Entertainment

Gang of Four - Entertainment

Entertainment
List Price: $13.96
Our Price: $6.02
You Save: $7.94 (57%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Listen soundtracks from this album



(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

Music CD Cover

Artist: Gang of Four
Brand: GANG OF FOUR
Edition: Music CD
Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2005-05-17
Music Label: Rhino
Soundtracks:
  1. Ether
  2. Natural's Not In It
  3. Not Great Men
  4. Damaged Goods
  5. Return the Gift
  6. Guns Before Butter
  7. I Found that Essence Rare
  8. Glass
  9. Contract
  10. At Home He's A Tourist
  11. 5-45
  12. Anthrax
  13. Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time (Bonus Tracks)
  14. He'd Send in the Army (Bonus Tracks)
  15. It's Her Factory (Bonus Tracks)
  16. Armalite Rifle (Bonus Tracks)
  17. Guns Before Butter (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
  18. Contract (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
  19. Blood Free (Live) (Bonus Tracks)
  20. Sweet Jane (Live) (Bonus Tracks)

Free Music Notes for Entertainment

Free Music Review: How Am I Just Now Learning Of Gang Of Four?
Hit: 5 Stars

As I approach 40, I suspect I'm not alone in my utter lack of enthusiasm for the majority of the music that's been released in the past decade- or even two. More and more I find myself going back and excavating past eras of great music trying to dig up some gems that I may have missed. Recently, I stumbled upon a diamond mine in Gang of Four's, 'Entertainment'. I have known of the band for over 20 years, but somehow managed to never give them a listen until this week- after searching online lists of the greatest punk albums of all-time. Entertainment was near the top of damn near every list, accompanied by high praise for GOF as having forged a groundbreaking new sound at the time, a sound so influential that it immediately changed the landscape of punk music and beyond, and continues to reverberate in the sounds of a wide range of bands today who were influenced by bands that were influenced by GOF.

If I had read that sort of thing just once or twice, it may have been easy to write it off as the hyped up gushings of a few over-zealous fans. But this seemed to be a consensus- so I thought I'd better check it out. I bought 'Entertainment' a few days ago and I'm pretty sure I would feel like a complete idiot for having overlooked this album for so long- if I wasn't so damn busy listening to it over and over. I still know almost nothing about the story behind Gang of Four, but I can say that 'Entertainment' has been an absolute revelation for me. And what's crazy, is that I'm a musician and it became immediately clear that I have been hugely influenced by these guys without ever having heard them! I've listened to enough punk bands of the late 70's and early 80's to finally understand the significance of this one.

Right out of the gate, I was awestruck that I was hearing the unmistakable sound that I love, the sound that I hear fleeting glimpses of in many of my favorite bands; but this was the pure, undiluted, concentrated essence of that sound. It's an absolute onslaught of powerful driving rhythms, raw sounds, and tasty hooks. What's so unbelievably cool to me is the constant rhythmic interplay going on between all four elements (drums, bass, guitar, and vocals). Each always seems to aggressively attack the rhythm in it's own way- and then the real fun begins as the band layers these elements in and out in all sorts of configurations, each of which aligns it's own unique aspect of the rhythm: bass and guitar; drums and guitar; bass and vocals; bass, guitar, and vocals; then BAM!!- all four of 'em! And it just keeps working song after song.

This was such an amazing find! Better late than never, I think they say. Amen to that!

Entertainment Poster

Some of the most powerful, energized, and memorable music of the U.K.'s potent post-punk era of the late '70s and early '80s came from the trailblazing band Gang of Four, and it all started with 1979's stellar Entertainment! Dave Allen, Hugo Burnham, Andy Gill, and Jon King fused punk, funk, explosive prog-rock, and literate and often incendiary lyrics into a signature, groundbreaking sound that would influence countless bands to come. The original album's brilliant 12 tracks are now remastered and bolstered with four tracks from the rare Yellow EP, plus four never-before-released-songs-making this watershed disc sound bigger and better than ever.
The same year American college students and FM radio stations found hipness in the Clash's "Train in Vain," a quartet of students from England's Leeds University calling themselves Gang of Four released their debut album. Politically charged and pumped full of extremist theories and punk rock vehemence (and now out of print since 1997), Entertainment continues to rank among the most critically acclaimed and influential records of the post-punk epoch it helped to define. The record is funkified by stop-start rhythms and sharp vocals that mimic Joe Strummer's sing-to-shout shifts, a sound that has turned up in the music of a quarter-century of bands, from the Minutemen to Fugazi. The original 12-song track list--including the vehement slam on media and politics "I Found That Essence Rare" and the punk passion play "Damaged Goods"--is reinforced with all four songs from the band's 1980 EP Yellow, as well as four others never-before-released, including a live cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane." --Scott Holter

Alternative Rock Music CDs

Music Genres
Top music charts in Alternative Rock Music CDs
Maniacal Laughter ImageBouncing Souls - Maniacal Laughter
Release date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Parallel Lines ImageBlondie - Parallel Lines
Release date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $397.77
L.A. Woman ImageDoors - L.A. Woman
Release date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $199.99
Phallus Dei ImageAmon Duul - Phallus Dei
Release date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops: $18.98
Melrose ImageTangerine Dream - Melrose
Release date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Private Music of Tangerine Dream ImageTangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine Dream
Release date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops: $11.98
Ska Explosion [VHS] ImageSka Explosion [VHS]
Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: $16.98
Little Earthquakes [VHS] ImageLittle Earthquakes [VHS]
Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops: $16.98
Exile ImageExile
by Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
Louder Than Live [VHS] ImageSoundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]
A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $14.98
Top Rated Albums
The Smiths ImageSmiths - The Smiths
Smiths; Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops: $18.98
Meat Is Murder ImageThe Smiths - Meat Is Murder
Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops: $18.98
Modern Dance ImagePere Ubu - Modern Dance
Release date: 1998-06-02; Published: 1998; Music CD
Best price: $4.84
Price in other shops: $9.98
Surfer Rosa ImagePixies - Surfer Rosa
Release date: 2003-05-20; Music CD
Best price: $7.47
Price in other shops: $11.98
Double Nickels on the Dime ImageMinutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
MINUTEMEN; Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $12.28
Price in other shops: $18.98
Daydream Nation ImageSonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Release date: 1993-11-23; Music CD
Best price: $2.29
Price in other shops: $5.98
Solid Gold / Another Day Another Dollar E ImageGang of Four - Solid Gold / Another Day Another Dollar E
Release date: 2004-05-03; Music CD
Best price: $5.81
Price in other shops: $11.98
Marquee Moon (Dig) ImageTelevision - Marquee Moon (Dig)
Rhino; Release date: 2003-09-23; Music CD
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops: $13.96
Songs of the Free (Reis) ImageGang of Four - Songs of the Free (Reis)
Release date: 2008-08-05; Music CD
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops: $12.98
Pink Flag (Dig) ImageWire - Pink Flag (Dig)
Release date: 2006-04-11; Music CD
Best price: $13.98
Price in other shops: $15.98
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles