Wire: Pink Flag 1977 + Chairs Missing 1978 + 154 1979 + The Ideal Copy 1987

 

Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman (vocals,

guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), George Gill (lead guitar) and Robert Grey (aka Robert Gotobed; drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on The Roxy London WC2 album, and were instrumental to the development of post-punk, while their debut album Pink Flag was influential for hardcore punk.
                  

Wire are considered a definitive and highly influential art punk and post-punk band, due to their richly

detailed and atmospheric sound and obscure lyrical themes.[citation needed] They steadily developed from an early noise rock style to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers (1978's Chairs Missing and 1979's 154). The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout their career.
           

Focused on experimentation and process, Wire's musical identity constantly changes. Their first three

albums alone attest to a startling evolution as the band repeatedly -- and rapidly -- reinvented themselves. Pink Flag (1977) found them twisting punk's simplicity and rawness to their own arty designs; on Chairs Missing (1978) they added frosty atmospheres and more melodic songwriting, both of which they heightened on 154 (1979).
      

This capacity for self-reinvention, and their willingness to stop recording when ideas aren't

forthcoming, is crucial to Wire's longevity and continued relevance. The group returned from hiatuses in the '80s and '90s with renewed creativity on the electronic leanings of The Ideal Copy (1987) or the ferocious noise of Send (2003).
             

Wire's influence has outshone their comparatively modest record sales. In the 1980s and 1990s, Big

Black, Minutemen, and Sonic Youth all expressed a fondness for the group. Minutemen bassist Mike Watt described their influence as key saying of Pink Flag "I don't know what we would have sounded like if we didn't hear it."
                

Wire were influential on American hardcore punk. Fans included Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and

Henry Rollins, formerly of Black Flag. Minor Threat covered "12XU" for the Flex Your Head compilation, as did Boss Hog on their I Dig You EP.

WIRE - PINK FLAG 1977 (SPECIAL EDITION 1995)

               

Reviewing in 1978 for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau called Pink Flag a "punk suite", praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment" and detected a rock-and-roll irony similar to, but "much grimmer and more frightening" than, the Ramones. In a 1978 Trouser Press review, Ira Robbins said

that "Wire [push] minimalism to new heights" and that the band "dredges up images of...beat poetry--short fragments of impressions set to music." He further said that the 21 tracks are "not songs...There's no easy structure or meter. Each explores or describes or electrifies or challenges. There's no easy listening." Robbins concluded, "I can't say this is an enjoyable album. Maybe it's just a stupid bit of rubbish. But you won't know unless you find out."

Wire – Pink Flag
Label: EMI – TOCP-8726
Series: New Wave Masterpiece
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: Japan
Released: Oct 25, 1995
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk

TRAXS

                

01. Reuters    3:03
02. Field Day For The Sundays    0:28
03. Three Girl Rhumba    1:23
04. Ex Lion Tamer    2:17
05. Lowdown    2:26
06. Start To Move    1:12
07. Brazil    0:40
08. It's So Obvious    0:53
09. Surgeon's Girl    1:14
10. Pink Flag    3:50
11. The Commercial    0:49
12. Straight Line    0:44
13. 106 Beats That    1:12
14. Mr. Suit    1:25
15. Strange    3:58
16. Fragile    1:18
17. Mannequin    2:37
18. Different To Me (Composed By – Annette Green)   0:43
19. Champs    1:46
20. Feeling Called Love    1:21
21. 1 2 X U    1:55
22. Dot Dash    2:25
23. Options R    1:35
24. Love Ain't Polite    1:07
25. Oh No Not So    1:36
26. It's The Motive    1:22
27. Practice Makes Perfect    3:48
28. Sand In My Joints    1:49
29. Stablemate    2:16
30. I Feel Mysterious Today    1:40
31. Underwater Experiences    3:15
32. Mary Is A Dyke    1:06
33. Too True    1:05
34. Just Don't Care    1:22
35. TV    1:25
36. New York City    1:12
37. After Midnight  (Composed By – J.J. Cale)   1:28
38. Pink Flag    2:35

