What's THIS For...!

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What's THIS For...!
Studio album by
Killing Joke
ReleasedJune 22, 1981
RecordedLate December 1980 to February 1981[1]
StudioTownhouse Studios, London[1]
Genre
Length42:04
LabelE.G., Polydor
ProducerKilling Joke, Nick Launay
Killing Joke chronology
Killing Joke
(1980) 		What's THIS For...!
(1981) 		Revelations
(1982)
Singles from What's THIS For...!
  1. "Follow the Leaders"
    Released: May 1981

What's THIS For...! is the second studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in June 1981 by E.G. via Polydor Records.

Recording[edit]

Like Killing Joke's debut album, What's THIS For...! was self-produced by the band. It was engineered by Hugh Padgham and Nick Launay. Launay, Padgham's assistant at that time, finished the album after an altercation that resulted in damage to the mixing desk, causing Padgham to leave before the album was mixed. Launay continued to work under the band's direction.[1] Padgham contradicts the mixing desk incident saying that Jaz's recollection is "all rubbish. The thing is they were so out of it."[2]

Release[edit]

What's THIS For...! was released in June 1981 by E.G. Records. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 51 on 20 June and peaked at number 42 on 4 July.[3]

A remastered version with three bonus tracks was released in 2005.

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Austin Chronicle[5]
Robert ChristgauB[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
MusicHound Rock[7]
Select[9]

What's THIS For...! was generally well received by critics. In a 5 out 5 star review, John Gill of Sounds wrote: "it's an album of incomparable verve, energy and aggression, and you might even risk a dalliance with the slumming glamour of its violence.[10] NME hailed the album, saying: "In its own terms, What's THIS For...! is an excellent record - even if those terms are the most hopeless ones to be found in rock today. It's the same wardance as before, slightly better realised."[11] Trouser Press described the album as "nearly as terrific" as their debut album, "bringing funk to ambient music, implying feeling sublimated in a chaotic world".[12]

A significant contemporary dissent came from Melody Maker, whose Adam Sweeting called the album "a tired and very noisy collection of ripoffs", and deemed the whole effort "unlistenable ... apart from the spaces between the tracks".[13]

In a 2016 review, Paste magazine's Josh Jackson listed the album at No. 48 on his list of "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums", noting that "the real genius here is the human emotion that comes through such spare efficiency".[14] The Pensive Quill's Christopher Owens calls this "...the greatest album ever made."[15]

Cover image[edit]

The image of the photograph was taken at 88 Colegate in Norwich, though only the left hand side is visible.[16][17]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson, Martin Glover and Geordie Walker)

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."The Fall of Because"5:12
2."Tension"4:33
3."Unspeakable"5:20
4."Butcher"6:11
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Follow the Leaders"5:37
2."Madness"7:43
3."Who Told You How?"3:37
4."Exit"3:42
2005 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
9."Follow the Leaders" (Dub)4:06
10."Madness" (Dub)7:28
11."Brilliant"3:58
The 1981 cassette featured the titles "This Is Madness" and "It's Very Nice (Unspeakable!)" instead of "Madness" and "Unspeakable", respectively.

Personnel[edit]

Killing Joke
Technical
  • Hugh Padgham – recording engineer (uncredited)
  • Nick Launay – recording engineer, mixing (uncredited)[1]
  • Mike Coles - sleeve design (uncredited)

Charts[edit]

Year Chart Peak
position
1981 UK Albums Chart 42[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Coleman, Jaz (2013). Letters from Cythera, p. 279. Self-published.
  2. ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, pp. 44. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
  3. ^ a b "Killing Joke | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  4. ^ Raggett, Ned. "What's THIS For...! – Killing Joke". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  5. ^ Gray, Christopher (16 December 2005). "Review: Killing Joke, What's THIS For ...?, Revelations, Ha! – Music – The Austin Chronicle". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  7. ^ Holtje, Steve (1999). "Killing Joke". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 629–630. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Killing Joke". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  9. ^ Perry, Neil (July 1991). "Killing Joke". Select. p. 86.
  10. ^ Gill, John (20 June 1981). "Jokers Wild [Killing Joke What's THIS For...! album review]". Sounds: 44.
  11. ^ McNeill, Phil (20 June 1981). "Killing Joke What's THIS For...!". NME.
  12. ^ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  13. ^ Sweeting, Adam (20 June 1981). "Killing Joke: What's THIS For...! (EG Records EGMD5.50)". Melody Maker. Retrieved 14 October 2019 – via Rock's Backpages.
  14. ^ Jackson, Josh (13 July 2016). "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums". Paste. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  15. ^ "From The Vaults - Killing Joke 'What's This For...!'". TPQ. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  16. ^ Norwich Evening News August 25, 2021 page 22
  17. ^ "Musical Maps".
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