyricism = 10/10
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 8/10
Instrumental Timbre = 9/10
Group Chemistry = 9/10
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 9/10
Overall Rating: 8.75/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!
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