LINE - UP

        

Bass – Lewis
Drums – Robert Gotobed
Guitar – B.C. Gilbert
Vocals – Colin

NOTES

Composed By – B. Gilbert (tracks: 1 to 17, 19 to 21, 24 to 27, 29 to 36, 38), C. Newman (tracks: 1 to 17, 19 to 22, 24 to 27, 29 to 36, 38), G. Lewis (tracks: 1 to 17, 19 to 26, 28 to 36, 38), R. Gotobed (tracks: 1 to 17, 19 to 21, 24 to 26, 29 to 36, 38)

Tracks 1 to 21 recorded at Advision Studios. Originally released in 1977.
Tracks 22 and 23 originally released 1978.
Tracks 24 to 31 recorded 14th May 1977.
Tracks 32 to 37 recorded 1st April 1977.
Track 38 recorded 4th April 1977.

Flac Size: 418 MB

WIRE - CHAIRS MISSING 1978 (SPECIAL EDITION 2018)

                   

In a 1979 Trouser Press review, Jim Green said, "Wire are disconcerting, laconic yet eloquent in fragmented visions, jarring even at their most accessible. They disdain cliche, pushing out the limits of

rock; the easy way is too boring." He continued, "Their stripped-down rhythms take on the quality of being familiar yet somehow alien, just as their bleak lyrics lift the everyday from its context and illuminate its ironies." Green concluded that "[y]ou have to listen for yourself." The Sandwell Evening Mail wrote that "the songs are sparse, sometimes rather frightening, but often superbly constructed."

Wire – Chairs Missing
Label: Pinkflag – PF12SE
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, CD, Compilation May 19, 2018    
Released: 1978    
Genre: Rock
Style: Post-Punk, New Wave

THE ORIGINAL ALBUM

                

          
01. Practice Makes Perfect   4:11
02. French Film Blurred   2:34
03. Another The Letter   1:07
04. Men 2nd   1:43
05. Marooned   2:21
06. Sand In My Joints   1:50
07. Being Sucked In Again   3:14
08. Heartbeat   3:17
09. Mercy   5:46
10. Outdoor Miner   1:44
11. I Am The Fly   3:09
12. I Feel Mysterious Today   1:57
13. From The Nursery   2:58
14. Used To   2:23
15. Too Late   4:12

SINGLES, B-SIDES AND STUDIO RECORDINGS        

    
01. I Am The Fly (Single Version)    3:06
02. Dot Dash   2:24
03. Options R   1:35
04. Outdoor Miner (Single Version)   2:52
05. Practice Makes Perfect (Single Version)    4:05
06. Underwater Experiences (Advision Version)    3:32

Flac (Part 1) Size: 408 MB

STUDIO DEMOS (FOURTH DEMO SESSIONS)        

                 

  
01. Practice Makes Perfect    3:46
02. Oh No Not So     1:35
03. Culture Vultures   2:06
04. It's The Motive   1:19
05. Love Ain't Polite   1:06
06. French Film Blurred (Version 1)    1:14
07. Sand In My Joints    1:49
08. Too Late    4:12
09. I Am The Fly    6:00
10. Heartbeat    2:42
11. Underwater Experiences   3:14
12. Stalemate   2:15
13. I Feel Mysterious Today    1:40

STUDIO DEMOS (FIFTH DEMO SESSIONS)

        
14. Dot Dash    2:19
15. French Film Blurred (Version 2)    2:15
16. Options R    1:48
17. Finistaire (Mercy)    5:45
18. Marooned    2:16
19. From The Nursery    2:50
20. Indirect Enquiries (Version 1)    1:42
21. Outdoor Miner    1:43
22. Chairs Missing (Used To)    4:09
23. Being Sucked In Again    3:38
24. Men 2nd    1:45
25. Another The Letter    1:06
26. No Romans   1:12

Flac (Part 2) Size: 470 MB

WIRE - 154 - 1979 (SPECIAL EDITION 1995)

               

Branching out even further from the minimalist punk rock style of their earlier work, 154 is considered a progression of the sounds displayed on Wire's previous album Chairs Missing, with the group experimenting with slower tempos, fuller song structures and a more prominent use of guitar effects,

synthesizers and electronics. The unusual title of the track "Map Ref 41°N 93°W" was based on a guess of the centre of the American Midwest by bassist and singer Graham Lewis; the location of these coordinates is coincidentally close to Centerville, Iowa. One of My Bloody Valentine's last releases prior to reconvening in 2007 was a cover of this track for a Wire tribute entitled Whore. The song was selected as a favourite cover of the 1990s by Flak Magazine.

