PiL albums

[Fuggle]

Public Image Ltd., The Flowers of Romance (Warner Bros., 1981)



You don’t need distorted guitars to make noisy music. Heck, you don’t even need guitars, sometimes! For the most part, this third effort by John Lydon/Rotten’s experimental post-Sex Pistols outfit eschews guitars and embraces minimalism, using drums and off-kilter synthesizer noises. So how can it be noisy? Because Lydon does away with his usual pop song structures and/or danceable rhythms and instead comes up with nine discordant numbers all centered around his jarring voice. Additionally, bassist Jah Wobble had recently quit, so the band simply didn’t use a bass here, making the sound even more off-balance. The Trouser Press Record Guide’s fourth edition notes that a record executive once called this LP “one of the most uncommercial records ever made at least in a pop context.” 25 years on, that assertion still rings true.

[Tao~]

WOW!!! That really seemed a glaring review....But it makes me want to get into their music even more!!! Thanks for posting that review.....You always stay on top of things!!!

[Fuggle]

Public Image Ltd - Compact Disc







Album - Compact Disc (or Album/Cassette) depending on your format
Artist - Public Image Ltd. (P.I.L)
Key Players - John Lydon -vocals.
Produced By - Bill Laswell and John Lydon

Release Date - February 3, 1986


What caused me to blow off the dust? I read an article recently about one of their live shows in which the band taunted the audience from behind the stage for close to one hour. Lydon has always been very quirky (and some might say annoying). PiL was a band that always seemed to be moving forward. This is just one of a few records that could be reviewed but the cast of uncredited band members make this all the more "curious" for a re-listen.

Overview - This is the fourth studio album from Public Image Limited, or PiL as they are commonly known. Front man John Lydon, former lead vocalist for the Sex Pistols formed the band and began to work with some of the finest musicians of the time on PiL albums. Lydon said that when he was in the Sex Pistols there was weak playing and bad gear, something he never wanted to repeat on future records. For this album Lydon felt it was basically a solo album with a series of guest musicians. As we go track by track you'll be astounded to see who was used.

Special note: The site fodderstompf proved to be an invaluable tool for getting a lot of this information.

FDF Comments (aka the songs) - As we break down each track I will include the players on each track. Lydon was the vocalist on all the tracks so he will only be listed if he did otherwise. Bernard Fowler sang back up on every track as well.

Track by track break down:

"FFF" - opens with heavy guitars and drum and Lydon's opening line "Farewell my Fair weathered Friend". Rumors circle this track is about founding PiL member Keith Levene. The track is drum heavy through out. The are some backwards vocal workings that fade directly in to the next track.
Steve Vai - Guitar, Nicky Skopelitis - guitar,
Bernie Worrell - Organ, Bill Laswell - Bass, Tony Williams - Drums

"Rise" - if there were ever a "well known" PiL song this would be it. Opening with the bass drum/snare intro from Williams this would be the "anthem" for PiL for years to come. Immediately catching is the swooping bass line from Laswell. During live performances Lydon would encourage the audience to scream along the lyrics "Anger is an Energy!". The song follows a pretty similar pattern but builds with urgency as it progresses. This is the first track you hear the guitar work of Vai stand out. A blistering solo about half way through before a few pounding beats on the floor tom send it back to the verse.
Steve Vai - Guitar, Nicky Skopelitis - Guitar, Ryuichi Sakamoto - Fairlight CMI Synthesizer, L.Shankar - Electric Violin, Bill Laswell - Bass, Tony Williams - Drums

"Fishing" is the first of a few tracks to feature Ginger Baker. His presence is immediately felt. The guitars crunch behind the heavy drum line. During the track there is a portion where a light keyboard layers over before Vai again sets off on a terrifically played solo. Its a tad over the top, but it's almost what you need and expect from a virtuoso of the instrument. Steve Vai - Guitar, Nicky Skopelitis - Guitar, Ryuichi Sakamoto - Fairlight CMI Synthesizer, Bernie Worrell - DX 7
Bill Laswell - Bass, Malachi Favors - Acoustic Bass (check out the image on that link!), Ginger Baker - Drums

