''Songs of the Free'' is the third studio album by

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

, released in 1982. It is their first with

Sara Lee Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * Sara (2010 ...

as bassist, replacing Dave Allen. 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 A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' listed ''Songs of the Free'' as 99th best album of the 1980s.

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

re-released ''Songs of the Free'' in limited edition of 6,250 on 180-gram blue, purple, and yellow splattered

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

for Black Friday

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

2015.

Track listing

All songs written by

Andy Gill Andrew James Dalrymple Gill (1 January 1956 – 1 February 2020) was a British musician and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the rock band Gang of Four, which he co-founded in 1976. Gill was known for his angular, jagged style of gu ...

and

Jon King Jonathan Michael King (born 8 June 1955) is an English musician, songwriter, and Grammy nominated Art Director in the post-punk band Gang of Four. Biography King attended Sevenoaks School, where he was a member of the 'Art Room' that produce ...

All songs written at Mount Pleasant Studios, 38 Mount Pleasant, London E1; with special assistance from Jon Astrop ;Side one #"Call Me Up" – 3:35 #"I Love a Man in a Uniform" – 4:06 #"Muscle for Brains" – 3:17 #"It Is Not Enough" – 3:27 #"Life! It's a Shame" – 5:06 ;Side two #

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

1996 bonus tracks

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

Personnel

;Gang of Four *

Hugo Burnham Hugo Hamilton Mark Burnham (born 25 March 1956) is an English musician, and drummer for the rock group Gang of Four. The band formed in 1977 at Leeds University, where Burnham was studying English Literature. Before the band signed with EMI R ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Andrew Gill –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

– vocals,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

– bass,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

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

Album Single

References

{{Authority control 1982 albums Gang of Four (band) albums Albums produced by Mike Howlett EMI Records albums Albums produced by Andy Gill