The Crackdown | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 18 August 1983 | |||
Recorded | December 1982 | |||
Studio | Trident Studios, London, England | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:33 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Cabaret Voltaire chronology | ||||
|
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.
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".
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Smash Hits | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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." [4]
It was ranked at number 11 in NME 's "Albums of the Year" list for 1983. [5] 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." [6]
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)’." [7]
AllMusic described The Crackdown as "one of Cabaret Voltaire's strongest albums" and "one of their most distinctive, challenging records." [2]
All tracks are written by Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "24-24" | 5:55 |
2. | "In the Shadows" | 4:36 |
3. | "Talking Time" | 5:25 |
4. | "Animation" | 5:33 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Diskono" | 5:49 |
2. | "Double Vision" | 4:15 |
3. | "Moscow" | 5:28 |
4. | "Badge of Evil" | 4:53 |
The original LP came with a bonus 12" of four tracks, comprising the EP Doublevision.
Cabaret Voltaire were an English music group formed in Sheffield in 1973 and initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson. Named for the Zürich nightclub that fostered the early Dada movement, the band are often characterized as among the most innovative and influential electronic acts of their era.
Clock DVA are a musical group from Sheffield, England, whose style has touched on industrial, post-punk, and EBM. They formed in 1978 by Adi Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemporaries Heaven 17, Clock DVA's name was inspired by the Russian-influenced Nadsat language of Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange. Dva is Russian for "two".
Richard Harold Kirk was an English composer, musician and producer. Kirk is best known for his work in electronic music, and for co-founding the influential music group Cabaret Voltaire in 1973. As a solo artist, Kirk released music under his own name as well as under more than 30 aliases. He also collaborated with other artists in a range of groups such as Sweet Exorcist and Acid Horse.
Stephen William Mallinder is an English artist and musician who was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, and went on to work as Sassi & Loco, the Ku-Ling Bros., Hey, Rube!, Wrangler, and Creep Show.
Three Mantras is the second studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released in May 1980 by Rough Trade.
Extended Play is an extended play and the debut release by English industrial band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released in November 1978, through record label Rough Trade.
Micro-Phonies is the sixth full-length studio album by British electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. Released 29 October 1984, the album was the group's most mainstream release to date, with the singles "Sensoria" and "James Brown" gaining popularity, especially the former, due to the music video finding MTV airplay. The album sees Cabaret Voltaire continuing to change, pursuing the more electro and synthpop-oriented direction they had started shifting towards on The Crackdown.
Drinking Gasoline is a 1985 EP release by Cabaret Voltaire, originally released on the Some Bizzare label and distributed through Virgin Records. All four tracks are featured on the band's "Gasoline in Your Eye" videocassette, also issued in 1985. All known copies of the original UK pressing had labels on the wrong discs It peaked at #71 in the UK.
2x45 is the fifth studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released in May 1982 through Rough Trade. This was the last studio album by the band to feature founding member Chris Watson, who had departed during its recording.
International Language is the twelfth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in October 1993 on the band's own label, Plastex.
Mix-Up is the debut studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released on 23 October 1979, through record label Rough Trade.
Live at the Y.M.C.A 27-10-79 is a live album by industrial/post-punk band Cabaret Voltaire, recorded in 1979 and originally released in 1980 by Rough Trade. It was re-released on CD in 1990 on Mute Records in the UK and on Restless Records in the USA. The album contains a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Here She Comes Now" from their album White Light/White Heat.
Red Mecca is the fourth studio album by English industrial band Cabaret Voltaire, released in September 1981 through Rough Trade Records.
The Voice of America is the third studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released in July 1980, through record label Rough Trade.
Hai! is a 1982 live album by the U.K. industrial band Cabaret Voltaire. It was recorded at the Tsubaki House in Tokyo, Japan on 23 March 1982, and was released on CD in 1991 by Mute Records Ltd. The original master tapes being lost, the CD was transferred from a vinyl copy.
The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord is the seventh full-length studio album by the electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. The album was released through Some Bizzare Records in November 1985. The album's title was shortened to The Arm of the Lord for the United States.
Groovy, Laidback and Nasty is the ninth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in April 1990 by record label Parlophone.
Some Bizzare [sic] Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.
Body and Soul is the tenth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in March 1991 by Belgium-based label Les Disques du Crépuscule.
Sky Yen is the first album recorded by English musician Pete Shelley, recorded in March 1974 and released by his label Groovy Records in April 1980. It is Shelley's earliest known recording, and was created when he was in college. After developing an interest in electronic music, Shelley created a single electronic oscillator with an added potentiometer, and recorded the album on the device in his living room while utilising a two-track stereo recorder. The entirely electronic album is experimental in style, and emphasises oscillations and drone characteristics.
cabaret voltaire body and soul.