"Round" opens with chatan and drums and Lydon repeats "round" a few times over. This is the first "slower" song on the album. The drums and guitar are still prominent in the mix, and heavy but it’s a little more basic in its four four time. There is more a dueling guitar solo at the outset between Vai and Nicky Skopelitis until Vai takes over.
Steve Vai - Guitar, Nicky Skopelitis - Guitar, Bernie Worrell - Organ, L. Shankar - Electric Violin, Bill Laswell - Bass, Ginger Baker - Drums, Aiyb Dieng - Chatan

"Bags" folds back into the mode of a heavy drum intro layered with a strong bass line. Vai is the lone guitar player on the track and continues to shine. The synthesizer is more "up" in the mix and it has a lighter feel, although Lydons trademark snarl is present.
Steve Vai - Guitar, Ryuichi Sakamoto - Fairlight CMI Synthesizer, Bill Laswell - Bass
Malachi Favors - Acoustic Bass, Ginger Baker - Drums

"Home" follows with a very similar feel to the whole album. A heavy, yet basic, drum line kicks off the track. This track had the least number of performers on it for the entire record. The organ work from Worrell adds a great touch and the track doesn't stray from the formula that has worked to this point.
Steve Vai - Guitar, Nicky Skopelitis - Guitar, Bernie Worrell - Organ, Bill Laswell - Bass, Tony Williams - Drums

Closing out with the epic "EASE" it takes over a minute to "get there". The slow keyboard intro slowly grows until Baker kicks it all in to gear. The musical influences in this track are numerous. There is a dueling "sitar" solo at two points on the track and the second one leads in to the final solo laid down by Vai is the finest solo he does on the album. Clocking in at over two minutes it is slowly faded with the whole track, who knows where it might have gone. This was a no brainier to add to the downloads. If you are a guitar player (or like guitar in general) check out the final few minutes of the track. Perhaps I "lack taste" but this solo to me is A+ stuff.
Steve Vai - Guitar, Ryuichi Sakamoto - Fairlight CMI Synthesizer, Jonas Hellborg - Bass, Malachi Favors - Acoustic Bass, Steve Turre - Didgeridoo, Ginger Baker - Drums

Where are they now? - In 1993 Lydon declared the band to be on an 'indefinite hiatus'. Lydon did release a solo album in 1997 and the year prior he agrees to a re-formation and tour with the Sex Pistols. (they did it again in 2003). In 2005 the Sex Pistols were inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but they did not attend the ceremony.

FDF Personal Comments (aka the Live experience) - In checking things PiL made my list of shows four times. The first was March 21, 1988 at the Worcester Centrum opening for INXS. On July 10, 1989 PiL was in an "opening band" slot again but this time it was sandwiched between the Sugarcubes and New Order. A few months later (October 7, 1989) the band played the Orpheum in Boston. It was a "neon stage" as props and the like were painted in bright colors and highlighted by black lights. The final time was at Avalon on September 9, 1992. What stood out the most this evening was the fact the band opened with a Lydon (and thus vocal-less) version of Led Zeppelins Kashmir. It was spot on and quite frankly John would have ruined it.

FDF Overall Take - The list of band members is astounding and nobody gets a mention anywhere in the liner notes (barring writing credits). For a music stand point alone this is a terrifically underrated album. Some of the tracks have a very basic or "generic' feel to them but overall the listen is rewarding. Lydon also said that while recording a vocal track on this very record Miles Davis came in and played horn behind him yet they never used the track from Davis..it's RE-ISSUE TIME folks!

[Tao~]

I loved this review....I am in the *learning* phase of what PiL was all about and I found this to be very informative......But as i have stated before...*Rise* is my favorite Pil song....I just never knew Steve Vai was playing guitar....that's cool....

[Snoogans4Jay]

tao said:

I loved this review....I am in the *learning* phase of what PiL was all about and I found this to be very informative......But as i have stated before...*Rise* is my favorite Pil song....I just never knew Steve Vai was playing guitar....that's cool....

