Cabaret Voltaire – 2X45

Having seen comments here I've just dug out my copy of UK Rough Trade original vinyl and no skip in "War of Nerves". Must've been more than one stamper I guess, and I was lucky! Cover flecking badly but still sounds great.

It's like an easier-to-digest Red Mecca, in my opinion. My favorite tracks are "Breathe Deep," "Yashar," and "Protection."

Long shot here but here goes:
Does anyone out there have a NM/M- cover only they'd like to sell cheap?
My vinyl plays perfectly but sadly my cover got knackered in transit moving home, many years ago.

I first heard Protection and Yashar played over the PA at a New Order gig. To hear this played LOUD late at night in a hash/smoke filled small(ish) venue was incredible. The social context was heavy - nuclear war / miner’s strike - this music was not ‘entertainment’.

I have two copies of this album (I love it!)

Both Near Mint/EX + condition, and both have a skip on the same track (war of nerves T.E.S) in exactly same place, no sign of scratch nothing, clean as new... (?)

Funny thing is...I had a third copy a year ago which I sold because it had a tiny skip, in different place but on the same track..

I won my recent copy on E bay auction, one would think " third time lucky" but sadly not, same problem.

Now I am 100% sure it must have been (real shame ) some pressing issue or something...
Real pity, one of my favorite tracks on this album, perfectly dark and pure CABS !

Another recent discovery is that both of my copies (both first pressing ) have slightly different designs of the back of the envelope ( cover) , how strange...

Anyway, wonderful album, must have for any CABS fan, bridge between the past and the future in their career..

My favorite tracks: Yashar ( obviously)
War of Nerves T.E.S and Get out of my Face which sounds like a pure proto techno tune..

This band was simply from another dimension!

Thriller, music killer !

My copy of this issue has a 'skip' on it - seems to be a pressing fault as there is nothing visible causing it. Is this common on all these pressings?

Great stuff this one. I would definitely recommend that you try listening to it at the wrong speed. "2x33" so to speak.. Makes the listening experience more heavy, psychedelic and sinister. I just love records that works in both 33 and 45 rpm!

This is probably the closest Cabaret Voltaire have come to making a rock album. This release comprises two recording sessions, one from October '81 (just before co-founder Chris Watson's departure) and the other from February '82. There's a definite difference of feel between each record, an example of just how fast the group was moving.

Of the first three tracks on the first record, 'Yashar' is the standout track and to this day it remains one of the group's signature tunes. There's a strong Middle Eastern influence the winds its way through the track both in melody and percussion elements. Electronics and samples are downplayed somewhat in favour of pulsing hypnotic elements. 'Breathe Deep' has a faster dancier feel and is probably one the smoothest aggro dance tracks ever.

The tracks on the second record are slightly more streamlined musically, as the group are now without Watson. Kirk and Mal are left to run the show. Long-time collaborator Alan Fish takes care of percussion. On 'T.E.S. War Of Nerves', eerie spoken samples about methods of torture open up the track only to give in to the dark paranoia in Mal’s lyrics. His vocals are menacing and unsettling. It’s easily the centerpiece of the album, at least in my opinion. The two last tracks, ‘Wait & Shuffle’ and ‘Get Out Of My Face’ have a dark, slightly more ambient and melodic feel, showing the Cabs shedding their earlier electro-terrorist noise in favour of actual harmonies, slightly more accessible sound structures and, above all, a strong pounding beat. Clearly, the band were closing one chapter in their musical development and opening another. Their subsequent end with Rough Trade, which had signed them originally, and new arrangement with Some Bizzare also marked a change for the group.

I would definitely file ‘2X45’ under my ‘Recommended/Can’t-Live-Without’ stack.