Jam On Revenge – Newcleus – Released 1984
Jam On Revenge is the debut album from US electro/funk group Newcleus.
It’s a textbook 80s electro album, which puts Kraftwerk, p funk, Planet Rock, hiphop and breakdance culture into a funky space blender mixed up with some comic book heroics and glittering Afrofuturist vibes.
Forty years on it still sounds funky, fresh and futuristic – while at the same time being undeniably 80s.
So forget all that nostalgic synthwave wank, this is the real deal – progressive music made with the limited technology of the time, that still has the power to inspire today.
There’s also some all-time bboy classics and raucous party anthems to get your booty shaking and guaranteed to stay playing in your head all week.
WikiWikiWikiWiki
The album kicks off with Computer Age (Push The Button), which introduces the story of Newcleus, “a band of musicians from a far-off galaxy” looking for a planet where they can get down.
The computer themes might be laughable these days, but let’s not forget computers were far from ubiquitous in 1984.
Kraftwerk’s computer world was released only three years previous, so the idea of computers taking over our lives was still an exciting futuristic possibility rather than the grim soul destroying reality we face today.
Newcleus saw it coming though:
“Computer age is now
Everyone must have a machine
They say it’s gonna make life easier,
well, I can’t stand it…”
Amen.
We also get some phat 808 beats, bleeps, vocoders and the first of many sweet synthesiser solos.
Auto-Man continues the sci-fi theme and adds a TB303 into the equation. It’s a simple yet effective groove this, just the 808, a 303 and a high-pitched synth arpeggio locking it all together. (Did Snap! rip this melody off for Rhythm is a Dancer? Sound very similar, no?)
We also get some lyrics and additional synths on top as the track progresses. Bit cheesy this one to be fair, but it’s got a 303 so not complaining.
I’m Not A Robot wasn’t a phrase that was in common use in 1984 but has since become a sentiment we are now forced to proclaim on a daily basis.
Remarkably the lyrics don’t have any references to clicking on images of traffic lights. Instead we get a song about non-conformity and following one’s own path which, frankly, is something we need a lot more of in this day and age.
Couple of minutes in and we get a sweet breakdown section with some really satisfying 808 toms followed by another sizzling 303 bassline.
But but but… as I listen to it my OCD brain wants to tweak the cutoff and resonance and make it sound like proper acid…
Next we have Destination Earth (1999).
Yes kids, once upon a time 1999 was waaaaaaay ahead in the future, and we used to imagine all owning flying cars.
This track perfectly encapsulates that techno-optimism and, for me, is one of the best tracks on the album.
If you’re a younger music fan with a retro fetish (which judging by YouTube video recommendations is quite probable) and you’re looking for some proper authentic 1980s instrumental chillwave whathaveyou, well, put your pickaxe down, you’ve just struck gold.
Jam On Revenge, aka the Wikki Song – ah c’mon you must know this one yeah?
If not, be careful because this song has superpowers. (And whatever you do don’t search for it on Wikipedia or you’ll break the internet.)
Jam On Revenge is the quintessential breakdance track, everything about it is iconic. The main synth melody is an earworm for the ages while the high-pitched chipmunk rapping never fails to bring a smile to my face.
It’s both a celebration and a spoof of hiphop music of the era (note the references to Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five) with the perfect balance of novelty and musicianship.
And, of course, there’s that Wiki hook… good luck getting that out of your head for the rest of the week.
Jam On It is the main track on this album and second to Wiki as their best-known track. With good reason too, because it’s electro perfection from start to finish.
When the beat drops it’s like I’ve died and gone to breakdance heaven, really jamming that box on this one plus there’s more rapping, more pitched up wikkis…
Wikiwikiwki!
I’m smiling as I write this because I know what’s coming, I adore this track, I really do, listening back now as I type getting the shivers… here it comes…
Right at the end of verse one, after a minute and a half, “check out the sound” – that clonging cowbell and then the 303…. Oh I fucking LOVE this tune!
The highlight of the track, though, is the story of how Superman challenged to Newcleus to a rap battle only to get his ass handed to him by Cozmo D from outer space (sho nuff) and the rest of the Newcleus crew.
If you don’t have a big cheesy grin on your face by the end of this you must either be from the planet Krypton yourself or from the planet Vulcan.
Where’s The Beat is another fun party rap track which nicks the bassline from Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn theme (also sometimes referred to as the Blues Brothers theme) giving it a funky electro twist.
Finally, No More Runnin’ is a mostly instrumental jam with live Bootsyesque bass guitar and big bouncy 808s. It’s similar in tempo and style to Jam On Revenge, but you can also really hear the Parliament/Funkadelic influences on this one.
Disco Kryptonite
It’s now 40 years since the Man of Steel got his ass handed to him by Newcleus. #NeverForget
That’s why it’s important to keep this on the history curriculum for younger generations.
Call it old skool or just call it old if you must, but this album is still a joy to listen to, packed with classic electro hits that and certified floor-fillers.
Soon as you hear the Wiki Song it’ll live in your brain forever – and you’ll be all the better for it.
Sure, a lot of it’s cheesy as fuck but unlike most 80s music, Jam On Revenge has held up remarkably well.
That’s because it just about predates the atrocious digital presets with which the decade is synonymous (Yamaha’s DX7, for example, came out the previous year) so instead of we get some warm and fuzzy analogue space funk.
The sounds Newcleus helped pioneer are still in use today. And those slinky 303s still and big booming 808s still pack a punch.
Best played at loud volume through BIG fucking speakers so you can really feel that bass.