Cabaret Voltaire: Eight Crépuscule Tracks

Cabaret Voltaire 8 Crepuscule Tracks

Les Disques Du Crépuscule 1988.  TWI749

Discogs

This is, in my humble opinion, the mighty Cabs best period.  It’s a compilation which gathers together various somewhat random tracks from the early 80s.

It kicks off with the three parts of Sluggin’ Fer Jesus, recorded in the US with the band horrified/enthralled by the insane money grabbing right wing TV evangelists they saw on hotel room TVs.  They take the crazed rantings and superimpose a minimal electronic backing.  Yashar was a Factory single which combines a sample from Outer Limits with oddly eastern sounding electronics.

It’s side 2 which is the highlight for me.  The dark, menacing Invocation might just be my favourite Cabs track, and the album closes with an amazing and unlikely cover of Isaac Hayes’ Theme From Shaft.   That the Cabs should cover a classic funk track is unexpected of course, although their use of rhythm was on occasion quite funky, but this manages to be both very faithful to the original while still retaining the menacing minimal Cabs sound.  The classic guitar work on Hayes original is accurately reproduced electronically – a trick you’d think would be impossible.  The lyrics are entirely unsuited to the Cabs style, but even that they manage to make work.  Truly astonishing.

4 comments
  1. Excellent stuff. Thank you! I too love the Cabs cover of Shaft.

  2. Fantastic post!
    Cabaret Voltaire at their best.
    Thanks a lot!

  3. Do you (Blogmeister I mean) have much from this period? This, unfortunately is all I have.

    Glad you like it Music Lover

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