Public Image: First Issue

I kinda liked it, even though punk is not really my thing. I'm not sure why this is so low rated on the site, as I seemed to quite like it. Solid stuff. 7 / 10

Cool.

solid!

This was better than I thought it would be, mostly thanks to the solid work of Jah Wobble.

Ok. Interesting. It's not terrible. And I'm intrigued by the reputation & supposed influence. Dig. 3 stars

Noisy and energetic post-punk. I dig the attitude. The performances are raw. Definitely a style-over-songwriting sort of album though. The last track “Fodderstompf” is a little obnoxious though. Feels like the sort of joke track that 20-year-old dudes who are friends in a band would think was funny.

Es ist ein wenig anstrengend und stellenweise nervig – vor allem durch die langen, repetitiven Strukturen und John Lydons schneidenden Gesang. Tracks wie „Theme“ oder „Religion II“ ziehen sich bewusst in die Länge und fordern Geduld, während „Public Image“ als Single noch am zugänglichsten bleibt B.

Album 1041 of 1089 Public Image: First Issue - Public Image Ltd. (1978) Rating : 2.5 / 5 I’ll admit right out of the gate - the album cover fooled me. I went in expecting something closer to British pop, maybe a Spandau Ballet–adjacent vibe, and instead was met with hard, raw punk. That’s on me, not the album. Taken for what it is, this was a fine listen. It’s loud, confrontational, and intentionally abrasive - lots of shouting, pounding rhythms, and very little concern for melody or polish. Clearly, that’s the point. I can appreciate the attitude and the intent, even if it doesn’t really connect with me on a musical level. Nothing here grabbed me or lingered once it was over, but I also didn’t feel like I was wasting my time. It’s an album that does exactly what it sets out to do, and for fans of early post-punk, I can absolutely see why this one holds a place of importance. It just didn’t hit any particular nerve for me, and that’s okay.

Weird but OK

Forgetable

I thought this was a cool post-punk album, which considering it was released in 1978 makes it ahead of its time. A couple tracks do test my patience a bit, but there's some really cool stuff among it, including "Public Image" and "Low Life". 3.5 stars.

Bratty vocals. Adolescent lyrics. Brilliantly nasty sounding guitars: metallic, violent, buzzing dissonance. Anxious dynamics and a mood so tense its fraying at the edges, on the cusp of snapping. Deep dub bass keeps it all in check, holding down the low end so the riot above burns. The songs stretch out to 6 minutes, room to settle into a funk groove and thrash around a bit, but they outstay their welcome. The title track rips through its 3 mins though, it's the most direct and sex pistols sounding track with the best vocal melody on the album. The recording isn't great, feels like it's all compressed into the mids and has no room in it. They'd improve on the formula.

first listen meh

John Lydon is the worst, but this record isn’t. I fully expected to hate it, and I did hate Religion I. But the rest of the album was kind of good.

Well, this is *not* what I expected when I saw that we had finally arrived at the first of two PIL albums in the collection. I'm not sure I'd ever heard PIL before this (or at least their early stuff), so just based on all the PIL stickers on fellow high-schooler skateboards and leather jackets, I figure it would be another late 70s punk album, with poor production quality, twitchy drums and guitars and screaming vocals. So in that sense, this was a nice surprise, although there are definitely elements of the punk sound in tracks like "Annalisa" or their single "Public image". I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed most of the tracks, but I admire the "anti-rock" attempt and approach, and interesting to get a couple of self-exiles--The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) and The Clash's John Levene--teaming up with Jah Wobble and Jim Walker to create a weird and seemingly intentionally offensive album. I also really admire whoever was involved in the Wikipedia entry for this album, as it reads like a series of random interview anecdotes, loosely incorporated into the standard Wikipedia structure, but without *any* real attempt to describe much of anything aside from various (and often random-seeming) people's recollections. Thankfully, the "1001 Albums" came to the rescue a bit with a more standard review. I'm now a bit more curious than I was previously to see what "Metal Box" will sound like.

