Song · Gang of Four
“I Found that Essence Rare” by Gang of Four
From the album Entertainment! (1979)
“I Found that Essence Rare” by Gang of Four appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2003 and 2022. It was first released in 1979 on the album Entertainment!. Its best result is #549 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,821 alternative song of all time.
"I Found that Essence Rare" sits on Entertainment!, the debut album Gang of Four put out in September 1979, through EMI in most of the world and Warner Bros. in North America. All four members share the writing credit and worked up the arrangement together: Jon King sings lead, Andy Gill plays guitar, Dave Allen bass and Hugo Burnham drums.
King and Gill produced it with Rob Warr, who was managing the band at the time, and Rick Walton engineered. The record around it takes punk and wrenches it toward funk, reggae and dub, while King's words across the album run on left-wing politics, Situationist theory, feminism and Marx on alienation, the private life always turning out to be a political one. Rolling Stone later ranked the album 273rd on its list of the 500 greatest ever made.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1746 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2007 | 622 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2022 | 549 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
Also listed as: I Found the Essence Rare; I Found That Essence Rare.
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