Gloria Mundi are an almost mythical lost 70's Jazz- post- punk band, who show up on a few compilations, but whose album has always been one that I wanted to get, but never did, finally it's being re-issued, in all its all over the place glory, from the Rod Smallwood stable of Artists and just before he singed Iron Maiden, Gloria Mundi were Eddie Maelov, Sunshine, Beethoven, C.C. Mike Nicholls and Ice. The album was produced in 1978 by Ian Taylor and Ian Bennett.
The album opens with The Pack like a weirded out Small faces, reworking fairground ride music into a proggy punk intense tale of life in The Pack, can you find a way out of it, to be your own person or not. The storm of musical effects is somewhere between Pere Ubu and Wire but with an extra 40 ideas, creating a maelstrom, like you are a baby faced killer in the centre of The Pack.
Condemned To Be Free that has a funk-punk-progressive mix, a dark tale unfolding like some punk opera, will he answer for his actions, when this slows down to the chimes and drums you know the scaffold approaches, soon he will be free to find out that freedom isn't all it's cracked up to be, who want to pay there own way, but the galloping guitars reminds me of The Sensational Alex Harvey band with every musical twist of this epic song.
Daughters Of Rich Men is a dark tale of rum goings on operatic musical adventure, taking us to the inevitable dark places that daughters Of Rich Men often end up going to, after one Sax part too many, Gloria Mundi are very grateful to have partied with her however, they go into a Hazel O’Connor style frenzy ending.
I Like Some Men has a Stranglers style bassline intro, like they are building up the guts to spill the beans, sax is all sexual moans, frantic guitars allowing for the confessions of the louche life, before the drumbeats like whip cracks, while he repeats over and over I Like Some Men, listing what he doesn't like, this is like a Grindr profile, rather than a grubby ad in a cottage.
I, Individual is a back street terrorist on a crash course for responsibility and mad all over the place musical backing part funk guitar, jazz saxes, driving guitars and a sense that this was a huge influence on Chumbawamba in the core mission to always be yourself I, Individual is me.
You Talk has a nicely messy intro to sneering jazz street punk pop anthem having a go at anyone whose all mouth and no trousers, they hate all you chickens, just go out and be who you want to be, play space rock epics, they want you to go and be your own revolution, make a better world and life for yourselves, be real punks.
Park Lane has a heavy drums and guitar intro, before some Traders Vic style sax, for this tale of a woman walking down Park Lane while out of her brain and what happened when a car pulled up, to make the sort of business offer it was notorious for, the rest of the song takes us on a sordid journey bordering on Derek Raymond territory
Split Personality is swirling punk pop, with sneering vocals, a dirty chugging riff, rampant drums and weird interludes, depicting the Split Personality and how he changes when he's on one, no longer is he lover boy, now he is more hate boy, only an odd dub sax solo can save him, getting him chanting the title back at full pelt, living it to the full.
Victim is what you are, on this driving post punk screed, against all the hypocrisy, with classic anarcho-punk lyrics, set against the TV Personalities on acid style backing, they create a new reality.
The album closes with the single Fight Back that could easily have been a straight-ahead Oi punk classic, only they have added a brass section, to the rallying call to fight back, while punching your fists in the air, this sounds perfect to pogo too, before the sirens go off again.
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