Throbbing Gristle — The Secound Annual Report
This is the first of five double cd disc & vinyl reissues of Throbbing Gristle’s original albums. Each of the cd releases feature an original remastered album on disc one, and on disc two a collection of new unearthed tracks from the period of the albums original release. The CD reissues come in a mini gatefold form, and feature short booklets taking in often unseen pictures & artwork from around the albums original releases.
It’s difficult to say much new or enlightening about such an influential, known & loved record such as this that hasn’t been said a million times before, but I’ll give it a go. On offer here is a collection of nine tracks, that take in both live recordings and studio tracks- sonically the tracks are a mix of noisy & ugly soundscapes that are built around discordant & unwell mixture of electronics, violin, guitar & bass. Added to this is sometimes is Genesis P-Orridge sleazy taking/singing, and media samples covering killers & other social depravity. The album really works well as one long noisy, disorientating, depraved & ugly ride- there are no really tracks in the conventional verse chorus setting here, the tracks are best described as unwell & dense sonic constructions , and the album as a whole is more of a noisy, grim & unsettling sonic freefall into the grey & troubled world of the UK in the late 1970’s.
On the second disc there’s a selection of nine track in all from the period between 1976 to 1977. There are seven live recordings & two single b sides, and the most rewarding of the nine tracks are the live tracks which all show Throbbing Gristle in fine depraved form. A few of my favourite moments come in the form of “Last Exit” which mixers together police radio recordings, ugly bass & guitar chugs & wails, swirling & searing electronics, and Genesis P-Orridge ranting about been assaulted by someone with a brick and sex between the queen & prince Philip. “Feeling Critical” which mixtures a disorientating brew of TV crime reports, various disconnected conversations, ugly guitar ‘n’ bass plods & wails, and the mumbling in & out sound of P-Orridge's voice.
All told this a nicely represented reissue of this classic piece of sonic terrorism, and the extras disc makes this worthwhile on it’s own for those who already own the album. I guess it would have been nice to maybe have some new linear notes from the surviving members about the time & the album making, but I guess it’s nice that they’ve stayed with the stark & simple feel of the albums original release.