White Room

A crazy experiment in music-industry manipulation, the KLF remain one of dance’s more groundbreaking acts. Having already scored hits as the Jams and the Timelords, Bill Drummond and Jimi Cauty christened the KLF with Who Killed the Jams? Though they were originally considered part of England’s acid-house scene, the KLF’s high-energy mix of disco-diva vocals, rapping, breaks, and samples was truly club-friendly pop. The White Room contains three of the group’s greatest moments, the top 10 hits “What Time Is Love?,” “Last Train to Transcentral,” and “3 A.M. Eternal.” Amid their success, Drummond and Cauty retired from the music industry, deleting their back catalogue in the process. The White Room is a fitting (if somewhat short) epitaph that stands the test of time. Its futuristic musical themes are somewhat silly, but genuine musicianship makes the songs themselves quality fun.
Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond had their first massive smash hit as the Timelords (“Doctoring the House”) and also scored hits as the Jams. So by the time they came up with tracks like “3AM Eternal” and the blaring-horn-a-thon that was “What Time Is Love?” (both from The White Room), they were already well versed in writing pop songs.
This is a dance album of sorts, but it is very tongue-in-cheek and has a distinctly commercial edge. The pair were notorious jokers–the back cover shows them clutching sheep to their chests–and after managing to rule the charts they disbanded and turned their back on the industry completely. Their disdain for the music business comes through in their over-the-top futurism and relentless air horn blasting, both of which are an acquired taste and quite nauseating after a while.
Aside from the singles mentioned above, White Room also contains the soulful “Make It Rain”, the surprisingly subdued “Church of the KLF”, some Scottish poetry on “Build a Fire” and unforgivably crass use of some King Tubby trumpet on the dire “No More Tears”. It’s hailed as a classic, but don’t believe the hype. –Paul Sullivan