Pitchfork

Do you remember Mutant Disco? Or Ze's A Christmas Record? How about Brian Eno's No New York compilation? If any of those sound familiar, then you probably have a passing acquaintance with the very fine work of James Chance, also known as James White. If not, then you are in for a rare treat, for Tiger Style Records is all set to release Irresistible Impulse, a 4xCD box set of Chance's work on February 18th.

A founding member of New York's no-wave scene in the late 70s, Chance lent his name to any number of cutting edge and avant-garde projects, from Lydia Lunch's brainchild Teenage Jesus & The Jerks to his own band The Contortions, and later James White & The Blacks. The no-wave scene sought actively to eschew conventional rock 'n' roll boilerplate while incorporating jazz and funk influences. Chance, along with Lunch, Suicide, and DNA, among others, placed himself right at the forefront of that movement, and many of today's scenesters owe him a debt of gratitude for blazing such a discordant trail.

Along the way, Chance made his mark by whipping up a storm with his trademark saxophone, confounding distinctions between neo-punk styles, pop-funk and free jazz-- not to mention his daring to blur racial distinctions between those genres at the same time. It's a rare talent that can slip effortlessly from a Lydia Lunch collaboration to working with August Darnell (of Kid Creole and the Coconuts). And who can ever forget Chance's "Christmas with Satan" (recently issued as a 3" CD by Tiger Style) and included in several forms here, which must go down, along with The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" (also on the Ze A Christmas Record) as one of the finest ever festive musical offerings?

This box set is veritably what Lou Reed might have called a cornucopia. Watch with glee as Chance morphs from James Brown ("Super Bad" and "Sax Machine") to Elvis ("Jailhouse Rock") and Gene Pitney ("Town Without Pity"). With this release, the James Chance experimental gauntlet has been thrown down once again. We just dare you to pick it up and strut with it. People, there's even a 32-page full color booklet with extensive liner notes! WE ARE FREAKING THE FUCK OUT. Tracklist:

Disc 1:
Off White - James White and the Blacks
01 Contort Yourself (1st Version)
02 Contort Yourself (August Darnell mix)
03 Stained Sheets
04 (Tropical) Heat Wave
05 Almost Black (Part 1)
06 White Savages
07 Off Black
08 Almost Black (Part 2)
09 White Devil
10 Bleached Black
11 Christmas with Satan

Soul Exorcism - James Chance and the Contortions
12 Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (Live)
13 Exorcise the Funk (Live)
14 Disposable You (Live)

Disc 2:
Buy the Contortions - The Contortions
01 Designed to Kill
02 My Infatuation
03 I Don't Want To Be Happy
04 Anaesthetic
05 Contort Yourself
06 Throw Me Away
07 Roving Eye
08 Twice Removed
09 Bedroom Athlete
10 Throw Me Away (Live)
11 Twice Removed (Live)
12 Jailhouse Rock (Live)

Theme from Grutzi Elvis 12":
13 That's When Your Heartaches Begin
14 Shleyer's Tires
15 McGraw Army Base/Munchen
16 Theme From Grutzi Elvis

Disc 3:
Sax Maniac - James White and the Blacks
01 Irresistible Impulse
02 That Old Black Magic
03 Disco Jaded
04 Money to Burn
05 Sax Maniac
06 Sax Machine
07 The Twitch

Melt Yourself Down - James White and the Blacks
08 Super Bad
09 Melt Yourself Down
10 Hell On Earth

Disc 4
Flaming Demonics - James White
01 The Devil Made Me Do It
02 Boulevard of Broken Dreams
03 Rantin' and Ravin'
04 The Natives Are Restless
05 Caravan/It Don't Mean A Thing/Melt Yourself Down
06 I Danced With A Zombie
07 Christmas with Satan (Pts 1 & 2)

From the Judy Taylor Sessions (previously unreleased)
08 White Meat
09 Town Without Pity
10 Hyp No Tease