Cheap Shrinkwrapped (Music) (Gang of Four) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Shrinkwrapped

A Grand Finale
I have been a fan of Gang of Four from the very beginning and, after 8 years or so, this is still the GoF album I listen to most often. It has all of their trademarks - solid rhythms, incredible guitar noises and Jon King's great vocal style, only here they have been refined to a remarkable degree. From the opening bars of Tattoo this album rocks. The stand-out tracks are Tattoo, Better Him Than Me [awesome!] and The Dark Ride but there is not really a bad track on here. Best of all, it is really well produced and should appeal to a much broader audience. It is a much better album than Mall and probably as good as anything they have done. If you like Red Hot Chili Peppers you will find plenty of things to enjoy here.

---

3 1/2 stars
The Gang of Four's later releases always suffer by comparison to their first classic, Entertainment. This isn't really fair, since Entertainment is in a class by itself, a masterpierce that broke new ground at the time and has influenced umpteen bands since it came out. I gave a copy of Shrinkwrapped to the friend who introduced me to Entertainment, and he wasn't too impressed (though I bet he listened to it once and didn't give it a chance to grow on him, which is what I had to do). So that's your fair warning, and now here's my opinion.

Gang of Four are a serious band with a sense of humor. Their lyrical themes of social alienation are almost painful to listen to sometimes because they can paint such a grim picture. The music that crashes around the themes reflects that alienation and loneliness and/or elevates it to a state of panic. This is all on Shrinkwrapped. I hope I'm not making the album sound unlistenable! It's not, but it is pretty effective at getting across the messages it wants to get across in Gang of Four terms: jagged, dissonant guitar, at times more subdued, lonely melodies (think of that last song on Songs of the Free), King's unique sometimes semi-monotone vocals.

Some more details: Shrinkwrapped manages to build on the pre-existing Gang sound to come up with a different mix (which shouldn't surprise, since all of their albums have a distinct sound compared to one another). Tattoo, a rather disturbing song, actually has a hummable, catchy chorus. Sleepwalker, I Parade Myself, and some of the others, have propulsive rhythms and ragged guitar breaks. Unburden/Unbound and I Absolve You are odd little mood pieces that capture a sense of loneliness and despair, still working in that cool dissonant guitar sound Gill is famous for.

If I were to make a couple criticisms: The sound is sometimes too clean for me, the rhythms occasionally too tidy (and here I can't help but think of previous albums). Also, I sometimes wonder if the two main guys in the band (Gill and King) are listening too closely to their critics and fans, who all seem to want a return to the sound of Entertainment. Does the band occasionally try too hard to capture some of that sound?

I don't know, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Shrinwrapped is a solid Gang of Four album. They still have a creative, intelligent edge that transcends the genre. Don't compare it to Entertainment (or to whatever you think their "best" work is) and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. I recommend it.