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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A treasure trove....for Fans Only!, 11 Jun 2003
If you are reading this, you're probably already a huge fan of the Cabs like me. If not...Its fair to say that Cabaret Voltaire have one of the most lovingly preserved back-catalogues of any band. Almost all their LPs are still in print, and recently Rough Trade and Virgin have released compilations of their best material from two phases of their 29 year career under the 'Original Sound of Sheffield' banner. Buy them.If you like those CDs, work your way through their back catalogue. If you're still not satisfied get this! You get three CDs, covering the period from 74-78 before they released their first EP on Rough Trade, in a beautifully packaged box set, with booklet full of strange Cabs collage images and barely readable text. Put under a bright light..its worth reading. What you are listening to is work in progress. On the first couple of CDs you hear the building blocks of their music. Primitive sampling, experimental synthesiser pieces, and bits of Concrete Music as recorded by the band in Chris Watsons attic.
Gradually more instruments are added, and you hear them messing around with synth, woodwind, tapes, beatboxes, treated guitar, spoken word pieces delivered in thick Sheffield accents. The sound of three, inebriated Yorkshire futurists in an attic...waiting for punk to happen (which it does halfway through CD 2) and gradually finding their sound. By the third CD, you can hear how the base elements have formed the basic sound of the early CV tracks and you get primitive versions of Nag Nag Nag, Do the Mussolini etc. OK a lot of it isn't easy listening at all. But if you've got a few early Cabs LP's you'll know what to expect.
Think of this as a reference library to assist you in understanding what CV were all about. Dip in an out, and you'll find some fascinating material. Despite this being a bunch of home recordings, the sound is Suprisingly excellent.(they had good gear even then) and a lot of it is brilliant, some of it is downright bizarre and often more enjoyable than parts of the first few Cabs LPs. At times you hear minimal, ambient electronica that would stand up today. Failing that, buy it anyway and stick it on your coffee table as an ideal Electroclash accessory.
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