Mark Stewart

This U.S. compilation gathers tracks from Learning to Cope With Cowardice (1982) and As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade (1985), the first two solo albums by the former Pop Group vocalist. On these releases, Stewart expanded the dub component of the Pop Group's sound and assembled a more experimental and progressively more assaultive setting for his radical political commentary. Co-produced by Adrian Sherwood, Stewart's first two releases mixed up reggae, industrial noise, snatches of melody, harsh electronics, pounding beats, massive basslines, scratches, and dense funk rhythms. While the fragmented, jarring "Blessed Are Those Who Struggle" and the tuneful reggae groove of "Liberty City" embody the two apparently opposing tendencies of his first album, Stewart achieves a dub-heavy synthesis of those elements on "Jerusalem," his remarkable cut-up rendition of the English hymn based on William Blake's poetry. By the time of Stewart's second album, his dissident political vision seemed to have intensified and there's a darker, weightier feel to this material. The confrontational edge is bolstered by the contributions of Sugarhill Gang members Keith LeBlanc, Doug Wimbish, and Skip McDonald. The colossal rhythm section of LeBlanc and Wimbish and McDonald's metallic guitar pyrotechnics coalesce to sublime effect on the forbidding "As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade." Equally menacing is the sampled drawl of William S. Burroughs on the chaotic hip-hop cut-up "Pay It All Back." Burroughs' sinister rasp features more prominently amid the dubbed-out melodic fragments and juddering bass of "Hypnotized," included here in its extended 12" incarnation. (This version appeared on the CD release of As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade.) Above all, the material gathered on this compilation attests to Stewart's keen ear for aural disturbance and emphasizes how much his early-'80s recordings laid the foundations for a subsequent generation of industrial noise-mongers. ~ Wilson Neate, All Music Guide