Now this is a lot more like it.
I hadn't played this for so long that I'd completely forgotten what it sounds like. It's timely, too, as Crass seem to be enjoying a mini-revival, thanks partly to Jeffrey Lewis, who can be seen talking about them here and releases an album of their songs a week today (I'm planning to see him live a couple of weeks after that when he plays in Brixton).
It's not an easy listen. Mostly it's like a set of short sketches and essays that are half set to music. Only half set, because the words don't always go with the grain of the music, but sometimes going against the grain is in keeping with the spirit, if you follow me.
You really have to read the lyrics (all typed by hand, before word processing) to follow them. It's worth doing so, because a lot of them are very good. They're dated in some of their references (Thatcher, Falklands, television), but not in others (National Security as an excuse for loss of liberties, immigration, 1984 and old favourites like war and famine). And they don't come across as gauche, as l imagine lyrics from the same period by The Style Council and the Redskins probably would.
What struck me about the music was that, despite it being completely different from the Jesus and Mary Chain in its intent (no Beach Boys melodies or languorous drones), it kind of puts the Mary Chain in context. It shows that they didn't emerge out of thin air.
I didn't buy this record when it came out in 1983 (and I bet I paid more than the £3 that's printed on the cover). At the time, I expressed my rage against the Falklands War via Barclay James Harvest's Summer Soldier instead (and I like to think that Crass might respect this — there is a brief interlude on Side 1 of this record where they drop into a rather '70s singer-songwriter arrangement). I got Yes Sir, I Will maybe two or three years later — around the same time as The Unacceptable Face of Freedom, another reminder of how grim the '80s were.
Obviously an inspiration for Chumbawamba, but quite different. Unfortunately I don't think any of the pieces from this album will be on Jeffrey Lewis's.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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