Released at the tail end of the 1970s,
Throbbing Gristle's third official full-length,
20 Jazz Funk Greats, found the pioneering industrial group making a grand leap toward accessibility. This move wasn't entirely unprecedented, as their 1978 single "United" was an uplifting slice of utopian synth pop, and eventually became one of the band's biggest-selling records. Stripping away much of the noise and nihilism of their past work, the album explored rhythm and melody more thoroughly, flirting with elements of disco, new wave, exotica, and yes, jazz and funk, but not as they had been heard before. The album's infamous cover presented the quartet as nice, friendly folks, smiling (except for
Genesis P-Orridge) and posing in a field of flowers on a pleasant, sunny day. Of course, things aren't as innocent as they seem, as the four individuals happen to be standing at Beachy Head, a cliff on the south coast of England that is notorious for its suicide rate. (Additionally, some pressings of the album depicted a nude cadaver lying in front of the group.) The music itself is sinister and disconcerting like the majority of the group's catalog, but significantly more inviting. The opening title track features a slinky downtempo drum machine pulse and seductive whispers, along with distant cornet and synthesizer lines. "Tanith" and "Exotica" are both curdled mutations of the space age bachelor pad music of
Martin Denny and
Les Baxter, with airy vibraphones corrupted by screeching violins and rumbling explosions. The album will probably always be best known for "Hot on the Heels of Love," an intoxicating track that affixes the group's exotica obsession to a minimalist disco beat. The song is a direct precursor to the entire genre of techno, and has been a staple of numerous DJs' sets ever since. Just as brilliant is "Walkabout," a stunning
Kraftwerk-esque synth pop instrumental that captures the group at its most vibrant and optimistic. Even on darker, more aggressive tracks like "What a Day" and "Still Walking," the bursts of feedback and paranoid shrieking (or murmuring) are far more controlled and focused than the group's past work, significantly bolstered by the clanging, hypnotic drum machines. Thoroughly exciting and immeasurably influential,
20 Jazz Funk Greats is easily
Throbbing Gristle's crowning achievement, and one of the highlights of the post-punk era. ~ Paul Simpson
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