Discography
Gang Of Four - Solid Gold (1981)
Gang of Four’s second studio album was co-produced by the band and American engineer and producer Jimmy Douglas at Abbey Road studios in London. Jimmy had worked with many notable artists already, including the Rolling Stones and US funk band Slave. It was recorded after the band had spent several months on tour in America in 1979 and 1980.
Considered by the band to be more “danceable” than Entertainment!, the album includes two tracks, “Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time” and “He’d Send in the Army,” previously released as singles.
The album has been re-issued numerous times. In 2003 it was packaged as ‘two LPs on one CD’ with the Hard album for a release on the Wounded Bird label. In 2021 a remastered version was made available digitally via Matador (US) and Warner (ROW) which was also included on vinyl in the Gang of Four 77-81 box set (see separate discography entry).
The album was widely critically acclaimed and is considered one of the best albums of the 1980s.
Excerpt from Paul Lester’s Damaged Gods:
“Andy says ‘I think Solid Gold was definitely a product of our take on America, to a certain extent. I don’t want to exaggerate that: other than Cheeseburger there isn’t that much on the album about America. But it’s clear that there are things on there that we picked up from spending quite a bit of time moseying about in America and being exposed to American culture and what was going on there; something like Cheeseburger, obviously, is a direct account of us being on the road in America – it’s a country that’s on the road. It’s also about how everybody is an immigrant. That song would have been unthinkable on Entertainment! because we hadn’t had that kind of experience.”
Album reviews:
“Only when a jazz critic uttered the word ‘harmolodic’ in conjunction with this music did I realize why I admired it so. Not for its politics, which unlike some of my more ideological comrades I find suspiciously lacking in charity. And not for its funk, which like some of my more funky comrades I find suspiciously lacking in on-the-one. And certainly not for its melodies. I admire it, and dig it to the nth, for its tensile contradictions, which are mostly a function of sprung harmony, a perfect model for the asynchronous union at the heart of their political (and rhythmic) message. Here Jimmy Douglass’s production strategy is to cram everything together. Compare the more spacious versions of the two recorded songs on their 1980 EP, and dig those to the nth as well. A” – Robert Christgau, The Village Voice, 1981.
“Solid Gold is a canonical record, and for anyone with even a passing interest in the post-punk era, it’s a must-own.” – Joe Tangari, Pitchfork, February 9th, 2003 (Wounded Bird reissue review).
“Solid Gold is one of the gnarliest dance-punk albums sets ever, with guitarist Andy Gill scratching out grooves that make most turntablists sound like mere seamstresses.” – Spin Magazine, May 2003 (Wounded Bird reissue review).
“Despite the heavy irony of its title, Solid Gold does have a presold audience: rock fans who consider themselves safely outside the mainstream and revel in music that faces up to what they assume are unpopular truths. These fans will flock to the second album from a stern, relentless band of social critics like the Gang of Four, but the unconverted masses need more persuasion. And, at least occasionally, the Gang of Four does deliver postpunk manifestos that are accessible to everyone. The gist of Solid Gold‘s argument comes in the first three cuts, in which drummer Hugo Burnham, bassist Dave Allen, guitarist Andy Gill and singer Jon King work as a varied, flexible unit, full of ideas.” – Milo Miles, Rolling Stone, August 6th, 1981.
“With Gang of Four being breathlessly invoked by a fresh crop of new bands, including many who don’t sound even remotely like Gang of Four, overdue revisits to their back catalogue continue apace. Solid Gold catches them at their furious finest, shuffling between the personal politics of consumption and longing (What We All Want) with broader assaults on, for example, US cultural hegemony (Cheeseburger) and the continuing asset-stripping project of Thatcherism. This is worth owning if only for History’s Bunk, a former B-side with incontinent guitar flamethrowing that demonstrates, like PiL, that punk and fretboard excess weren’t incompatible.”- Uncut, July 2004 (reissue review).
“Following Gang of Four’s incredible debut album Entertainment!, the successor Solid Gold initially can feel less penetrable, immediate, and a bit more obtuse. After several listens, though, one gets used to the slower, sludgier, heavier pace of the songs, perhaps peaking with the all-out funk attack of ‘What We All Want’, on which bassist Dave Allen shines, channeling influential greats like Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham and sounding like he’s playing multiple basses at once….There are no skippers or bad tracks on here, just constant, post-punk pummeling not a million miles from what contemporary groups like the also incredible Comsat Angels were doing then, all with a socialist lyrical consciousness. 9 out of 10″ – Matthew Berlyant, Under The Radar Magazine, May 10th, 2021 (review of re-mastered reissue).
