Various/Bob Blank // The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975 – 1985

You might not have heard of Bob Blank, but there’s every chance you’ll have heard a record he produced, or that was produced in his studio Blank Tapes.

Kid Creole, Cristina, Lydia Lunch, Sun Ra, James ‘Blood’ Ulmer, Chic, John Cale and Gladys Knight are all acts that have been associated in some way with the studio, and some of them feature on this retrospective of an important contributor to New York’s fulsome underground musical and cultural history.

Debby Blackwell’s ‘Once You Got Me Going’ kicks the disc off and it’s likely to surprise anyone foolish enough to think they know what’s coming next. It’s disco, but quite a cheesy brand, before becoming something a bit more interesting. Charanaga 76 and Milton Hamilton continue in a similar vein, and it’s enjoyable party music at its best - certainly perfect for the dance floor, without being completely mindless.

The mood shifts slightly with Sun Ra’s ‘Where Pathways Meet’, which must be among the least cosmic things he ever recorded. The Necessaries are a dead ringer for Eno’s early solo work, which is no bad thing, and certainly intriguing. ‘A Cruise To The Moon’ from Lydia Lunch and James ‘Blood’ Ulmer’s bona fide classic ‘Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher’ form the centre of this compilation, and are definite highlights.

From there on, the early-Eighties pop production sounds take over and makes everything sound terribly dated - in a bad way - and overshadows the otherwise interesting musical ideas that are going on. If you can get past that though, it’s certainly an enjoyable listen and the last two tracks (by Lola and Aural Exciters respectively) certainly go some way to redeeming the latter part of the album.

As with any good compilation, Blank Tapes will certainly make most listeners want to investigate some the artists on it further, if not all of them.