Gang of Four Entertainment

Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favorably and unfavorably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) – all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillistic guitar stoccados, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many.

Coming in 2021 , Matador Records will release GANG OF FOUR: 77-81, a stunning, limited edition box set curated by Jon King, Hugo Burnham and Dave Allen gathering Gang of Four’s influential early work.

Gang of Four's existence had as much to do with Slave and Chic as it did the Sex Pistols and the Stooges, which is something Solid Gold demonstrates more than Entertainment! Any smartypants can point out the irony of a band on Warner Bros. railing against systematic tools of control disguised as entertainment media, but Gang of Four were more observational than condescending. True, Jon King and Andy Gill might have been hooting and hollering in a semiviolent and discordant fashion, but they were saying "think about it" more than "you lot are a bunch of mindless puppets." Abrasiveness was a means to grab the listener, and it worked. Reciting Solid Gold's lyrics on a local neighborhood corner might get a couple interested souls to pay attention. It isn't poetry, and it's no fun; most within earshot would just continue power-walking or tune out while buffing the SUV. Solid Gold has that unholy racket going on beneath the lyrics, an unlikely mutation of catchiness and atonality that made ears perk and (oddly) posteriors shake. With its slightly ironic title, Solid Gold is more rhythmically grounded than the fractured nature of Entertainment!, a politically charged, more Teutonic take on funk. It's a form of release for paranoid accountants.

"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005. The lists presented were compiled based on votes from selected rock musicians, critics, and industry figures, and predominantly feature British and American music from the 1960s and 1970s. From 2007 onwards, the magazine published similarly titled lists in other countries around the world.

As with the other volumes in Blank & Jones' 12"-oriented So80s series, the selections here are mostly from the first half of the '80s, and they balance major pop hits with relatively deeper cuts as a way to catch the interest of a wide listening base. This fourth volume includes extended mixes of Gang of Four's "Is It Love," the Cure's "Close to Me," and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Telegraph," as well as alternate mixes of ABC's "King Without a Crown," Propaganda's "Dr. Mabuse," and Act's "Snobbery and Decay." The CD edition contains a DJ mix from the German duo, while tracks are provided unmixed on discs two and three.

In 1998, Collectors' Choice released Voices in Love/Love Lost, which contained two complete albums - Voices in Love (1958, originally released on Capitol) and Love Lost (1959, originally released on Capitol) - by the Four Freshmen on one compact disc.
The Four Freshmen were one of the top vocal groups of the 1950s, and formed the bridge between '40s ensembles like the Mel-Tones and harmony-based rock & roll bands such as the Beach Boys as well as groups like Spanky & Our Gang and the Manhattan Transfer…