Public Image Limited

For new sounds, old sounds and favourite sound discussion...

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angelsighs
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Public Image Limited

Post by angelsighs »

I see that all their albums have been reissued recently.. I've only got Metal Box which I think is superb.. it really defines that postpunk sound with scratchy guitar and deep basslines. must have been even more impressive at the time.
are any of their other albums worth it? are they a bit all over the shop

I see that the current lineup are to release a new album soon... can't see what it will like without Levene or Wobble though to be honest.
bruce_brobertson
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by bruce_brobertson »

Can you suggest an album to start off with?
runcible
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by runcible »

The first album is essential - don't miss it. Far more raw and punky in tracks like Annalisa and Low Life but also deep and bassy. The first track - Theme - is unbelievably psychedelic. Keith Leven's guitar is truly incredible in that. I didn't get it at the time but when I revisited it a few years later my jaw dropped at the sound in that song.
niamhm
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by niamhm »

would also rec. the live album Paris In The Spring ,although a tad perfunctory its the only official live recording of the classic line up so worth getting,

of the others ,I would say Flowers Of Romance & Album/cd are the ones of most interest ,although still to be approached with care,FOR is pretty much a percussive album,little semblance to Metal Box the album before and Album/cd is like a sorta heavy metal super band offering ,Ginger Baker,Stevie Vai & Bill Laswell all contrbute but quite enjoyable ,
as for the rest it depends on your capacity for indulging Lydon some okay stuff but not really essential ,

be interesting to see what the present PiL line up come up with this year ,supposed to have an album out in March ,as Lydon always had a capacity to surprise ,but not really done so for along time,time will tell.
Kurious Oranj
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by Kurious Oranj »

what they said.. the first 3 albums are all worth the time, with metal box obv being a favorite

it's too bad the albums with john mcgeoch never amounted to anything he's a great guitarist
angelsighs
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by angelsighs »

thanks, I think I'll check out the first album next then. runcible is right, there is definitely a psych edge to the band, but it's a different kind of psychedelia... more inner space than outer space :)

I've got to respect Lydon for creating this band after the Pistols... he really was ahead of the curve at that time as PiL really do seem to define the postpunk aesthetic of paranoia, dread and musical experimentation.. in Metal Box I can definitely hear Lydon's love of Can coming through.
although I love Metal Box, I do have to be in a specific mood to listen to it.
niamhm wrote:Ginger Baker,Stevie Vai & Bill Laswell
wow... now there's three people you would have thought the average punk would despise :)
sunray
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by sunray »

runcible wrote:The first album is essential - don't miss it. Far more raw and punky in tracks like Annalisa and Low Life but also deep and bassy. The first track - Theme - is unbelievably psychedelic. Keith Leven's guitar is truly incredible in that. I didn't get it at the time but when I revisited it a few years later my jaw dropped at the sound in that song.
Spot on.
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Kurious Oranj
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by Kurious Oranj »

angelsighs wrote: although I love Metal Box, I do have to be in a specific mood to listen to it.
yeah it's not an easy listen all the way through

i prefer to listen to it in chunks
BzaInSpace
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by BzaInSpace »

I would be interested in hearing some of the reissues, according to amazon they have all been remastered in 2011. However, they sound pretty amazing anyway. And sometimes a slight murkiness is part of what makes them so great - I like the way the track 'Public Image' is kinda reverby and hazy sounding.

I pretty much agree with all the suggestions here - Public Image/First Edition is an absolute must... read what Runcible says about 'Theme' - it's astounding! I'll agree it's psychedelic in the deepest, darkest dub-fire way - that magnificent bassline which seems to work it's way right into your soul...
For me the other highlight of this album is the song 'Public Image' - an all-time great for me, one of my favourite songs ever. Perhaps the rest of the album doesn't quite reach the heights of these too songs but that's only as they are so impossibly good.

I love Flowers of Romance as well although it took a bit...ok, much longer to get into - the 'bonus' track 'Home Is Where The Heart Is' is excellent so I hope it's included on the reissue and one of the only appearances of Wobble's bass! - Niamhm is dead on it by describing it as a "percussive" album. I would say it sounds nothing like the previous records at all, mad tape loops, loads of amazing echo effects and stuff.

To come out of the Sex Pistols with the first three albums is amazing in itself - I've dipped into the further albums but there are still some I've never heard. I'll give a shout out for This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get as well, bit of horns and some kind of funky soul thing goin' on here.

I've also got a fantastic and hilarious show of PiL at the Benicassim festival in 2010 - apart from being an excellently recorded and sleek and heavy version of PiL with killer versions of 'Religon' , 'Death Disco', 'Public Image' and many more, John is on great voice throughout and also rips into his own band at the end when he asks them to keep playing... "on my own as per fucking usual"
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angelsighs
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by angelsighs »

Kurious Oranj wrote:
angelsighs wrote: although I love Metal Box, I do have to be in a specific mood to listen to it.
yeah it's not an easy listen all the way through

i prefer to listen to it in chunks
that might be a good technique. infact wasnt that kind of the idea- originally it was issued on 3 x vinyl records so you could dip in at any point and listen to it in chunks, therefore undermining the usual linear 'album' format?
toomilk
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by toomilk »

It's all about the first two albums. The first album is worth it for the title track alone (which is quite possibly one of the greatest songs ever), but there are definitely a lot of interesting bits on both albums. For me, they started out as an a band of ideals and concepts. That all kind of got watered down and lost after Metal Box. First Issue is great.

I would even go so far as to say it should be a part any decent record collection.
BVCP206
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by BVCP206 »

'Album' is a wonderful record, not a duff track on it.
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sunray
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by sunray »

Apparently PIL are bidding to be Ireland's entry for this year's Eurovision :shock: :D
Nineteen...Nineteen...Six Five
BzaInSpace
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by BzaInSpace »

Truly, like it’s stated, a PIL track like no other. Guess it’s a love letter to Nora…
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niamhm
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by niamhm »

That is quite an astounding tune by PIL, taken a few days to get my head round it and on a personal level it hits quite hard, I honestly didn’t think PIL had a tune of this quality/standard left in them, what a beautifully moving start to the yr :)
angel-sighs
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Re: Public Image Limited

Post by angel-sighs »

Definitely a surprisingly good song right? If not jolly and catchy enough to be a eurovision tune surely.
I dont really like Lydon as an individual these days but there has been some surprisingly good music in latter day Pil
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