Discography
Gang Of Four - Solid Gold (1981)
Gang of Four’s second studio album was co-produced by the band and American engineer and producer Jimmy Douglas at Abbey Road studios in London. Jimmy had worked with many notable artists already, including the Rolling Stones and US funk band Slave. It was recorded after the band had spent several months on tour in America in 1979 and 1980.
Considered by the band to be more “danceable” than Entertainment!, the album includes two tracks, “Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time” and “He’d Send in the Army,” previously released as singles.
The album has been re-issued numerous times. In 2003 it was packaged as ‘two LPs on one CD’ with the Hard album for a release on the Wounded Bird label. In 2021 a remastered version was made available digitally via Matador (US) and Warner (ROW) which was also included on vinyl in the Gang of Four 77-81 box set (see separate discography entry).
The album was widely critically acclaimed and is considered one of the best albums of the 1980s.
Excerpt from Paul Lester’s Damaged Gods:
“Andy says ‘I think Solid Gold was definitely a product of our take on America, to a certain extent. I don’t want to exaggerate that: other than Cheeseburger there isn’t that much on the album about America. But it’s clear that there are things on there that we picked up from spending quite a bit of time moseying about in America and being exposed to American culture and what was going on there; something like Cheeseburger, obviously, is a direct account of us being on the road in America – it’s a country that’s on the road. It’s also about how everybody is an immigrant. That song would have been unthinkable on Entertainment! because we hadn’t had that kind of experience.”
Album reviews:
“Only when a jazz critic uttered the word ‘harmolodic’ in conjunction with this music did I realize why I admired it so. Not for its politics, which unlike some of my more ideological comrades I find suspiciously lacking in charity. And not for its funk, which like some of my more funky comrades I find suspiciously lacking in on-the-one. And certainly not for its melodies. I admire it, and dig it to the nth, for its tensile contradictions, which are mostly a function of sprung harmony, a perfect model for the asynchronous union at the heart of their political (and rhythmic) message. Here Jimmy Douglass’s production strategy is to cram everything together. Compare the more spacious versions of the two recorded songs on their 1980 EP, and dig those to the nth as well. A” – Robert Christgau, The Village Voice, 1981.
“Solid Gold is a canonical record, and for anyone with even a passing interest in the post-punk era, it’s a must-own.” – Joe Tangari, Pitchfork, February 9th, 2003 (Wounded Bird reissue review).
“Solid Gold is one of the gnarliest dance-punk albums sets ever, with guitarist Andy Gill scratching out grooves that make most turntablists sound like mere seamstresses.” – Spin Magazine, May 2003 (Wounded Bird reissue review).
“Despite the heavy irony of its title, Solid Gold does have a presold audience: rock fans who consider themselves safely outside the mainstream and revel in music that faces up to what they assume are unpopular truths. These fans will flock to the second album from a stern, relentless band of social critics like the Gang of Four, but the unconverted masses need more persuasion. And, at least occasionally, the Gang of Four does deliver postpunk manifestos that are accessible to everyone. The gist of Solid Gold‘s argument comes in the first three cuts, in which drummer Hugo Burnham, bassist Dave Allen, guitarist Andy Gill and singer Jon King work as a varied, flexible unit, full of ideas.” – Milo Miles, Rolling Stone, August 6th, 1981.
“With Gang of Four being breathlessly invoked by a fresh crop of new bands, including many who don’t sound even remotely like Gang of Four, overdue revisits to their back catalogue continue apace. Solid Gold catches them at their furious finest, shuffling between the personal politics of consumption and longing (What We All Want) with broader assaults on, for example, US cultural hegemony (Cheeseburger) and the continuing asset-stripping project of Thatcherism. This is worth owning if only for History’s Bunk, a former B-side with incontinent guitar flamethrowing that demonstrates, like PiL, that punk and fretboard excess weren’t incompatible.”- Uncut, July 2004 (reissue review).
“Following Gang of Four’s incredible debut album Entertainment!, the successor Solid Gold initially can feel less penetrable, immediate, and a bit more obtuse. After several listens, though, one gets used to the slower, sludgier, heavier pace of the songs, perhaps peaking with the all-out funk attack of ‘What We All Want’, on which bassist Dave Allen shines, channeling influential greats like Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham and sounding like he’s playing multiple basses at once….There are no skippers or bad tracks on here, just constant, post-punk pummeling not a million miles from what contemporary groups like the also incredible Comsat Angels were doing then, all with a socialist lyrical consciousness. 9 out of 10″ – Matthew Berlyant, Under The Radar Magazine, May 10th, 2021 (review of re-mastered reissue).