»In which I found that essence rare

Hot diggity dog, Gang of Four's re-working of their industrious first album (vide supra) bursts with energy. They -- the original Gang of Four, not the ersatz mid-80s or workmanlike 90s incarnation -- overflow with the corruscating sound of their early live recordings. I want to be this punk rock when I'm their age. Hell, I want to be this punk rock at any age. The new album, Return the Gift, begins with "To Hell With Poverty" and includes new recordings of several tracks from Entertainment!, which have a sort of irresistible dance sheen to them. The new, faster take on "Anthrax" -- what a creepy title for a love song! -- is edgy and even more disillusioning than before: "I feel like a beetle on its back / and there's way to get up / Love will get you like a case of anthrax / and that's something I don't want to catch"; all the while the bass and drums are caught in a lock groove while guitars feed back over the split-channel vocals. This recording rivals their stellar '81 Peel Sessions.

Their second single, At Home He's A Tourist, actually made the UK Top 40, and Gang Of Four had been due to appear on Top Of The Pops, but were dropped at the last minute when they refused to remove the word 'rubbers' from the lyrics. Having retained their artistic integrity but missed their chance of wider fame, they were destined to remain a cult band, and they never again reached the singles chart.

Aside: having a "six-degrees-of-Gang-of-Four" would be a fun past-time. If I recall aright, one of the Shriekback anthology CDs included a family tree, of sorts. How many bands does it take to span Mekons and XTC?