http://www.informationsociety.
This album is something a little different from most of what has been reviewed here, both in style and in content. Most people should be familiar with Information Society at least from the hits "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" , "Think" and "Walking Away", but did you know these early synthpop pioneers from Minneapolis started out with a more experimental electronic sound? I actually must admit that I did not. Although I became a fan after they released their self-titled album in 1988, I never tried to search for their prior releases, and even now I bought this really on a whim, not knowing what to expect.
The LE package is a somewhat flimsy-seeming cardboard digipack containing two brightly colored CDs, the first titled Unobtainium and the second marked as Prophets Without Honor. An individually autographed 30-page photo booklet including a bit of history and comments written by each of the three "core" members of the band is tucked into a cardboard sleeve. (I believe only the pre-ordered copies were autographed... nice touch, though.)
None of the tracks have ever been released on CD and all have been out of print for decades (or never released). CD1 is remastered versions of the band's first releases, the INSOC EP and Creatures of Influence LP. CD2 is live and unreleased tracks, plus a couple of new versions of old songs. Sound quality is a little variable, and some songs are dominated by that somewhat distorted synth sound so popular in 80s rock, but others have more unique tones and sounds the band created themselves. The style varies between experimental synth music and synthpop and while some elements sound rather dated (or nostalgic, if you prefer), many of the songs could hold their own in clubs today.
I'm going to come right out and say it - this release is genius. The tracks are not all polished, and not every one is a masterpiece, but there is a pure and raw energy here, a sense of something new and different, something playful and innocent at times hiding a more serious message, that all comes together to deliver a powerful impact. When the earliest of the music presented here was being recorded, I was a 7-year-old kid growing up in backwoods Virginia and even 6 years later when I had become a fan of the band, I don't know if I would have appreciated it, but I certainly do now. If you enjoy experimental electronic music, such as some of Laibach's pre-WAT releases, and if you enjoy any of InSoc's other work, or other synthpop such as And One or Depeche Mode, this is definitely worth checking out. Clocking in at about 111 minutes, you definitely get your money's worth.
Track listings:
Unobtainium (CD 1)
THE INSOC EP
1. Bacchanale
2. Fall In Line
3. Growing Up With Shiva
4. Get Up Away From That Thing
5. Can You Live As Fast As Me
CREATURES OF INFLUENCE
6. You Are My Hiroshima
7. Running
8. Creatures of Influence
9. Don't Lose Your Mind
10. Fall In Line
11. Signals
12. The Swamp
Prophets Without Honor (CD 2)
1. Hey Hey Hey
2. Hooked On Pablum
3. Nothing Sacred (1983)
4. Nothing Sacred (2007)
5. The Orthodox Pleasure Song
6. XMAS At Our House
7. Disco's Not Dead (It's Only Sleeping)
8. Wrongful Death (1982)
9. Wrongful Death (2007)
10. I Hate Music
11. The INSOC Commercial
12. New And Different
13. Chant Your Way
14. Say It, Say It
15. Growing Up With Shiva (2008)
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