The Pop Group – Cabinet Of Curiosities (LP)
Cabinet Of Curiosities pretty much does what it says on the tin. It’s a collection (or a “cabinet”, if you will) of alternate mixes, live stuff and Peel Sessions (or “curiosities”, if you will again). It’s not quite as essential as previous compilation We Are Time, but it’s a great starting point for anyone else who somehow managed to managed to miss out.
The opener here is the single version of “Where There’s A Will,” which does its very best to sound like an angry Parliament in pain, or a fucked-off Funkadelic, and is every bit as good as that makes it sound. It’s followed by “She Is Beyond Good And Evil,” which is a wonderful song, but this original version suffers a little by comparison with its previous release, and lacks some of the depth and space of that track’s production. It’s still a magnificent piece of music, though, Stewart’s tortured howls carving through that awesome bass. Then we’ve got a live take on “Colour Blind,” followed by a version of “Words Disobey Me” recorded for the late, great John Peel, and produced by the equally late and almost as great Tony Wilson, all disconnected funk stutters and chiming guitar. We also get the Wilson-produced “We Are Time,” in which its infectious rhythm section comes off here far more like Joy Divisiongetting down and funky than the album version ever did.
The plaintive “Don’t Sell Your Dreams” is also here in live form, as well as two previously unreleased songs, “Abstract Heart” and “Karen’s Car.” The former of these is is a relatively low-tempo jazz affair, all suspension and resolution, while the latter is a chilling account of the death of nuclear whistleblower Karen Silkwood. Always wearing their politics on their sleeves, The Pop Group never seem to have bought into the cynicism of a lot of their contemporaries, never more effective than when screaming in rage at the manifold injustices of the world. On which note we are also given an alternate (and to my mind better) version of “Amnesty Report,” its dub-jazz backing in combination with almost Throbbing Gristle-esque slabs of guitar noise providing the perfect environment for Stewart to recite methods of torture over. Given all that’s been in the news these last couple of weeks about the CIA, it’s arguably more relevant than ever, which is the case for the band as a whole.
For a band who claimed We Are Time, they didn’t half make some timeless music. Still vital, still impossible not to get angry about, or not to dance to. Music to build a new world by. A kinder world. A fairer world. And most of all, a FUNKIER world.
Label: Freaks R Us
Country: UK
Media Condition: Mint (M)
Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)