Wire's 'difficult' second album followed a year after their debut, and was always going to be a tough act to follow. And while it isn't the classic which preceded it, or was to follow it, it marks a fascinating waypoint between the punk minimalism of Pink Flag and the more abstract and varied sound which was to follow on 154.
I heard this at the time but wasn't as taken with it as I had been with Pink Flag, and only really got it in the context of 154, so for me it's always been the poor relation of the classic first three albums.
The change is obvious from the very start, as the echoing bass introduces Practice Makes Perfect, before each guitar comes in, in turn and while simple in construction, it's something more than the Wire you previously knew, while instantly recognisable, even though it's over four minutes long! French Film Blurred is even more low key but with the relentless beat of Wire, then Another The Letter recalls the debut album, with a minute long thrash driven by a synth theme from producer Mike Thorne, followed by the simple Men 2nd .
Marooned kicks off with a bombastic guitar riff, before a slow bassline takes this gentler song over and Sand In My Joints is much more of a Wire thrash.
Being Sucked In Again has a similar feel to Practice Makes Perfect, and the first half ends with the slow, dark Heartbeat, a fantastic, simple song.
Mercy almost seems to pick up the beat from Heartbeat, before launching into a loud guitar intro, and a more pedestrian louder Wire song. It gets a little less intense and almost pop-like with the single Outdoor Miner, a 'miner' hit (geddit?) about an insect, which might have been bigger but for allegations of chart rigging by EMI staff. That's followed by the stomping singalong favourite I Am The Fly, and the wonderfully dark I Feel Mysterious Today.
From The Nursery rattles along, possibly my least favourite track on the album, before the boys sign off, firstly with the muted, but lovely Used To, and the upbeat Too Late, a decent, if solid rather than remarkable sign off.
This CD reissue also contains the single version of Outdoor Miner, with added piano middle and extra chorus (the original was only 1 minure 45 seconds, and it needed padding out), the following single A Question Of Degree, a lively romp, and its more anarchic (and more interesting) B-side Former Airline (apparently the chords are B-E-A). Hit singles were never really a Wire thing.
Wire's second album certainly has more than enough to enjoy in its own right, and possibly unfairly, I tend to pass it over in favour of the first and third albums, but there's some great stuff here.
4* - Wire transition from a punk band to something with far more depth with this great album
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