The logic of this release escapes me completely. For those unfamiliar with Gang of Four's discography, let me first explain: This reissue compiles the band's second and fourth albums onto one disc, in reverse chronological order. I wish I could say its failings were predominantly linear, but the cruelty of this juxtaposition runs much, much deeper.
Gang of Four's initial artistic trajectory (pre-reunions) can best be defined as tragic. They announced themselves to the world in 1979 with Entertainment!, one of the best debut albums ever released, and a powerful statement, encapsulating radical politics in a supreme assembly of accessible, Spartan punk-funk; it almost single-handedly gave birth to the post-punk aesthetic still widely mined today. The original lineup went on to record Solid Gold and the Another Day/Another Dollar EP, which both count as towering releases in their own right.
Unfortunately, the band's material suffered as their lineup shifted; the departure of bassist Dave Allen, who went on to form Shriekback with former XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews, fundamentally changed Gang of Four's dynamic on their third LP, Songs of the Free. That album still has some classic moments, but it's far less incisive than either of their first two albums, and the rhythmic intensity that drove the band early on was all but lost. No disrespect to ace bassist Sara Lee, but she was no replacement for Allen, whose style was far more direct. Next to go was drummer Hugo Burnham, which left only Jon King and Andy Gill to create the band's final studio album in their first wave of work, Hard, which relied heavily on drum programming.
In light of where the band started out, Hard wasn't just a letdown, it was an outright travesty. The would-be ironic title wound up a joke King and Gill played on themselves; in execution and content, the album is anything but its namesake. The female backing vocalists who open the album chanting, "Is it love?" are so overproduced, they sound practically synthesized, and the drum programming is straight-up Oingo Boingo. But the really sad thing about Hard is that it seems a blatant attempt to sell out.
Hard does offer one or two decent moments, mostly hip-swinging grooves and Gill's guitar parts; Andy Gill was such a unique guitarist to begin with, it's no surprise his contributions are still fresh, even as he backed away from the slashing, confrontational style he made his name on. King doesn't fare nearly as well: He comes off sounding utterly disinterested at almost every turn, the urgency of his old, oft-imitated declamatory style completely lost, as he allows himself to become a conventional singer.
About the only thing I can say for the folks at Wounded Bird is they at least distinctly separated the two albums, making it easy to skip straight to Solid Gold. Listening to the whole disc straight through, the transition between these records couldn't be more jarring, as the ultraslick pop of "Independence" is wiped clear aside by "Paralyzed", with its sputtering slow-motion funk and eerie spoken vocals. The intense grind of "What We All Want", the sheer propulsive force of "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time", and the wry, anti-consumerist humor of "Cheeseburger" paint a vastly different picture of the band that went on to record Hard.
Ultimately, it's extremely difficult to recommend a disc like this, but I can't give it a full thumbs down: Solid Gold is a canonical record, and for anyone with even a passing interest in the post-punk era, it's a must-own. Unfortunately, the comprehensive Infinite Zero reissue from 1995-- which appended the classic (and concurrent) Another Day/Another Dollar EP-- is out of print and uncommon in used bins (I won't be selling my copy anytime soon). Why that disc couldn't have been reissued intact is beyond me.
Regardless, there's no real reason a disaster like Hard needs to be on the market while the band's definining moment, Entertainment!, remains out of print; presumedly, Wounded Bird couldn't afford the rights to issue that record, or chose to stretch the return on Hard by affixing it to one worth buying. It would have made more sense to pair Hard with Songs of the Free-- they're more stylistically similar, and the latter is also out of print-- but obviously that would hurt sales. If this is your only means of owning Solid Gold, you have to buy it, but exhaust other possibilities first, as Hard is nothing more than a grotesque exhibition of a once-great band on its last legs.
