Gang of Four's second album is a far more jagged affair then their classic debut "Entertainment". Solid Gold is a much more bass and drum oriented record with Andy Gill's static slashing hoving above. Solid Gold has held up as my favorite GOF album. With the addition of "Another Day Another Dollar" this is a must have - To Hell with Poverty is a classic dance club track from the mid-eighties and the live version of "What we all want" with it's 'in the face' bass brought to the front of the mix are fantastic. Just for clarification, Solid Gold and Another Day were the combo released first (by Rollins), then the mix of SG and Hard which I thought a bit confusing as it skipped "Songs of the Free" which was GOF's third album and quite a strong release (dave allen left and formed Shriekback with Barry Andrews (ex of XTC) and Sara Lee (League of Gentlemen with Robert Fripp) took over the bass duties -

I bought this CD a little over a year ago and, having already been a huge fan of Gang of Four's Entertainment! album, I was eager to hear what other sounds this band had in store for me. As I drove out of the Amoeba parking lot, I chose Hard/Solid Gold out of the many purchases I had made that night to listen to first on the drive home (a place of no small distinction). Words can't describe my disappointment--rather than hearing a band even similar to the one I heard on Entertainment!, I instead got some cheesy post-disco 80's pop that clearly had the same singers as the Gang of Four that I knew and loved, maybe even some similar guitar work, but all in all, left me feeling flat and empty with it's faux Motown backup singers and drum machine beats. If I wanted a GOOD version of this sound, I would have purchased a New Order album.

Rather than attempting to return this CD (it was a used purchase) and let some other poor sap pick it up and continue the cycle of disappointment, I threw it in the back of my car, where it fell under the seat and remained for over a year, occasionally enjoying the company of a gum wrapper or spare change. I knew that the quality of a band's output has some ebb and flow, but I didn't want this sound to taint my love of the Entertainment! album.

Although I realized at the time that this CD had two albums on it, I naively figured that whoever put the package together would have put the better album first. Thus, if Hard was placed at the beginning, then I didn't even want to bear witness to the supposed horrors that would have been lying in wait for me on Solid Gold . . . what a foolish mistake.

Last week, I found that CD under the seat in my car and decided to give it another try. Sure enough, the first few tracks of Hard sounded just as miserable as I remembered, but when I skipped ahead to track 10, "Paralysed," the first track on the Solid Gold album, I found the Gang of Four I knew and loved. Here was the next logical progression after Entertainment!, from the original lineup featuring Andy Gill on guitar and vocals, John King on melodica, Hugo Burnham on drums, and Dave Allen on bass. Even artier and weirder than its predecessor, Solid Gold had everything I wanted from this band, pushing the formula to newer and greater places. Taking cues more from Entertainment! tracks like "Anthrax" and "Not Great Men," as opposed to more melodic numbers like "Return the Gift" (great song), "I Found that Essence Rare," and "Glass," Solid Gold is what a sophomore release from a band should be.

Describing why I like Solid Gold is a bit of a challenge . . . it's somewhat of an indescribable aesthetic, but if you listen to the way Gill scrapes his guitar strings at the end of "Cheeseburger," the Burnham's stuttered beats on songs like "What We All Want," the unbridled energy of "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time," King's direct, often staccato vocals and liberal use of the melodica, the interplay between the bass and drums, or the way each song picks you up, then you'll get it. If you liked aspects of Entertainment! that pushed the envelope a bit, you should get it too.

Also, the lyrics are still great, continuing to touch on themes like urban alienation, the slavery of work, social politics, gender issues, and a general confusion/obsession with the inner workings and failings of human social interaction.

As many others have already astutely observed, countless bands that owe a debt of gratitude and maybe even a few royalties to the sound that Gang of Four forged on Entertainment! and Solid Gold. There's a whole slew of newer, soon to be forgotten bands that carry the Gang of Four influence like a badge; the earlier (and better) Rapture albums certainly borrow a bit from G.o.4., and of course we currently see many other Anglo-beat bands that ride that trend as well. The best of the batch, with the longest potential, Q and Not U from Washington D.C., have developed a sound that bears many similarities as well, especially when they use the melodica. Indeed, there's plenty of others, too many to list, who don't necessarily fall into this niche, but borrow certain aspects of the G.o.4 sound and approach-the Minutemen, Mission of Burma, and Fugazi, to name a few.

Anyways, what are you still reading this for? Get out there, pick up a copy of Hard/Solid Gold, immediately skip to track 10, and enjoy!

When I saw the Gang of Four perform live in the early 80s, bassist Dave Allen, a brilliant musician, was, sadly, gone, though in his place was a fairly decent replacement, Sara Lee. The Go4 were true post-punk progressives, who sought to elevate women rock musicians as the equals of men, at a time when this was still a novel concept. In fact, the Gang of Four's progressivism was partly the result of the earthshaking consequences of 1970s British punk, of which this band was definitely a part (their first recording - the Damaged Goods EP - was released in 1978, still the punk heyday). Their progressivism was also a result of their university education in philosophy, and specifically, in the neo-marxist critical theory of scholars like Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, and Antonio Gramsci, all of whose work informs the Gang's lyrical content and sensibilities. But these were also smart young men, loaded with talent, living in a world in which they felt alienated. Seeing them live was great! They rocked, and they connected with the audience, a large gathering of mostly Americans who were deeply in to them. And lead singer John King certainly had the funky white guy thing going on, as he was constantly in motion on stage, as guitarist Andy Gill riffed away, fearlessly and energetically.

Here, on Solid Gold, mixing punk, postpunk, funk, dance, and just a bit of free jazz, the Gang of Four wildly succeed in producing one of the 80s finest musical hours. The key to this record are probably the tight rhythms which the band produces. In fact, the bass lines here are anything but simple, whereas the guitar lines are effectively simple, and sharply rhythmic. Also, the band's messages are a bit less cryptic and thus a bit clearer than on Entertainment, which seemed so immersed in social theory (though, of course, this recording has a song called Why Theory?, about praxis, with the clever split of the vocals between King and Gill). The messages of song's like Capital (It Fails Us Now), History's Bunk!, and If I Could Keep It For Myself are pointedly clear, not to mention very insightful.

One other observation. This has some of this band's best, and best known, songs, including What We All Want (which they've recently re-recorded), In The Ditch, Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time, and To Hell With Poverty.

Solid Gold is an excellent follow up to Entertainment. It's not as strong as Entertainment but I consider that album to be an all time great. Solid Gold is moodier with less uptempo songs. However, the album grows on you with each listen. Solid Gold includes one of their best songs, What We All Want. This release also includes the Another Day Another Doller E.P. which include their all time great song To Hell With Poverty. A great release for the value.