single // Get Clean
'Get Clean' was released in 1993, around the same
time as Nitzer Ebb were moving in a new direction
with the adventurous Ebbhead. Released on Power Of Voice
Communications, for whom Nitzer Ebb had recorded their earliest
work, 'Get Clean' was originally the B-side to the original 12"
of 'Let Your Body Learn', and this 12" and CD was issued without
the band's permission. This was the latest instalment in an ongoing
bitterness between the band and their pre-Mute
home, with Douglas McCarthy describing it as 'an
endless list of misery and frustration' (that's the edited version,
believe me) when I interviewed him earlier this year. Power Of Voice's
argument was that they wanted to conclude a CD reissue programme
of early Ebb tracks, but that the copyright of 'Let Your Body Learn'
had transferred to Mute, leaving them with no option but to release
'Get Clean' as a release in itself. The track was produced by Phil
Harding and two previously-unreleased versions are included with
this release.
Although clearly a long way from their later work,
'Get Clean' has a rough simplicity in keeping with the band's earliest
songs, the main synth sound being what feels like a couple of layers
of simple bass sounds joined together to create a single riff that
runs through the entire track without relenting. The variation comes
in the form of the drums and percussion, alternating between threatening
half-speed and full-velocity nihilism. Lots of clangs and metallic
sounds sit just behind the beat, linking this to some of the industrial
experiments that had been happening over in an East End railway
siding in the creation of Depeche Mode's 'Pipeline'.
McCarthy's vocals are direct, bratty and shouty,
deploying lots of urgent, repeated lines about getting clean, none
of which make a lot of sense. In the background are some distinctly
out of breath sexual grunts, terminating in what sounds like a strained
climax right at the very end of the track. These sounds are mostly
just background noises on the lead version, but on the two extra
mixes McCarthy's vocal is ditched completely in favour of the breathing,
the first still retaining a rhythm while the second version more
or less ditches anything other than a hissing drone noise and occasional
interludes from the bass riff. I guess there has always been a sexual
quality to Nitzer Ebb's music, but never quite so overtly as on
'Get Clean'. Perhaps I'm a bit too much of a prude, but it's actually
a little bit excessive on the additional mixes here.
It's easy to understand McCarthy's frustration with
this track being released since the band were making huge leaps
into a new direction with Ebbhead, 'Get Clean' effectively dragging
focus back to some of their more naive work. As a Nitzer Ebb fan
it's interesting to hear alternative mixes of a track from their
earliest period, but even so it's a curiosity more than essential
item.
12":
A. Get Clean
B. Get Clean (Raw Sex Without Rhythm)
cd:
1. Get Clean
2. Get Clean (Raw Sex)
3. Get Clean (Raw Sex Without Rhythm)
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