Customer Reviews

2x45

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4 star:		(2)
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....the price of the disc is worth it. Of course, as the title states, this is a comp. of two 45's releases around the 1982, just before Chris Watson left the group (to join Haler Trio?). Although their more known work would follow after this release, it was the 6 songs featured here that truly behold the group producing music like no one else at the period. An under-appreicated post-punk monument which it still holds up today.

When this double 12" came out, Cabaret Voltaire was a very important band with their industrial funk noise. Very listenable, with urges of dancemusic from the start to a more primitive feel instead of the later poppier cheesiness.

2x45 is a revolutionary album, and I was lucky enough to be in Australia when this album came out, where this album was an item. Can remember going for a coffee in a slightly trendy coffeebar in Sydney and heard this 2 x 45 in the background. A nice welcome in a new city. Underground came above ground in the bigger cities Melbourne and Sydney and its great alt. radiostations. Already one good reason to love citylife. This album had real impact overthere. Even the more surprised I was after I came back to the Netherlands and only found 'Yashar' to be popular on the (alternative) dancefloor and hardly any mentioning of this superb album anywhere else,. Perhaps the album came out 2 years earlier after my arrival back home... But even so, I find to few people referring to this album ever since.

The chain of great music that Cabaret Voltaire brought out from the beginning up to Crackdown was and is impressive. Then and in hindsight. Although I already have the 2 x45 as a vinyl album, I will have to buy this album again on cd. Just to be able to not have to flip the records over...and to make sure that 2 x 45 is in da house, for a very long time onwards. Dancegrooves, experimental background noises, repetetive electronics as being a modernistic but still native tribe...2 x 45 is as important as 7 songs of 23 Skidoo in this field. And probably more important to the general feel and attitude towards primitive funk and industrial. Also get the hypnotizing Three Mantra's. And...then it won't be long till you get Red Mecca aswell. Go for it !

`2 x 45' finds the Cabs in transition between their arty Industrial roots and the more accessible dance direction that began with `The Crackdown'. Hints of a more propulsive, danceable sound were evident on `Red Mecca', and it's obvious from the opening drumbeats of `Breathe Deep' that this album will continue the trend. While the album retains elements of the Cabs' early sound, notably the extensive sampling and Stephen Mallinder's sinister sing-shouting, the production is more polished and the guitars are less distorted. There is also a much stronger funk/soul element (most notably `Wait And Shuffle'), with spiralling saxophones prominent on many songs.

The clearest pointer to the future is `Yashar'; the most accessible thing they'd done to date, it should have been a dance classic. At the other end of the scale, `War of Nerves' is probably the closest to their old sound, with a more measured beat and disturbing samples referencing rat experimentation and government surveillance. `Protection' has a vaguely Eastern tinge that makes it sound like an extension of `Red Mecca', while `Get Out Of My Face' is an epic, breathless closer, with skipping Kraftwerk-on-speed keyboards and samples of what sound like shouted martial arts instructions.

The Cabs have their fair share of fans who thought they "sold out", and refuse to listen to any of their mid 80's albums, while the casual fans who jumped on board with `The Crackdown' are often put off by the band's abrasive early work. `2 x 45', though, is probably where both sets of fans overlap. It has something for everyone, retaining enough of their distinctive sound to please old-school fans, while being upbeat and danceable enough for more mainstream ears. A key album in The Cabs' career, and no matter which sort of fan you are, you should seek this out.

Mind you this is not a Industrial album such as Skinny Puppy of KMFDM sounding stuff but it is very progressive experimental electronica with alot of pre Industrial touches this band came from the early industrial era with Bands like Throbbing Gristle. This band was a influence to Skinny Puppy and with song 3 "Protection" you can see why the song sounds very much Like A song that would be on Skinny Puppy's first release the "Remission" E.P. Song 1 "Breath Deep" is a slightly dancy overyly experimental number that kinda rocks with creepy Valor like growls. the second song "Yashar" seems to be everybody's favourite on here not mine but the epic Egyptian music and the creepy phrase "There's A Billion people on Earth" "Where are they Hiding?" make it a trully killer track. Song 4 is my all time favourite Cabaret Voltaire song "War of Nerves (T.E.S.)" creepy voice samples excellent experimental Guitars and creepy puke like vocals kinda a allmost catchy new wavish number has a slight commercial appeal but very slight for it is lost in it's Incandescence. Song 5 "Wait and Shuffle" is a wierd experimental track I like the bass guitar on it catchy and song 6 "Get Out Of My Face" is an intense dancey experimental number. This album has Peter Gabriel (Electronica) The Who and Early Industrial (Skinny Puppy) like touches. Excellent album but not for everybody.

Been looking for CD version of Yashar as my 12" LP has seen too many plays. Yashar is by far one of the best hypnotic dance tune taking me back to club days of early 80's. Yashar on this CD is the original version and not famous 12" remix version (John Robie overdub track) from Factory. Bummer so back to listening the 12" LP. Still good compilation.

Along with Red Mecca, this (along with Red Mecca) is an absolutely essential album for anyone interested in the earlier version of Cabaret Voltaire. "Yashar" is, of course, one of the greatest tracks the band ever produced, but it is also just one of six solid tracks on this album. I especially recommend "Breathe Deep", "War of Nerves", and the 13-minute "Get Out of My Face". It's hard to believe that this was initially two separate 45's, as the six tracks flow together fairly seamlessly. BTW, "The 70 billion people of earth, where are they hiding?" loop on "Yashar" comes from the Outer Limits episode "Demon With a Glass Hand". The band also used this snippet on several other tracks later on.

I consider this an essential recording, if only for "Yashar" alone. If you like experimental music, give it a try. If you like later Cabaret Voltaire, this may not be to your taste.