On the heels of George's new soul covers series that just debuted at Charity Chic Music, I thought about another take on "We Can Work It Out" that goes in a different direction than both the original and the brilliant version by Steve Wonder
bandied about here. I already went into lengthy band introductions of Dislocation Dance on these pages a couple of years ago. To save time, I'll direct you
here and
here. Let's just get to the music.
First up is a polished version from their time on Rough Trade that appeared on the 12" version of the single "Show Me" in 1983. It's sophitsi-pop and of its time, but I love that time. You'll hear quite a bit of Andy Diagram's trumpet, lots of keyboards and jangly guitar that comes in at about the 3:40 mark to really fill the space and get the song moving. Of course, Kathryn Way's beautiful voice is the cherry on top.
We Can Work It Out (1983)
This was not the band's first go around with this song. In 1981, when they were on New Hormones, the Manchester label founded by Buzzcocks and manager Richard Boon, the song appeared on the mini album 'Slip That Disc!' As you might have guessed, Dislocation Dance was rawer, less polished and closer to post-punk in those days. This one clocks in a full minute shorter than the 1983 take. I can appreciate when a band puts their own stamp on a familiar piece of work. With this third appearance in less than three years on the blog, there is no denying I'm a fan of Dislocation Dance.
We Can Work It Out (1981)
