Sat listening to "Chairs Missing" as I write this. Been a long time since I last played it. Before I started to spin it I had a fixed idea in my mind that it was radically different to Pink Flag. Sat here now, I don't think it is such a radical departure. Several of the songs sound as though they would have fitted perfectly on the debut. "French Film Blurred" and "I Am The Fly" and "I Feel Mysterious Today" being the obvious anomalies. "Outdoor Miner" takes their pop sensibilities and perfects it. What is vastly different is the production. How much this is down to Mike Thorne or the band I honestly don't know. Whatever, certainly a giant leap forward sonically at least. Certainly easier on the ear than the debut, but better? Hmm...the debut will always have a special place in my heart.
Of course it can. "Better" was probably not the correct word, I like the debut more. Does that fit better with you?
Different to Me. Yes, I think different is a 'better' word, they're not really aiming for the same results.
154 (Harvest/Warner Bros., Sept. 1979) 1. I Should Have Known Better (Lewis) 2. Two People In A Room (Newman/Gilbert) 3. The 15th (Newman) 4. The Other Window (Lewis/Gilbert) 5. Single K.O. (Lewis) 6. A Touching Display (Lewis) 7. On Returning (Newman) 8. A Mutual Friend (Lewis/Newman) 9. Blessed State (Gilbert) 10. Once Is Enough (Newman) 11. Map Ref. 41°N 93°W (Lewis/Newman/Gilbert) 12. Indirect Enquiries (Lewis/Newman) 13. 40 Versions (Gilbert) Bonus EP 1. Song 1 (Gotobed/Newman/Simmons) (Produced by Gotobed) 2. Get Down (Parts 1 and 2) (Newman/Smith/Simmons/Gotobed/David) (Produced by Newman) 3. Let's Panic Later (Lewis) (Produced by Lewis) 4. Small Electric Piece (Gilbert) (Produced by Gilbert) Colin Newman - Vocals, Guitar Graham Lewis - Vocals, Bass Robert Gotobed - Drums B.C. Gilbert - Guitars, Voice Hilly Kristal - Bass voice Kate Lukas - Alto flute Tim Souster - Electric Viola Mike Thorne - Keyboards & Synthesizers Joan Whiting - Cor Anglais Produced by Mike Thorne 1994 CD Bonus Tracks: 14. Song 1 (Gotobed/Newman/Simmons) 15. Get Down (Parts I & II) (Newman/Smith/Simmons/Gotobed/David) 16. Let's Panic Later (Lewis) 17. Small Electric Piece (Gilbert) 18. Go Ahead (Gilbert/Lewis/Newman/Gotobed) (Produced by Wire) 2006 Credits: All tracks arranged by Gilbert/Grey/Lewis/Newman except "The 15th" by Grey/Lewis/Newman & "A Touching Display" by Gilbert/Grey/Lewis Melody: Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 - 13 by Newman, tracks 1, 4 & 6 by Newman/Lewis, 9 by Gilbert, 13 by Gilbert/Newman Words: Tracks 1, 5, 6, 8, 11 & 12 by Lewis, 2, 4, 9 & 13 by Gilbert, 3, 7, & 10 by Newman Additional releases: A Question Of Degree (Newman/Lewis)/Former Airline (Gilbert) 7" (Harvest, July 1979) Produced by Mike Thorne Map Ref. 41°N 93°W (Lewis/Newman/Gilbert)/Go Ahead (Newman/Gilbert/Lewis/Gotobed) 7" (Harvest, Nov. 1979) A side produced by Mike Thorne, B side produced by Wire
Confession (regarding "154"): I'd gotten into Wire during the Ideal Copy / A Bell Is a Cup era, and it wasn't until 1996, when I heard My Bloody Valentine's rendition of "Map Ref" on the "Whore: Various Artists Play Wire" compilation that I knew I had to go back and finally dive into the earlier stuff. What a great single, and what an immense album!
