Throbbing Gristle: The Taste of TG - A Beginner's Guide to the Music of Throbbing Gristle Vinyl 2LP

The Taste Of TG is a great entry point for anyone curious about the weird world of Throbbing Gristle, the Hull, UK four-piece who released only a handful of albums between 1977 and 1979 before splintering into equally-influential groups Psychic TV, Chris & Cosey and Coil. Their confrontational disposition and early tinkering with synthesizers, harsh noise and drum machines has attracted labels like “creators of industrial music” (likely more to do with their in-house recording imprint being called Industrial Records than the actual sound of their music), and the band’s confounding live shows often teetered between music and full-blown performance art. Cosey Fanni Tutti even worked as a stripper and pornographic actress as a form of performance art on her days off from TG. Unlike their Greatest Hits, which basically compiles the band’s most beloved work (the band didn’t have proper ‘hits’; they were declared “wreckers of civilization” by Parliament), Taste offers a pretty accurate primer on the band for those who want to wet their beak. If you enjoy the songs on Taste, chances are you’ll love 20 Jazz Funk Greats and D.o.A: The Third And Final Report. For those of us who are already initiated, Taste fills the gaps in the band’s short but sweet discography with rare live recordings and 7-inch singles which will set you back a couple hundred bucks individually. There’s a pretty well-rounded assortment of the band’s various moods included here, from the gruff, thorny noise of “We Hate You (Little Girls),” “Industrial Introduction” and “Zyklon B Zombie” to later-period kosmische pop experiments like “Walkabout,” “United” and “Hot On The Heels Of Love,” one of the band’s most well-known tracks and the blueprint for Chris & Cosey’s subsequent synthpop work. Check out TG in alarmingly straightforward song mode on macabre kraut-bossa cut “Distant Dreams Part Two.” And of course, “Hamburger Lady,” which features Genesis P-Orridge reciting a letter sent to the band from a hospital worker about a severely disfigured patient that nobody could bear to look at without losing their lunch. Originally compiled in 2004 for a CD release, The Taste Of TG is now available on vinyl for the first time ever to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band. Limited edition red double vinyl pressing housed in deluxe embossed gatefold sleeve with rare photos of the band and code for digital download, recommended!

• first time on vinyl
• red double vinyl pressing
• embossed gatefold sleeve
• digital download included
• limited edition
• music label: Mute 2017

reviewed by hannibal chew 12/2017