I finally found a copy of Big Audio Dynamite's 1989 album Megatop Phoenix week. BAD was formed on the ashes of the Clash in 1984 by Mick Jones. They used samples, drum machines, and keyboards, creating a sound that had more to do with hip hop and dance music than punk.
Megatop Phoenix was their fourth album, and last under their original incarnation. They became BAD II in 1990, and had a hit with "Rush." Then they did a techno album, and finished things off with the pretty awful "F-Punk," which includes the catchy but inane "I Turned Out A Punk." I actually kind of like that song, even though it sucks.
Megatop is clearly influenced by the house music/rave scene that was blossoming in Britain at the time, and is dancier than BAD's work to that point. It was one of the first techno-ey albums I heard, and I was really into it Back In The Day. One of my favorite songs was "Union, Jack," which uses the drum beat from "Honky Tonk Woman," and loops it over some modern rock guitars. The lyrics are not super impressive, but they are catchy. "Take a stand/before you fall/your country needs you/to play football." Are they serious? Is he being ironic? I dunno...what i do know is that Joe Strummer was probably the lyric writer in the Clash.
Whatever. The songs are catchy, and the use of samples is pretty impressive. Maybe not "Paul's Boutique" impressive, but still.
Anyways....Megatop Phoenix. Well worth the five bucks I spent on it.
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