Cabaret Voltaire ‎– The Crackdown

a landmark album for modern electronica, that also reflects certain changes in the artistic development of cabaret voltaire, but nevertheless is as radical and groundbraking as anyhting they have done before this release. applied dance-beats actually intensify the messages, moods and methods mallinder and kirk always wanted to express, a visonary album on the cutting edge of it´s era and beyond. the albums still sounds raw and fresh and has not lost impact on it´s hypnotic and haunting qualities. where kraftwerk´s "computerwelt" aims for clean surfaces to produce timeless music, "crackdown" challanges the listerner with raw and dark substance, that is a more realisitc dystopic projection of our futures ahead. we should answer with "just fascination".

Though Red Mecca and 2x45 are often mentioned as Cabaret Voltaire's quintessential releases, this one will almost always qualify as my favorite. And the particular reason is because this is the point at which the Cabs went truly electronic and a little more mainstream with their sound, moving away from the paranoid, noisy rhythm experiments on which they'd concentrated for the last two LPs and developing instead a smoother, more palatable James Brown-inspired sound. Just about every track on this landmark album is a state-of-the-1983-art electrofunk piece that takes a few inspired ideas, both musical and lyrical, and works them into an incredibly repetitive frenzy. Stephen Mallinder's once-dehumanized voice now sounds almost warm, though the abundant themes are still "industrial" in nature... drugs, technology, socialism, globalism, urban noir. Though most would equate this record with its standout bass-heavy dance tracks like "Over and Over" and "Just Fascination," it is the variety in the more unusual tracks that make it truly worthwhile. The opening pairing of rhythmic dissonance ("24-24") and alluring gloom ("In the Shadows") could almost be viewed as a segue from their former sound, while the almost humorous "Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)" grants the Cabs an ass-shaking post-punk anthem that is still wholly underrated despite the fact that entire subgenres have developed from its sound. The original record closed with the album's best track, "Crackdown," a hard synth-pop piece that gave birth to industrial dance—and was later cribbed quite neatly by Skinny Puppy's "Testure" in 1988.

This CD version has been the prominent CD version of this record for more than 25 years. It tacks on the four soundtrack pieces (from the Cabs' first video compilation) that originally appeared on the bonus EP that came with the LP. The most interesting of these tracks is "Diskono," a Cabaret Voltaire classic and one of their best abrasive dance tracks.

This is the release that marks the Cabs' transition from their earlier experimental noise & rhythm period to the more aggressive hard funk material that was to typify their sound in the mid-80s. Fans of the early stuff might be put off by this sudden change of style but this album is still regarded as one of their best. Tracks like 'Animation', 'Just Fascination', & the title track are standouts. Definitely worth checking out!