Felix NEill

I always think of The Cabs as having three distinct phases in their lifespan. There was the early Rough Trade scratchy, shortwave radio stuff, the transitional electronic stuff and the later period slick industrial electro/funk stuff. Personally, I love all of it, but I guess it's this later period material which has remained the most accessible.

This double 12" gatefold package, (their second such affair, the first being the wonderful Neville Brody packaged "2x45" released in 1982) still sounds amazing today. Four longish tracks, one per side, and each one is a killer. Hard to pick a favourite, but "Big Funk" is a super cool melding of their old style with the big drums and loose-but-tight proto-groove of their later stuff. And when Mal comes in at 2:00, it's a startling reminder of what a fantastic singer he was.

The artwork is stunning too, and is of course fully reproduced in the file. They were one of the first bands to see the potential in video and artwork and I had a load of their DoubleVision releases on VHS, all sadly M.I.A. these days.

I wish they were still around today. The last sighting of the Cabaret Voltaire name was this bizarre remix album, which (and I'm being kind here) didn't live up to expectations. Proof positive that you really can't polish a turd.

Anyway, reacquaint yourself with this. It's honky funk of the highest order.

Don't stop.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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