The Crackdown

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The Crackdown
Crackdown.jpg
Studio album by
Cabaret Voltaire
Released18 August 1983
RecordedDecember 1982
Studio Trident Studios, London, England
Genre
Length43:33
Label
Producer
Cabaret Voltaire chronology
Hai! (Live in Japan)
(1982)		The Crackdown
(1983)		 Johnny Yesno: The Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture
(1983)

The Crackdown is the fifth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in August 1983 jointly through record labels Some Bizzare and Virgin. It was produced by the band themselves and Flood. Mixing their earlier experimental sound with more conventional dance rhythms, the album received positive reviews and was listed on NME's "Albums of the Year" in 1983.

Contents

Background and recording

The Crackdown was Cabaret Voltaire's first full studio album following founding member Chris Watson's departure, and their first release for Virgin Records via Some Bizzare. This album marks a turning point in the band's discography, straddling their early experimental work with their later more conventional electronic dance-funk output. It was recorded and mixed at Trident Studios, London, England in late 1982.

AllMusic wrote that the album "features the band working a number of menacing electronic textures into a basic dance/funk rhythm".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Smash Hits 8/10 [7]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [9]

Upon its release, the album was given a 8 out of 10 rating by Smash Hits reviewer Peter Martin who wrote that The Crackdown put the band's earlier experimental sound into practice: "Dense, hard-edged sequencer pulsebeats now swamp a strange strangled voice. The sound is panic-stricken and the effect is hypnotic." [7]

It was ranked at number 11 in NME 's "Albums of the Year" list for 1983. [10] Trouser Press , meanwhile, was less enthusiastic, accusing the album of being "rather staid-sounding" while clarifying that their indifference "shouldn't be taken as a blanket panning." [11]

Retrospectively, The Quietus reviewer Albert Freeman wrote: "The production is noticeably cleaner than their underfinanced independent recordings, but it’s hardly less dark, and the added clarity serves to show off the diverse, layered productions, which draw equally from dub, funk, and early electro. Mallinder’s vocals are easier to cipher than they had been before, but the pop tones they would later take on are evident on a few tracks from the album: the title track, ‘Taking Time’, ‘Animation’ and the cynically comical ‘Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)’." [12]

AllMusic described The Crackdown as "one of Cabaret Voltaire's strongest albums" and "one of their most distinctive, challenging records." [3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."24-24"5:55
2."In the Shadows"4:36
3."Talking Time"5:25
4."Animation"5:33
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Over and Over"4:30
2."Just Fascination"4:04
3."Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)"3:56
4."Haiti"3:20
5."Crackdown"6:31
Bonus 12": Doublevision EP
No.TitleLength
1."Diskono"5:49
2."Double Vision"4:15
3."Moscow"5:28
4."Badge of Evil"4:53
Note: Some discographies and CD releases of the album swap the titles of the last two tracks of the Doublevision EP.

Release

The original LP came with a bonus 12" of four tracks, comprising the EP Doublevision.

Personnel

Cabaret Voltaire

Additional Personnel

Production

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References

  1. ↑ Evans, Richard (6 August 2024). "1983.4". Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983. Omnibus Press. p. 459. ISBN   978-1-915841-45-2.
  2. 1 2 Bradley, Larry (4 November 2014). "The 1980s: Cabaret Voltaire - "Just Fascination". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 145. ISBN   978-1-84403-789-6.
  3. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Crackdown – Cabaret Voltaire | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958 . Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  5. ↑ Page, Betty (6 August 1983). "Hi Volt-age". Record Mirror . p. 18.
  6. ↑ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  128–29. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  7. 1 2 Martin, Peter (18–23 August 1983). "Albums". Smash Hits. p. 23.
  8. ↑ Henderson, Dave (6 August 1983). "When the whip comes down". Sounds . p. 33.
  9. ↑ Sinker, Mark (1995). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 67–68. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  10. ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME . 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  11. ↑ Payes, Robert (December 1983). "Cabaret Voltaire: The Crackdown" (PDF). Trouser Press . 10 (10). New York, NY: Ira A. Robbins: 78. ISSN   0164-1883.
  12. ↑ Freeman, Albert (22 November 2013). "Cabaret Voltaire #8385 (Collected Works 1983-1985)". The Quietus.
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