Album: Album
Artist: Public Image Ltd
Artist: Public Image Ltd
Born: Holloway, London
Released: January 1986
Genre: Punk Metal
Influenced: Nine Inch Nails, Leftfield, Radiohead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars
1986 was a terrible year for new music, possibly the worst ever. While it heralded some groundbreaking hip hop records, it was also the year of heavy metal (Slayer's Reign In Blood and Metallica's Master of Puppets), hair metal (Poison, Bon Jovi, David Lee Roth) and Europe's The Final Countdown. So plenty of style over substance. One of the hardest decisions I've had to make so far with this blog was leaving out the Sex Pistols. There was a feeling they should be in, given their influence and the way they infused pop music with a new energy in the late 70s, but I've tried to go with the music I think has value rather than worrying too much about the consensus. The best thing about the Pistols was John Lydon's lyrics ("your future dream is a shopping scheme"), the worst thing was that nobody could play any instruments. Lydon produced more interesting music as the figurehead of Public Image Ltd, and the early albums with Jah Wobble (Metal Box is my favourite) really broke new ground in fusing punk with reggae and dub. Of all PiL's output, though, Album is the most musically interesting and lyrically challenging. Calling on the talents of riff master Steve Vai, legendary drummer and awkward cuss Ginger Baker and Yellow Magic Orchestra's synth pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lydon and the label assembled an all-star cast. On the tracks that didn't feature Ginger Baker, Miles Davis' drummer Tony Williams filled in. Producer Bill Laswell, fond of colliding musical styles and watching the results, was responsible for the record's novel chemistry. Many devoted PiL fans were already disillusioned by Lydon's commercial turn, so hit single Rise would have upset the punk purists deeply. All I thought, aged 7, was who's that strange-looking guy?
What's so clever about Rise is that its commercial appeal was a Trojan Horse for some of Lydon's most politically-minded lyrics, allowing a song about apartheid in South Africa to reach as wide an audience as possible. Its violent snare drum beats along with melodic guitar and uplifting chorus ("may the road rise with you") make for an unusual mix, but best of all is Lydon's snarling, dramatic delivery. Channelling his Johnny Rotten persona, Lydon also doesn't miss a chance to snipe at his peers on F.F.F ("farewell to fairweather friends"), an attack on ex-bandmates and music industry figures, using some brilliantly inventive putdowns ("logic is lost in your cranial abattoir"). Ginger Baker's industrial sounding drumming on Fishing is magnificent, as is Vai's guitar playing, which seems to be inspired by some of his American metal and noise rock contemporaries. Bags has a great synth line from Sakamoto as Lydon sings about death and decay, while Home is one of Album's finest songs. The problem with getting star session musicians to record an album is that they're often not available when it comes to touring, but Lydon still managed to build a great band, including ex-Siouxsie & the Banshees guitarist, John McGeoch. Seeing out Album is one of my favourites on the record, Ease, its wonderfully exotic Sakamoto opening on the Fairlight keyboard blending with a towering guitar solo. Hearing Lydon snarl ("Susan and Norman / you're so normal") in among all this brilliant musicianship makes you wonder why he didn't surround himself with a bit more talent earlier.
1986 was a terrible year for new music, possibly the worst ever. While it heralded some groundbreaking hip hop records, it was also the year of heavy metal (Slayer's Reign In Blood and Metallica's Master of Puppets), hair metal (Poison, Bon Jovi, David Lee Roth) and Europe's The Final Countdown. So plenty of style over substance. One of the hardest decisions I've had to make so far with this blog was leaving out the Sex Pistols. There was a feeling they should be in, given their influence and the way they infused pop music with a new energy in the late 70s, but I've tried to go with the music I think has value rather than worrying too much about the consensus. The best thing about the Pistols was John Lydon's lyrics ("your future dream is a shopping scheme"), the worst thing was that nobody could play any instruments. Lydon produced more interesting music as the figurehead of Public Image Ltd, and the early albums with Jah Wobble (Metal Box is my favourite) really broke new ground in fusing punk with reggae and dub. Of all PiL's output, though, Album is the most musically interesting and lyrically challenging. Calling on the talents of riff master Steve Vai, legendary drummer and awkward cuss Ginger Baker and Yellow Magic Orchestra's synth pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lydon and the label assembled an all-star cast. On the tracks that didn't feature Ginger Baker, Miles Davis' drummer Tony Williams filled in. Producer Bill Laswell, fond of colliding musical styles and watching the results, was responsible for the record's novel chemistry. Many devoted PiL fans were already disillusioned by Lydon's commercial turn, so hit single Rise would have upset the punk purists deeply. All I thought, aged 7, was who's that strange-looking guy?
What's so clever about Rise is that its commercial appeal was a Trojan Horse for some of Lydon's most politically-minded lyrics, allowing a song about apartheid in South Africa to reach as wide an audience as possible. Its violent snare drum beats along with melodic guitar and uplifting chorus ("may the road rise with you") make for an unusual mix, but best of all is Lydon's snarling, dramatic delivery. Channelling his Johnny Rotten persona, Lydon also doesn't miss a chance to snipe at his peers on F.F.F ("farewell to fairweather friends"), an attack on ex-bandmates and music industry figures, using some brilliantly inventive putdowns ("logic is lost in your cranial abattoir"). Ginger Baker's industrial sounding drumming on Fishing is magnificent, as is Vai's guitar playing, which seems to be inspired by some of his American metal and noise rock contemporaries. Bags has a great synth line from Sakamoto as Lydon sings about death and decay, while Home is one of Album's finest songs. The problem with getting star session musicians to record an album is that they're often not available when it comes to touring, but Lydon still managed to build a great band, including ex-Siouxsie & the Banshees guitarist, John McGeoch. Seeing out Album is one of my favourites on the record, Ease, its wonderfully exotic Sakamoto opening on the Fairlight keyboard blending with a towering guitar solo. Hearing Lydon snarl ("Susan and Norman / you're so normal") in among all this brilliant musicianship makes you wonder why he didn't surround himself with a bit more talent earlier.
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