Customer Reviews

Tyranny of the Beat Smart-Pak

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what we have here is irrefutable testimony of the supreme stupidity, baffling shortsightedness, and intolerable annoyingness of big label (Elektra) marketing executivess. this compilation contains great examples of absolutely essential and timeless songs of early and proto "industrial" music, under a preposterous, ludicrous, and wince-inducingly embarrasing non-concept. the essay in the sleeve is not badly written, but is much more apropriate in the context of more stringent forms of new minimalism, and does not apply at all to the music here, which is very, very diverse. and human. things begin with SPK's chilling operatic vocal epic In Flagranto Delicto, and move through a selection of amazing 1970s and early 80s electronic, noise, proto-techno, post punk, new-wave, and pop-noir. so there you go, great music that will be endearing for a life-time, packaged as some awful subgenre toss that should be ignored.

I don't usually go for soundtrack stuff, but this is a surprisingly good compilation. The Throbbing Gristle is great (and don't forget Can!). Definitely worth the buy if you can get it at a low price (and if you like dark, noisy, industrial-type stuff---there's quite a variety). I found this at a rummage sale for fifty cents, and count it as one of my great finds of the last three months (even better than that gently used food processor).

SPK, Throbbing Gristle, Caberet Voltaire, Die Krupps, DAF, Einsterzende Neubauten, Wire, Loop and Chris Carter are just some of the revolutionary electronic artists brought together on this cd. Although tending to be more experimental and noize orientated, the tracks on this album capture perfectly the bladerunneresque, minimalistic expressionism that was favored by these early purveyors of electro-industrial music.
The first time I heard this cd in 1993 I was hooked, and to this day I still find a place for it in my cd player. The Tyranny of the Beat prvides some excellent rivethead night music as many of the tracks such as SPK's In Flagranto Delicto, Throbbing Gristle's See You Are (live), Caberet Voltaire's Automotivation and Loop's Collision creates a stark ambience that has been all but lost in the power driven ebm that dominates industrial music today. Although a few of the songs sound a bit dated, which is simply due to the equipment that produced it, most tracks are well worth the listen and have a darkly expansive charm all their own.
This is the perfect cd for those wanting to get acquaited with bands such as SPK and Throbbing Gristle, whose material is becoming increasingly hard to find. So if you want to get a smapling without tracking down a bunch of cd, this is the one for you. So give it a try, you certainly won't regret it.