Songs of the Free

With Songs of the Free, Gang of Four’s sound changed significantly. Sara Lee had replaced Dave Allen on bass, and her approach is both funkier and somewhat softer; Andy Gill’s guitar, while still sharp and jagged, is often mixed further back and swathed in effects that give it a more atmospheric sound. And for the first time, we hear songs that border on contemplative: “We Live, As We Dream, Alone” and “Of the Instant,” for example. But there’s still plenty of angst and political messaging as well; “I Love a Man in a Uniform” is by no means subtle, and “The History of the World” includes the classic couplet “Mother had for me an egg/I understood the relations of production.”