Of course, when I bought it in 1986 it was called album, and technically, my new copy should be called download, but that's splitting hairs, really.
Arguably PiL's most accessible collection of songs, album is something of an anomaly, not only because Lydon considered it a solo album (founding member Keith Levene was out), but also because of the fucking bizarre group of guest musicians he employed, including Bill Laswell (who also produced), Ginger Baker (Hunh?), Steve Vai (Seriously, hunh?), and Ryuichi Sakamoto (Who?). For whatever reason, it works. And the louder you listen, the better it works.
From the sometimes realiable Wikipedia:
Neil Perry gave Album a positive review in the NME: "This is a wonderful, stunning and equally confusing record, and working on the theory that you'd never expect to hear the Lydon sneer backed by prime metal riffing, that's exactly what you get. Not everywhere, of course, as proved by the haunting "Rise." And "Ease," by the way, with its shock-horror two minutes plus guitar solo, is quite beautiful ... In short, Lydon and PiL are still breaking barriers. The man has extracted the false phallus from rock's trouser front and is smashing it over our heads."You guys are old now, so don't Forget (to) Take (your) PiL(s).
3 comments:
Man, we are SO cutting edge! Thanks, for this, J. Lookign forward to digging in to it.
Haven't heard these guys in ages, and like what I'm hearing now. Mini tanks.
I thought you'd appreciate that, Lurk Lurkington. Didn't Rob W. turn you on to these guys back in the day?
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