Official Version
| Official Version | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1987 | |||
| Genre | EBM, industrial | |||
| Length | 38:50 48:51 original CD issue 60:28 Epic CD issue | |||
| Label | Red Rhino Europe Wax Trax! Animalized Epic | |||
| Producer | Front 242 | |||
| Front 242 chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Official Version | ||||
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| 1992 Epic release cover | ||||
 | ||||
Official Version is the third studio album by Front 242, released in March 1987[1] and re-released in 1992.
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G." | 7:28 |
| 2. | "Rerun Time" | 5:25 |
| 3. | "Television Station" | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Agressiva Due" | 2:58 |
| 5. | "Master Hit" (Part 1 & 2") | 7:07 |
| 6. | "Slaughter" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Quite Unusual" | 3:49 |
| 8. | "Red Team" | 3:50 |
| 9. | "Angst" | 1:56 |
| Total length: | 38:50 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Quite Unusual" (12" Version) | 5:02 |
| 11. | "Agressiva" (12" Version) | 4:59 |
| Total length: | 48:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Masterblaster" | 7:06 |
| 13. | "Hypnomix" | 4:31 |
| Total length: | 60:28 | |
Notes[edit]
The CD version of the original issue included 12" mixes of "Quite Unusual" and "Agressiva", giving the disc 11 tracks. The 1992 issue of the album added the first two songs from the "Masterhit" 12", bringing the track count to 13.
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| MusicHound | 5/5[5] |
| NME | 6/10[6] |
| Select | 4/5[7] |
AllMusic's Ned Raggett rated the album 4 stars out of 5, describing it as "amazing" and "brutal", "helping to fully define industrial in the broadest sense of the term."[2] Robert Christgau wrote that "the worst you could say of them is that their club and cult hits don't exactly carpet-bomb the sensorium."[3] MusicHound described Official Version as "chock full of music that is guaranteed to make your heart race and your toes tap."[5]
In 2023, Consequence ranked it at number 47 in its list of the "50 Best Industrial Albums of All Time" and wrote that "even after 35 years, still sounds like a missive sent back to us from a dystopian future."[8]
Personnel[edit]
- Daniel Bressanutti
- Patrick Codenys
- Jean-Luc De Meyer
- Richard Jonckheere
- F. Boebaert – art Direction
- Greg Calbi – remastering
- A. Verbaert, Front 242, L. Van Praet – photography
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Official Version (CD Album) : Front 242". Spirit of Rock Webzine. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Front 242: Official Version > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1990). "Front 242". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). "Front 242". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Groves Dictionaries. pp. 2043. ISBN 1-561-59237-4.
- ^ a b Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "Front 242". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 461–462. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ Dalton, Stephen (4 July 1992). "Front 242: Geography / No Comment / Back Catalogue / Official Version / Front by Front". NME.
- ^ Scott, Danny (August 1992). "Front 242: Geography / No Comment / Back Catalogue / Official Version / Front by Front". Select. No. 26. p. 102.
- ^ "50 Best Industrial Albums of All Time". Consequence. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
