Gang of Four‘s 1982 third album, Songs of the Free, is getting a vinyl reissue on October 25 via Matador in the US (preorder). The album was remastered this year from the original tapes by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road with supervision by Go4 frontman Jon King.
Songs of the Free was a transitional album for Gang of Four, as original bassist Dave Allen had left the group to form Shriekback and in his place was Sara Lee, who had previously played with Robert Fripp’s The League of Gentlemen (and would later go on to join The B-52s). It also marked an embrace of synthesizers and drum machines, resulting in a slinky electro-disco sound that still featured Andy Gill’s taut, brooding guitar style. The album includes classic single “I Love a Man in a Uniform,” that became a danceclub hit in the US, as well as “Call Me Up” and “We Live as We Dream, Alone.”
Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs told us a few years ago how Songs of the Free was a formative record for him. “I got turned on to [Songs of the Free] by some girls I went to college with, and they not only loved a man in a uniform, they loved the song, ‘I Love a Man in a Uniform.’ That was the song that got me into that record and subsequently, my roommates had Entertainment!, and I got caught up on Gang of Four. But Songs of the Free was my gateway drug into the Gang of Four universe. I had never heard someone play guitar like that guy, let alone write the type of songs that they were writing.”
You can listen to the new 2024 digital remaster of Songs of Free (which includes the 12″ dub version of “I Love a Man in a Uniform”) below.
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Songs of the Free
1. Call Me Up
2. I Love a Man in Uniform
3. Muscle for Brains
4. It Is Not Enough
5. Life! It’s a Shame
6. I Will Be a Good Boy
7. The History of the World
8. We Live as We Dream, Alone
9. Of the Instant