Industrial Evolution: Through the Eighties With Cabaret Voltaire (Poptomes)

Rating:
Summary: Getting Pissed with Cabaret Voltaire
Review: Anyone hoping this book would delve deeply into the music of Cabaret Voltaire will be sorely disappointed. Yes, you will learn about what sort of alcohol Mal and Richard pickled themselves with every chance they got, but not much else.

The author himself seemed in a drug and alcohol induced coma for most of the time he was hanging out with the band, so maybe he doesn't remember as much about his association with them as he'd like to admit. It seemed for every revelation about the band (they were few and far between) there were a hundred references to getting pissed.

The comments by another reader that the demise of the band had anything to do with corporate greed and the rise of Thatcherism are baseless. Mr. Fish himself concluded that the Cabs simply weren't musicians who could actually write songs. Yes, they were musical pioneers. Yes, they influenced a whole generation of musicians. But could they write, play or sing? No, not really.

I did enjoy reading about Mick's early days at the Council rubbish depot. There were lots of interesting characters populating his workday, which oddly enough didn't seem to consist of any work. Reading about employees whose only job seemed to be making tea and socializing didn't do much to make me feel sympathetic when the move to make local government more efficient started to unfold. I know Thatcher and her mates weren't saints, but the need for change was clearly evident.

I suppose I had different expectations for this book and thus feel disappointed having read it. I grew up with the Cabs and was looking for more insight than this glossed over account managed to serve up.




Rating:
Summary: Polished account of 80's music, political scene in Sheffield
Review: Books about Cabaret Voltaire, the pioneering Sheffield (UK) industrial/indie/electronic group, are rare enough. But this book has an extra appeal. The writer Mick Fish takes you on a journey through some of the darkest times in English life and politics and combines this with the tale of Cabaret Voltaire.

The writer will tell you all about the music scene in Sheffield in the 1980's, from the Human League to ABC. Aligned to this will be the story of the grip the Margaret Thatcher government took hold on Britain, and in particular run down areas like Sheffield in the 80's.

You will read all about the decay, the dark nights, the valiant refusal of a city to be undermined by government, the vicious internal wrangling in the local council and political scene. You may ask is this relevant to the story of Cabaret Voltaire? Well yes it is. The writer worked at the local council and also as a Cabaret Voltaire fan he could see the similarities between the two. The rise of CV in the early 80's which was brutally stamped out by the greedy, stubborn nature of the big money record labels which in essence ruined their career. Mick Fish worked at the council and at the same time he watched as Thatcher took hold of power and left Sheffield to rot and decay. A perfect comparison to what the major record labels did with CV, squeezed the life out of them.

At first glance maybe it won't grab your attention, but get over that, if you're a Cabaret Voltaire fan you should have this already! For others if you were into the music scene of Sheffield in the 80's, this book is a must have. For those of you with an interest in the political side of things, this book may be a worthy read, showing how Thatcher's government tried to squeeze northern cities like Sheffield off the map, through her ignorance of the area and through actions in the local political scene.

Rating:
Summary: first-rate
Review: What should be clear from the title is that no devotee of industrial music should pass this book by. CV should need no introduction to anyone even loosely acquainted with the genre, and their home city of Sheffield must undoubtedly be flagged as one of the most important cities in the proliferation of industrial music during the early eighties.

The author (Mr. Fish) was there. Unlike so much music biz writing that is based on the self-righteous posturing of a critic-turned-ducumentarian, who's only ties to their subject matter are hand-me-downs and afterimages, this is a first-hand account from a true storyteller. Knew the band, drank with the band, traveled with the band, drank with the band some more...

However, Mr. Fish's greatest achievement here was to NOT rewrite the agonizing rock-star biography we've already suffered through time and again. His achievement foremost was to effortlessly, poignantly and humorously carry us through the days and long nights of industrial music's enigmatic reign. 1980's Sheffield becomes our backdrop, Mr. Fish's own life experiences our satiric companion, and Cabaret Voltaire our cryptic guide.

If you are interested in the music or the bands that lifted the mantle of defiance and DIY from Punk's exploited corpse, you will enjoy this. Better yet, even if you don't care about that tumultuous "industrial" racket that some long-lost roommate used to blare to drown out your Journey records -- if you enjoy a very well told story, it's a can't miss. A pleasure to read, difficult to put down, too quick to finish. Isn't that what brought us to the bookstore in the first place?