"We were all delighted with the keyboard additions, with the emergent philosophy that we were just making an integrated electric sound which didn't have an obvious source. No guitar heroes or keyboard flash here - I couldn't have done that anyway. We all got better at 'electric' and defining a style out of nowhere." Mike Thorne "I always liked thinking: What qualifies as music? How far can you go and still have it sort of fit into a musical framework?" Bruce Gilbert
For me, 154 is Wire's masterpiece. It's their Closer, their Pornography, their Juju, their Secondhand Daylight, their Fourth Drawer Down, i.e., their most extreme, harrowing, and uncompromising work. (And one of my favorite albums of all time.) In the pantheon of great post punk albums, 154 belongs among the most highly revered. Right off the bat, "I Should Have Known Better" is one of the most amazing things they've ever done. Against a backdrop of choppy, manically strummed rhythm guitar and sixteenths on the high hat, Mike Thorne's lush synths glide skyward, enveloping the song in a gorgeous atmosphere, offset by what I'm presuming to be Gilbert's atonal, increasingly LOUD bursts of art-damaged guitar, while Lewis coolly delivers his vocals in his commanding baritone, all shrouded in a massive, cavernous reverb. Wow! "The 15th" remains one of my favorite ever Wire songs. It's the perfect marriage of art and pop with its beautiful and catchy chord changes, soaring melodies, and gorgeous synths, all put through the echoey and effects-heavy Wire filter. A deeply moving track! "The Other Window," sung (or recited) by Gilbert, takes us into more art-damaged territory - a dark, powerful song with gruesome lyrical imagery to match. "Single K.O." is an absolutely riveting, moody song that slowly builds in tension; again, Thorne's beautiful synth work really helps propel this track into the stratosphere. The epic "A Touching Display" is a monstrous assault on the senses, but before its chaotic, menacing crescendo that leaves you feeling totally disoriented, it's actually quite beautiful. And it's crazy how LOUD this song gets. There are moments where it's kind of amazing they were able to record certain parts so loud without overloading/distorting the signal. "On Returning" takes the listener back to level ground with its cool, snappy, slightly off-kilter brand of art pop. "A Mutual Friend" continues side one's mind-boggling brilliance with a moving, melodic, and texturally fascinating song that builds up dramatically to an explosive climax of pop brilliance. It's amazing how they were able to convey such emotional warmth and somber iciness all in the same song. "Blessed State" plays it cool and relatively restrained, allowing the listener a bit of breathing room. It wouldn't be a Wire album without an idiosyncratic pop hit that, of course, never wound up being a hit: "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W." Super catchy, inventive, and offbeat. The steadily pulsing "40 Versions" is the perfect closing track with its warm, fuzzed-out sound and watery effects and sonic flourishes. The only tracks I'm not too fond of are "Once Is Enough" and "Indirect Enquiries." The former, in particular, has always sounded a bit stilted or forced to me, and like it could have used a bit more time to fully develop. But that's not a big deal, as the rest of this album is staggeringly brilliant. The songs are, for the most part, exceptionally well composed, but the sound of 154 is equally exciting. The production was hugely adventurous and boundlessly creative, as the band pushed the envelope with the sounds they could achieve. The sound is a massive, dense, colorful, and inventively textured landscape. There are a lot of sonic details to get lost in. It's a darker album, less playful than Chairs Missing perhaps, but just as wildly creative and even more daring. It's no wonder the band broke up when they did: 154 would've been a difficult album to top, and IMO, they never actually have topped it, though they have made plenty of wonderful music since then, both as Wire and via other projects. I was a little disheartened to discover in Read and Burn that tensions in the band were running high while they were making 154, mainly due to differences in approach between Colin Newman and his more tuneful tendencies, and Bruce Gilbert, whose main intent was merely to "make a noise." But I suppose this is one of those instances where that tension paid off creatively, regardless of the negative impact it had on Newman and Gilbert's creative relationship. Of course, that tension would persist throughout Gilbert's tenure in the group.
