Bird Wood Cage Explained

Bird Wood Cage
Type:studio
Artist:The Wolfgang Press
Cover:Bird Wood Cage.jpeg
Studio:The Townhouse, Blackwing Studios
Label:4AD
Producer:Flood, The Wolfgang Press
Prev Title:Standing Up Straight
Prev Year:1986
Next Title:Queer
Next Year:1991

Bird Wood Cage is the third studio album by the English band the Wolfgang Press, released in 1988 by 4AD.[1]

Critical reception

The Washington Post wrote: "Like New Order ... the group adopts the big-beat conventions of American dance music only to drain them of soulfulness."[2] The Chicago Tribune stated that "the members of Wolfgang have perfected their own smart mix of the edgy energy and irreverent wit of alternative music and the rhythmic richness of funk and reggae."[3] Trouser Press determined that "the band's thickly laid atmosphere envelops all sorts of effective ingredients: female backing vocals on 'King of Soul', wah-wah guitar on 'Kansas', dub reggae effects on 'Hang on Me (For Papa)'."[4]

Track list

  1. "King of Soul" 4:02
  2. "Raintime" 4:39
  3. "Bottom Drawer" 4:42
  4. "Kansas" 3:53
  5. "Swing Like a Baby" 4:06
  6. "See My Wife" 3:55
  7. "The Holey Man" 4:16
  8. "Hang on Me (For Papa)" 5:08
  9. "Shut That Door" 5:40

From the "Big Sex" EP

  1. "The Wedding" 3:51
  2. "The Great Leveller" 4:31
  3. "That Heat" 4:23
  4. "God's Number" 4:39

Notes and References

  1. Option - Issues 27-29 - Page 47 1989 - Live, the Bird Wood Cage material also bolsters Wolfgang Press' hidden funk leanings. Listen to "Hang On Me," a dub reggae outing speared with distorted guitar, or the warped Motown of "King of Soul." "Raintime" has a loitering James Brown backbeat, while their showstopper, a steroid-sized version of "Respect," always packs the floor. "Some people think that song's a piss-take," notes Allen, "but it isn't. It's one of our favorite songs. No disrespect was meant to Aretha." As if by magi
  2. News: Jenkins . Mark . Teuton Beat: Order on the Dance Floor! . The Washington Post . 8 Feb 1989 . B7.
  3. News: Heim . Chris . The Wolfgang Press, Bird Wood Cage . Chicago Tribune . 17 Feb 1989 . Friday . 54.
  4. Web site: Wolfgang Press . Trouser Press . 5 April 2023.