Longtime associates and occasional collaborators Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) have joined forces once again for a cover of “Natural’s Not In It” by Gang of Four. The song is set to appear on the upcoming tribute album, The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four.
Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill passed away unexpectedly on February 1st, 2020 of an unspecified respiratory illness. Prior to his death, the post-punk outfit’s founding guitarist came up with The Problem of Leisure to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 1979’s Entertainment!, which originally hosted “Natural’s Not In It”. With Gill now deceased, the album has evolved into something of a tribute to his musical legacy.
Premiered by SPIN, the cover of “Natural’s Not In It” comes as the first single off of The Problem Of Leisure. The song finds the iconic Armenian singer tackling the pop-punk stylings of Gang of Four singer Jon King with gusto as he belts out the opening line, “The problem of leisure”, which gives the tribute its name. Meanwhile, Morello adds some extra edge to the guitar riff that doesn’t include much of the RATM flair but is rather a dedicated homage to Gill and his style. Morello told SPIN in a statement,
Andy Gill was one of a handful of artists in history who changed the way guitars are played. His band Gang of Four were just incendiary and completely groundbreaking with Andy’s confrontational, unnerving and sublime playing at the forefront. His jagged plague-disco raptor-attack industrial-funk deconstructed guitar anti-hero sonics and fierce poetic radical intellect were hugely influential to me.
Listen to Serj Tankian and Tom Morello’s cover of “Natural’s Not In It” by Gang of Four. A full tracklist and list of contributing artists for The Problems of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four will be available on January 14th.
Serj Tankian, Tom Morello – “Natural’s Not In It” (Gang of Four)
[H/TÂ SPIN]