If I ever had to choose an all time favorite album, it would probably be 154. You raise a great point with the Newman/Gilbert tension though. I think Wire’s best work was due to that balance between extremes. Since Bruce left I think their work has become less distinct, and too often it feels like Colin Newman solo work with the occasional Graham Lewis guest vocal.
"154"? A logical progression, song structures are being stretched, dissolved. Shame that the same happened to the band itself because "I Should Have Known" better alone is a masterclass in cinematic, caleidoscopic production. In an ideal world "Map Ref" should have been massive and from here on Wire's way should have led into completely uncharted sonic territory but... they took the long way home instead. Their best album? Well... I never could decide between the first three.
Hmmmm.... I always thought "Join Hands" was the Banshees most uncompromising album. Flawed as it is... And "Fourth Drawer Down" is a - fantastic - collection of tracks originally released on 12"s.
There's very little attention paid to Wire lyrics and that's understandable when the music is as it is. However, "I should have known better" is a striking snapshot of a relationship struggle, much like "Love will tear us apart", and sounds deeply personal. It matches titles with a Beatles song but whereas that song kind-of sails past whatever might be implied by the title, the wire song gets forensically in there.
Err, don't think you should use the word "best" in this thread. The opening poster gave me a mild rebuke when I used it earlier. Hard not to though when evaluating something.
Right, my take on "154." Apologies in advance for the long winded approach but I have done a brief review of each track. "I Should Have Known Better." Straight away you can tell this album is going to be something different...or is it? Reminds me of Magazine, but not as good. Pleasant enough opener though. "Two People In A Room." Could have been lifted straight off "Pink Flag." It's OK. "The 15th." Glorious little tune. Really love the production on this. "Outdoor Miner" lives again. "Other Windows" interesting lyrics. By now the production is really starting to kick in. Shame it manages to strangle the idea. "Single K.O." as above. "Touching Display." Reminds me of "French Film Blurred" at the start. Then somehow manages to lose itself in another glut of overproduction and ends up a murky dirge. "On Returning." Quirky little ditty but nothing special. "A Mutual Friend." Interesting mix of an industrial sound and pop. Reminds me of Pink Floyd in places. God, that production is starting to grate. "Blessed State." Pretty straightforward Wire. Helped massively by the relatively uncluttered production. "Once Is Enough"...Exactly! Pretty sure there is a good song trying to break through here. "Map Ref. 41N 93W." Heavy handed production again manages to obscure what could have been a classic Wire track. "Indirect Enquiries." More of the same..supposed atmospherics but this really is getting to be a drag now. "40 Versions" Not sure what the lyrics are about but one line sums up Wire for me at this moment in time, "I never know which version I'm going to be." You said it! Look, I know that a lot of people really rate this album but to me it is a grossly overproduced mess. "Art for arts sake" springs to mind. I can fully understand why there were divisions in the band during the recording. A massive let down, to me, compared to what went before.
Well, yeah, Join Hands probably is the most uncompromising Banshees album, but I guess Juju is, at least IMHO, the better album, so I listed that instead. And it is still uncompromising in that the Banshees were delivering a very pure, unfettered vision. I figured we all knew that Fourth Drawer Down is technically a comp, but since it represents the Associates at their most wildly adventurous, and since all the tracks cohere, as they were all done within the span of a year, more or less, and all created from the same mindset (i.e., drug addled!), I thought it made sense to mention it.
You think "Fourth Drawer Down" is more adventurous than "The Affectionate Punch" or "Sulk"? I like them all equally so I couldn't decide.
I love them all too, and they are all adventurous, but I think the songs that comprise Fourth Drawer Down are the most "out there," sonically and compositionally, if that makes sense. But, back to Wire...
This is the version I have. Speaking of album covers, I love the cover art for 154. (I love the appealingly odd yet striking artwork for Pink Flag and Chairs Missing too.)
This used to be my favourite Wire album but it probably isn't now - there's a couple of irritating tracks that I can't be bothered with anymore. Still great though!
On Former Airline there's some squalls of sax, uncredited. I suppose they're either Gilbert or Lewis, but does anyone know for sure?
