Kyoko Takenaka + Tomoki Sanders – Planet Q
After years of performing with Ari Up and The Slits, vocalist-songwriter Neneh Cherry (daughter of Don and Moki Cherry) would join up with members of Bristol’s The Pop Group to form Rip Rig + Panic (named after a Roland Kirk song). Released in 1981 on Virgin, the post-punk group’s debut album God is a raw, yet sophisticated mix of genres that hits on something like post-punk jazz. The album moves through various moods including the spiritual “Change Your Life,” which layers a Cecil Taylor-like piano improvisation over deep calypso / South African percussion, and ceremonial vocals from The Slits / New Age Steppers’ Ari Up, opener “Constant Drudgery Is Harmful To Soul, Spirit & Health,” a more energetic dance-floor number featuring wailing saxophones, and “The Blue Blue Third,” a delicate solo piano improvisation from Gareth Sager, who was a devotee of Debussy and Satie.
Recommended – Full Listen
Tags: Neneh Cherry / Post-Punk
Tracklist:
A1 Constant Drudgery Is Harmful To Soul, Spirit & Health
A2 Wilhelm Show Me The Diagram (Function Of The Orgasm)
A3 Through Nomad Eyeballs
A4 Change Your Life
B1 Knee Deep In Shit
B2 Totally Naked (Without Lock Or Key)
B3 Try Box Out Of This Box
B4 Need (De School You)
C1 Howl! Caged Bird
C2 Those Eskimo Women Speak Frankly
C3 The Blue Blue Third
D1 Shadows Only There Because Of The Sun
D2 Beware (Our Leaders Love The Smell Of Napalm)
D3 Miss Pib
D4 It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Brrod
Credits:
Composed By – Rip Rig & Panic (tracks: A2 to B2, B4 to D4)
Engineer – A. Kidron*, D. Hunt*, J. Walker*
Performer – Bruce Smith, Gareth Sager, Mark Springer (3), Sean Oliver
Photography By – John Dominis
Photography By [Back] – Kishi Yamamoto
Producer – Rip Rig & Panic
Sleeve – Jill Mumford, Rip Rig & Panic
