Song of the Day - June 3, 2005

There was absolutely no question in my mind that the Gang of Four's "To Hell With Poverty" would be the song of the day. The Gang of Four are one of my favorite bands and I can't begin to tell you how revolutionary they were, when they first appeared on the scene in the late 70's. Their sound was unique, instantly loved by those in the know; however, I would hasten to add most people were not in the know and considered them a dissonant, unlikeable, sound. I, however, loved them. Today, it is hard to listen to any new music where the influence of the Gang of Four is not felt. If they had a patent on their sound, their wealth might approach that of Bill Gates. Just listen to the distorted, jangly guitar sound, frantic, spastic, rhythms, driving bass, no other band had an energy like that back in the 70's. Rhino has recently released the Gang of Four's Entertainment album. I can only hope that Rhapsody will soon make this record available, so that all fellow Rhapsody fans can listen to the original founders of such a powerful sound. Click here to listen.