Wire – 154
Label: EMI – TOCP-8728
Series: New Wave Masterpiece
Format: CD, Album, Remastered 1995
Country: Japan
Released: 1979
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Punk

ORIGINAL ALBUM

             

01. I Should Have Known Better   3:52
02. Two People In A Room   2:10
03. The 15th   3:04
04. The Other Window   2:08
05. Single K.O.   2:23
06. A Touching Display   6:55
07. On Returning   2:05
08. A Mutual Friend   4:27
09. Blessed State   3:27
10. Once Is Enough   3:23
11. Map Ref. 41ºN 93ºW   3:37
12. Indirect Enquiries   3:34
13. 40 Versions   3:27

BONUS TRAXS

                    

14. Song    13:02
15. Get Down (Parts I & II)   4:27
16. Let's Panic Later   3:20
17. Small Electric Piece   3:32
18. Go Ahead   4:00

DEMO VERSIONS

   

19. Stepping Off Too Quick   1:22
20. Indirect Inquiries   3:18
21. Map Ref 41º N 93ºW   3:49
22. A Question Of Degree   2:56
23. Two People In A Room   2:02
24. Former Airline   1:12

LINE - UP

Drums – Robert Gotobed
Guitar, Voice – B.C. Gilbert
Vocals, Bass – Graham Lewis
Vocals, Guitar – Colin Newman

NOTES

Tracks 1-13 original 1979 album
Tracks 14-18 bonus tracks
Tracks 19-24 demo versions compiled from Wire 'Behind The Curtain' released 1995, recorded 11th December 1978

Flac Size: 457 MB

WIRE - THE IDEAL COPY 1987

            

Wire's first new full-length effort in eight years, The Ideal Copy is a stunning comeback picking up where 154 left off while also reflecting the strides made by the members' solo work. Finding its footing

in dark, edgy dance rhythms and ominous digital textures, The Ideal Copy is experimental and forward-thinking, spanning from the buzzing melodies of "Ahead" and "Ambitious" to the taut minimalism of "Feed Me"; the record has its flaws, but its restless creative spirit and refusal to rest on past glories make it one of the few reunion efforts that actually matters.

Wire – The Ideal Copy
Label: Mute – CD STUMM 42, Mute – CDSTUMM 42
Format: CD, Album, Black Text
Country: UK
Released: Apr 27, 1987
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Art Rock

ORIGINAL ALBUM

             

01. Point Of Collapse    3:23
02. Ahead    5:00
03. Madman's Honey    4:29
04. Feed Me    5:59
05. Ambitious    4:05
06. Cheeking Tongues    2:08
07. Still Shows    4:11
08. Over Theirs    5:24

AHEAD & SNAKEDRILL 12 SINGLES

              

09. Ahead (II)    3:30
10. A Serious Of Snakes    4:43
11. Drill    5:04
12. Advantage In Height    3:03
13. Up To The Sun    2:42
14. Ambulance Chasers    2:55
15. Feed Me (II)    4:28
16. Vivid Riot Of Red    2:22

LINE - UP

         

Drums – Robert Gotobed
Guitar – B.C. Gilbert
Voice, Bass – Lewis
Voice, Guitar – Colin Newman
Written-By – Wire

NOTES

Recorded in Hansa Tonstudio Berlin, Strong Room London and Metropol Berlin (Live 1986)
Tracks 9-16 are taken from the "Ahead" & "Snakedrill" 12" singles.

Flac Size: 367 MB