Return The Gift
by Gang of Four
  • Record Label: V2
  • Release Date: Oct 11, 2005
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    This revisitation of the band's canon burns brighter than a thousand nuclear-rector accidents. [Nov 2005, p.218]
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  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    Shows the Gang still do it best. [28 Oct 2005, p.84]
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  3. Billboard
    80
    Time has not dulled the group's scarily tight musicianship. [15 Oct 2005]
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  5. Q Magazine
    80
    It shows a band building a new outpost atop the summit of their achievements. [Nov 2005, p.124]
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  6. PopMatters
    80
    An impressive document of the band's discipline.
  7. Mojo
    80
    The best Gang Of Four tribute album... ever. [Nov 2005, p.96]
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  8. AllMusic
    70
    One thing that remains unchanged, to no surprise whatsoever, is the enduring vitality of the material.
  9. The Guardian
    70
    Return the Gift sees the foursome re-recording their original songs and, implausibly, making them better.
  10. Dusted Magazine
    70
    So yes, they've still got it. But that still begs the question; do you need re-recordings of tunes that changed the face of rock music? Not as badly as you need the originals, that's for sure.
  11. Under The Radar
    70
    Listening to the sharp separation of song and instrumentation elements that mark these recordings reveals the merit in Gang of Four reworking their own songs. [#11, p.107]
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  12. Lost At Sea
    60
    The problem is simply that Gang of Four got Entertainment! right the first time, whether they like it or not.
  13. Pitchfork
    60
    Bottom line is that if you've got the old albums and you want to experience Gang of Four again, better to shell out for the actual show than for the disc that approximates it.
  14. Junkmedia
    60
    Does it replace the originals as the definitive Gang of Four collection? No way.
  15. Uncut
    60
    Neither embarrassing nor unenjoyable, then, but still an exercise bearing a cautionary sting. [Nov 2005, p.98]
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  16. Blender
    60
    It's the musical equivalent of George Lucas's tinkering with the Star Wars DVDs--some flaws are best left uncorrected. [Nov 2005, p.135]
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  17. Tiny Mix Tapes
    60
    I'm sure purists would prefer to snag the recently remastered originals as opposed to this Gift, even though those older fans would be able to appreciate this album most.
  18. Rolling Stone
    50
    It's hard to see Gift as anything but an exercise in redundancy.
  19. New Musical Express (NME)
    50
    It's a little like a Crimewatch reconstruction: very well put together, all in a good cause, vaguely entertaining, but really they're just hoping it'll vaguely remind you of something that happened years ago. [1 Oct 2005, p.47]
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  20. Paste Magazine
    50
    It's disappointing to find Gang of Four recycling the past so bluntly, trafficking in a nostalgia industry they should be well above. [Dec 2005, p.122]
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  21. cokemachineglow
    50
    Though, technically, the production is much “improved” here, meaning that the album is louder and clearer, it’s still not a very enjoyable listen when the listener can’t shake the idea that something’s amiss.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. BrianS
    Nov 8, 2005
    6
    I hadent heard much about Gang of Four until recently. Enterainment is a stunning album and near perfect, which is what makes this album seem I hadent heard much about Gang of Four until recently. Enterainment is a stunning album and near perfect, which is what makes this album seem more of a sell out, something im sure they will deny. If it makes introduces more people to GOF then great, but some new material would have been nice ( if they have any in them ) ;)… Full Review »
  2. slawekk
    Oct 30, 2005
    8
    sometimes uneven but the general opinion is definitely positive. i like their paranoic sound. the second song would be a number 1 on some sometimes uneven but the general opinion is definitely positive. i like their paranoic sound. the second song would be a number 1 on some alternative chart.… Full Review »
  3. VoltMeter
    Oct 15, 2005
    9
    Bummer that there's no new material here. But these guys are still amazingly tight. I saw them at every Boston venue with the original Bummer that there's no new material here. But these guys are still amazingly tight. I saw them at every Boston venue with the original lineup. If anything, the new versions have a harder edge to them: Hugo pounds like a piledriver and Andy Gill shreds blistering funk feedback. I love this CD. But I just wish that they'd follow the cue of one of their touring mates from '79-'81 (Mission of Burma) and put forth some new material. I'd like to see what sonic mayhem the crew would make after 24 years (when Dave Allen left). Dave Allen's funk bass was in my humble opinion the cement of GOF. He and Hugo were one of the tightest rhythm sections I've ever seen. After he and Hugo left, Gang of Four became a rather boring affair. Pop won out over hard funk. But the past is...well, the past. I love the re-recordings. At least it might introduce GOF to a new audience. The kid who rang up my purchase had never heard GOF. And this was at a shop that prides itself in being the most progressive (small) chain of music stores. With all the rehashed "post punk" rip off bands out there, it would be nice to see the granddaddies of post punk get their due props.… Full Review »
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