Official Version
{{Short description|Album by Front 242}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Official Version
| type = Studio album
| artist = Front 242
| cover = Front242.Official.Version.Original.jpeg
| alt =
| released = March 1987
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| 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
| prev_title = No Comment
| prev_year = 1984
| next_title = Back Catalogue
| next_year = 1987
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Official Version
| type = studio
| single1 = Quite Unusual
| single1date = October 1986
| single2 = Masterhit
| single2date = 1987
}}
{{Extra album cover
| header = 1992 Epic release cover
| type = studio
| cover = Front 242 Official Version.jpg
| border =
| alt =
| caption =
}}
}}
Official Version is the third studio album by Front 242, released in March 1987{{cite web
| url = http://www.spirit-of-rock.com/album-groupe-Front_242-nom_album-Official_Version-l-en.html
| title = Official Version (CD Album) : Front 242
| publisher = Spirit of Rock Webzine
| accessdate = 1 October 2012
}} and re-released in 1992.
Track listing
{{tracklist
| title1 = W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G.
| length1 = 7:28
| title2 = Rerun Time
| length2 = 5:25
| title3 = Television Station
| length3 = 2:41
| title4 = Agressiva Due
| length4 = 2:58
| title5 = Master Hit
| note5 = Part 1 & 2"
| length5 = 7:07
| title6 = Slaughter
| length6 = 3:36
| title7 = Quite Unusual
| length7 = 3:49
| title8 = Red Team
| length8 = 3:50
| title9 = Angst
| length9 = 1:56
| total_length = 38:50
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = CD Bonus Tracks
| title10 = Quite Unusual
| note10 = 12" Version
| length10 = 5:02
| title11 = Agressiva
| note11 = 12" Version
| length11 = 4:59
| total_length = 48:51
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 1992 Epic release
| title12 = Masterblaster
| length12 = 7:06
| title13 = Hypnomix
| length13 = 4:31
| total_length = 60:28
}}
=Notes=
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
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |first=Ned|last=Raggett |title=Front 242: Official Version > Review |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r72976|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=30 July 2010}}
| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
| rev2score = B−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter=Front 242|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Front+242|title=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1990|isbn=0-679-73015-X|via=robertchristgau.com}}
| rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |first=Colin |last=Larkin |author-link=Colin Larkin |chapter=Front 242 |title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |year=1998 |publisher=Groves Dictionaries |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo03lark/page/2043/mode/1up 2043] |isbn=1-561-59237-4}}
| rev4 = MusicHound
| rev5 = NME
| rev5score = 6/10{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Dalton|magazine=NME|title=Front 242: Geography / No Comment / Back Catalogue / Official Version / Front by Front|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52641167540/in/album-72177720305376973/|date=4 July 1992}}
| rev6 = Select
| rev6score = 4/5{{cite magazine |last=Scott |first=Danny |title=Front 242: Geography / No Comment / Back Catalogue / Official Version / Front by Front |url=https://selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk/showpage.php?file=wp-content/uploads/2013/04/albums42.jpg|magazine=Select |issue=26 |date=August 1992 |page=102}}
}}
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." 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." MusicHound described Official Version as "chock full of music that is guaranteed to make your heart race and your toes tap."
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."{{Cite web |date=17 July 2023 |title=50 Best Industrial Albums of All Time |url=https://consequence.net/2023/07/best-industrial-albums-all-time/ |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=Consequence}}
Personnel
- 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
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Front 242}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Wax Trax! Records albums