Thanks very much for that review Fuggle! I am going to write a few "fan personal" reviews (meaning just my opinion on the PiL CDs I have from a non expert opinion ).

And Tao you DID know Steve Vai played guitar on that... .... I TOLD you and read you the exert from the book where he was interviewed about it

[Fuggle]

[Snoogans4Jay]

Well THAT is handy Fuggle..... ....I have only six of those.... ....I need to get SHOPPPING

[noir]

admin said:

Well THAT is handy Fuggle..... ....I have only six of those.... ....I need to get SHOPPPING

a few bootlegs in there....

[Fuggle]

AND NOW A SPECIAL WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS:

“ FUCK THE MAN!”




Or, so you may be yelling that phrase from the top of your local chapel after one listen to Public Image Ltd.’s 1978 album, Public Image. As you may or may not know (depending if you’re cool or not), PiL (that’s at least what the cool kids say, or so I am told) was a post-punk project by John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) after the Sex Pistols splintered in 1978. The group also featured Keith Levene (a member of an early Clash lineup), drummer Jim Walker and bassist Jah Wobble (birth name: John Wordle.)

Well, now that we are done with the foreplay of this review, it is time to get to the real bread ‘n butter, baby! This first album by PiL should not, I repeat, SHOULD NOT, be a laughing matter -- well, except for the goofy closing song, “Fodderstompf,” a song that because of its high-pitched vocal reminds me of the Cure’s cover of “Foxey Lady,” off that band’s first album, Three Imaginary Boys. Yet, that is me naturally blowing an off-topic wad of 7 degrees of music -- like that game surrounding Kevin Bacon and shit.

Yet, I will make this clear about Public Image -- this album is fucking pissed off! From the death disco of the opener, "Theme," with its chilly chorus of, “And I wish I could die!” to its second-to-last song, “Attack,” with a middle section that is nearly chanted under an equal volume of noise as “You who sits on golden arses, while tinkering your cocktail glasses” gets you into PiL’s political fervor. These examples show that even if this proto-noise rock is sometimes heard with a sense of “been there done that” due to what the noise rock world has produced in this album’s wake more than 30 years after its initial release, it's still mightily timely.

“Attack” bespeaks about the bureaucrats who only see war through hearsay while living like rich, fat cats. In Lydon’s world those who disagree with him are simply ignorant to the world around them. The evil “You“ in this rant that is known to make life-and-death choices is probably just as connoted now in the George W. Bush era than it was back then in England. Especially for Americans like myself who believe that we seem to be living with an abundant amount of pure-capitalist interest in our government for a select few, instead of for the greater good of societal interest.

Whether it’s the harsh diatribe stance Lydon takes in “Religion I” and “Religion II“ or the anti-conformity and materialism that is sing-spoken on the title track, the political stance in the lyrics is accentuated by the guitar’s noisy bursts that slithers in and out of the speakers like a drunken snake. While Jah Wobble’s bass gives the sonics its immense danceable quality, such as on a song like “Annalisa,” the subtlety here provides a ying to the splintery and noisy guitar of Levine’s yang.

Yet, admittedly, if you were to base Wobble’s fame on this album (as many believe he’s one of the better bassists in history) I would have to admit that it’s really not until song six (“Low Life”) of the nine-song album that Wobble’s bass becomes more than a good backbone to the guitar racket. Yet, I will also admit that it is also at that point in the album that its quality is not as fine as the prior two-thirds. As “Low Life” may be a good, Sex Pistols-ish song that’s even catchy and danceable, sadly, it goes on a bit too long. "Attack," again, feels a bit too noisy for its own good, and "Fodderstompf" could end a lot earlier than it does…I mean, like really, a lot.

So, with “Fodderstompf’s” final few seconds of quirky gibberish, no one can confuse Public Image of appealing to the masses. This makes it quite a feat for back in 1978, and yes, especially even now in these dark and conservative times.