Travelling back from holiday, I've decided to end the break with an old favourite. i had this on vinyl, a Christmas present in 1980, an album I was already familiar with, one which was already a favourite, and one which, at various times across the decades since has come up as the answer to "all time favourite album". So I don't think the outcome here is in any doubt, but let's listen anyway.
I Should Have Known Better is a strong start, Graham Lewis's semi-spoken vocals over a simple backing, while Colin Newman ups the tempo with Two People In A Room, a far more punk based thrash with a hypnotic guitar accompaniment. The 15th is pure pop, an echoing yet staccato guitar underpinning Newman's vocals, and another mesmeric guitar outro. The Other Window is a Bruce Gilbert spoken, surreal, dark narrative of a foreign train journey, firstly accompanied by wailing guitar, before Robert Grey's solid four beat drumming carries the song to its end. There's a Peel Session version of this, much tamer and regularly structured, but Mike Thorne's production brings this one out. Single K.O. is a powerful song, although perhaps one of the less memorable songs, unlike A Touching Display, an epic opening of cymbals, bass and effects giving the sense of anticipation of a classic, and it doesn't disappoint. Lewis' pained vocals pull the song to a crescendo after it builds and builds to a full blooded three minute instrumental conclusion. Something a bit lighter is needed to follow, and the short and infectious On Returning does just the job to conclude the first half.
A Mutual Friend opens the second half, a gentle minimal opening before it gets going, with a cor anglais centre piece and a harmonic conclusion, which would have been unthinkable just two years earlier on hearing debut Pink Flag. Lewis steps back to the mic for the similarly restrained Blessed State, a lively, optimistic piece, before things are cranked up to 11 for the much more frantic Once Is Enough. It's a cracking song, with far more echoes of the first two albums than many songs here, taking us to the single (not a hit), Map Ref. 41ºN 93ºW, a fine romp of a pop song, but with enough Wire innovation to keep it interesting. It's followed by the sinister Indirect Enquiries, mostly spoken over a recurring guitar theme before a manic vocal outro, and final album track 40 Versions, which restores a bit of calm to bring the listener back down, ending with an almost meditative chant and single bell.
My vinyl edition came with a bonus 7" single, and the four tracks from it are included as extras on my Japanese import CD. The 1996 UK CD reissue did not have any additional tracks, the band feeling that "such additions dishonour the conceptual clarity of the original statements".
Song 1 is a short instrumental, Get Down (not a Gilbert O'Sullivan cover), Let's Panic Later and Small Electric Piece are strange experimental, quiet flowing pieces, pointing to some of the band's individual output, especially Lewis and Gilbert's Dome.
It's also packed with assorted odd tracks such as Go Ahead, the ordinary B side of Map Ref; and several demos taken from the Behind The Curtain compilation, which we'll visit at some point.
This album is a stunning piece of work, a huge step in the band's growth from punk roots to genuinely experimental yet accessible music which has influenced generations of musicians over the last 45 years.
5* - just perfect!
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