The 1980 Listening Post - The Government - Guest List

 Reviewed by Jim Coursey

Released: 1980 The Government Guest List Genre: New wave Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights (Nominal): A Real Computer Acute Angle I imagine Toronto’s The Government would have put on a fun show. Their taut, punky, funky rhythm section knows how to keep things moving, and is the clear highlight here. Andrew Patterson’s Sprechgesang vocals would probably come off as funny live, reminiscent of a slightly more “robotic” Fred Schneider or Stan Ridgway spewing out a litany of commonplace new wave themes of technophobic alienation, all with a somewhat hammy affectation. But on vinyl, the vocal schtick wears thin almost right away – pitting the everyman against the drudgery of 1980s modern life may have seemed edgy back then but looking back it just feels rote, especially when compared to Kraftwerk, Devo and Numan. There are no real highlights here because the songwriting isn’t very good. But the beats are often excellent and their sound is right in line with the times, so New Wave fans likely won’t turn this off. Then again, they likely won’t turn it on either.