Songs of the Free

1982 studio album by Gang of Four

Songs of the Free

Studio album by

Gang of Four

Released| May 1982
Recorded| March 1982
Studio| Ridge Farm Studios, Dorking, Surrey
Genre|

* Post-punk
* dance-punk
* new wave

Length| 39:32
Label| EMI
Producer| Andy Gill, Mike Howlett, Jon King
Gang of Four chronology
| Solid Gold
(1981)  | Songs of the Free
(1982)  | Hard
(1983)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Rolling Stone| [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide| [3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide| 8/10[4]
The Village Voice| A−[5]

Songs of the Free is the third studio album by Gang of Four, released in 1982.

It is their first recording with Sara Lee as bassist, replacing Dave Allen. The album also marks a shift towards R&B or funk music, and away from the more abrasive elements in their earlier albums.

In 1996, Infinite Zero Archive/American Recordings label issued it on CD, with two bonus tracks, and with a slightly changed song order (swapping the positions of "Muscle for Brains" and "We Live as We Dream, Alone"), and mistitling "I Love a Man in a Uniform" as "I Love a Man in Uniform." EMI reissued the album on CD in 2008 with the original song order and no bonus tracks.

Pitchfork listed Songs of the Free as 99th best album of the 1980s.[6] Rhino Records re-released Songs of the Free in limited edition of 6,250 on 180-gram blue, purple, and yellow splattered vinyl for Black Friday Record Store Day 2015\.

## Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Andy Gill and Jon King
All songs written at Mount Pleasant Studios, 38 Mount Pleasant, London E1; with special assistance from Jon Astrop

Side one

1. "Call Me Up" – 3:35
2. "I Love a Man in a Uniform" – 4:06
3. "Muscle for Brains" – 3:17
4. "It Is Not Enough" – 3:27
5. "Life! It's a Shame" – 5:06

Side two

1.   2. "I Will Be a Good Boy" – 3:52
3. "The History of the World" – 4:40
4. "We Live as We Dream, Alone" – 3:37
5. "Of the Instant" – 4:58

### 1996 bonus tracks[edit]

1.   2. "The World at Fault" – 3:38
3. "I Love a Man in a Uniform" (dub) – 4:48

## Personnel[edit]

Gang of Four

* Hugo Burnham – drums, percussion
* Andrew Gill – guitar, vocals
* Jon King – vocals, melodica
* Sara Lee – bass, backing vocals

with:

* Stevie Lange – backing vocals
* Joy Yates – backing vocals

Technical

* Simon Smart, Walter Samuel - engineer
* Shot That Tiger! - art direction, design
* Colin Barker - photography

## Charts[edit]

Album

Year  | Chart  | Position

|
|

1982  | Billboard Pop Albums  | 175

Single

Year  | Single  | Chart  | Position

|
|
|

1982  | "I Love a Man in a Uniform"  | Billboard Club Play Singles  | 27
1982  | "I Love a Man in a Uniform"  | UK Singles Charts  | 65

## References[edit]

1. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Songs of the Free – Gang of Four". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
2. ^ Pareles, Jon (8 July 1982). "Gang of Four: Songs Of The Free". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 April 2003. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
3. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Gang of Four". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 321–22. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
4. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
5. ^ Christgau, Robert (10 August 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
6. ^ "Top 100 albums of the 1980s". Retrieved 16 July 2011.

* v
* t
* e

Gang of Four

* Jon King
* Hugo Burnham
* Sara Lee
* David Pajo

* Andy Gill
* Dave Allen
* Busta Jones
* Mark Heaney
* Jonny Finnegan
* Thomas McNeice
* John Sterry
* Tobias Humble

Studio albums|

* Entertainment!
* Solid Gold
* Songs of the Free
* Hard
* Mall
* Shrinkwrapped
* Content
* What Happens Next
* Happy Now

Compilation albums|

* A Brief History of the Twentieth Century
* The Peel Sessions

Extended plays|

* Yellow
* Another Day/Another Dollar

Singles|

* "Damaged Goods"

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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