John Lydon has been in the news today, doing some public racism for attention. But it's nicer to think of the times when he was relevant, exciting and innovative. First Morrissey, then Rotten - I just need to find out that Robert Fripp strangles kittens for fun to burst all my illusions.
I was sure I had a CD copy of the band's first album, but seemingly that's an oversight I'll have to look to remedy. Instead here's this live album from 1980, apparently rush released to cover the costs of the Metal Box LP. Lydon's opinion was "Don't buy this live record, because it's not very good".
So, there's another opinion of his that's bollocks, it really is a very good representation of early PIL.
Just like the debut album, this opens with Theme, Keith Levene's screaming guitar and Jah Wobble's slow pounding bass providing a platform for Lydon to wail loudly at us that he wishes he could die. To many, John you already have.
It's followed by a trio from Metal Box - the frantic Chant, the slightly reggaefied Careering, and, after a couple of false starts and some crowd noise, Bad Baby, probably the least interesting piece here.
But it's soon back to form with the fantastic Lowlife, sounding as fresh live as it did on the debut album, and with Levene's sharp guitar sound, Attack follows, equally powerful. Finally, after a bit of Lydon trademark swearing at the audience we get the glorious Poptones.
As a snapshot of the first two PIL albums, this is a great listen. The recording is solid and the performances hold up well, Levene, Wobble and drummer Martin Atkins sounding great and allowing Lydon to do his stuff.
4* - still sounding great, a fine performance.
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