James Chance & The Contortions - Soul Exorcism Redux

Convulsive funk therapy the no wave way

This vintage live recording captures the frenzied energy of these mainstays of the New York no wave scene as Chance and his cohorts punk up the funk live in Rotterdam, June 1980. Originally released as one of ROIR’s trademark cassette-only releases in 1991, this first CD reissue not only documents the group’s live show at the height of their considerably combustible powers but comes with three previously unreleased four-track demos from 1987, including a suitably edgy version of James Brown’s I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing.

The grooves come tightly wrapped and delivered with all the vein-bulging intensity of a hellfire sermon. The Contortions (who here included bassist Al MacDowell from Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time band) come on like hyperventilating JB’s, and Chance fronts the spectacle like a cut’n’paste hybrid of James Brown mannerisms and confrontational punk attitude. The opening hijacking of Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough might set the agenda for what follows, but it’s the white hot dementia of The Twitch and the closing Contort Yourself that showcase Chance and crew at their most wound up. The undisputed dramatic peak arrives with the epic rise and fall of their breathtaking reading of James Brown’s magisterial King Heroin.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

ROIR | RUSCD 8300

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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