Honestly, this wasn't very good. But it was kind of fun.

wouldn't return to it but a cool album

A few annoying tracks (Annalisa being particularly lame) but 'Public Image' and my favourite track on the album, 'Fodderstompf', pulled me through. Rotten's sermon on 'Religion II' comes off as easy targeting and hardly as edgy as he may have thought it was. But there's enough variation here and he does best when he puts his voice into that contorted squeal, not as iconic as Dead Kennedy's front man, Jelo Biafra, IMHO but it stands out all the same.

When I first listened to it I thought it had a Sex Pistols meets U2 vibe with an Oingo Boingo backing band. Little did I know it was Johnny Rotten with Keith Levine: a Clash/Pistols supergroup. Honestly, I liked before I knew that nugget of info, but I had re-listen to it after just take it in. I appreciated how both artists took a leap of faith away from their previous styles (I wonder how much Billy Idol’s successful shift to pop after GenX influenced this). I think this album is definitely a history/influence album because you can definitely this sounds in later bands like U2 and the birth of Alternative genre. Public Image could have been a U2 song. Overall, it’s a good album with plenty of relevant influences and helped lead in the ‘80s.

Random thoughts: * I listened to this one at least part of the way. Went to review this and couldn't remember the kind of music it was, so I re-listened. * On re-listen I kind of got lost and it faded into the background. * I recall this had a cool vibe-ominous and mysterious. * I need several more listens to this one maybe with a more focused attention. I'd definitely try again. * I'm offering almost nothing in this review. Some day I might have something interesting to say.

Still better than Metal Box. Solid 3 Stars.

Noisy.

I have the eponymous track on some playlists already. As for the rest… idk, ever like the idea of something but don’t actually enjoy listening to it? Cool guitars, though—apparently influenced Sonic Youth and that’s doing the lord’s work.

This album really challenged me. As an album that I would enjoy listening to....this is not it. It was honestly painful at times and I was struggling to psych myself up for a second listen. however, as a work of art by someone who is trying to make a statement....I can't deny it. I can't deny how immensely influential this obviously was. While he was screaming Annalisa over and over I couldn't shake the feeling that he was communicating something important that flew over my head. Straight down the middle.

Come on

Would have been a 2 if not for the sheer unadulterated excellence of 'Public Image'

A real abstract offering from PIL. Not sure I would revisit but this band continues to impress by being anything but generic. More noise rock than anything but that punk rock attitude was coming through loud and clear. Gotta give to Johnny Lydon for consistently doing whatever the F he wants.

Seems pretty one dimensional, but I can definitely hear the influence that this album had on a lot of what would become known as post-punk. Couple of pretty good songs on here.

Yeah fine. Not life changing okay

3.5

John Lydon's first post-Pistols album is a challenging listen, but overall it's better than his old group's lone album. One big challenge is the opening and closing tracks. The opener is a long groove with pleasingly mechanical guitars and heavy bass, but it meanders a bit too much. The closer turns a similar groove into a send-up of a dance song that just ends up sounding goofy, and it's the album's one real miss. But in between those bookends is a satisfying set of angular punk that is both harsh and a bit fun. "Public Image" is the catchiest track, but "Annalisa" is probably the best. Lydon's vocals come right up to the line of being annoying without crossing it. Other bands, notably Gang of Four, would improve on this sound by making things a bit more immediately pleasing despite the noise, but this is still a fun enough listen.

I like this more than the Sex Pistols

I respect how generally annoying this is. Reminds me of seeing local bands paying for seven (7) people in dingy warehouses (in a good way)

This isn't really a great album, but you definitely see the roots of what PiL would become later.

Old punk

Honestly, much better than the Sex Pistols.

Took a little time to adjust to it as it's almost purposely inaccessible with its first 3 tracks but it's decent, influential post punk.

Had never heard of this. Started it blind, thought this sounds like Sex Pistols. Then looked it up, ohhhh, haha. Anyway, ya, it's some good stuff, challenging.

Desperately trying to remove himself from the Sex Pistols and failing is how I track this

kinda preachy but good. better than sex pistols but johnny rotten is still not my fav vocalist

Dig it 🤘🚀🧨

Light punk feel

I'm generally a fan of the band, and of post-punk. That said, this album isn't my favorite, at all. I think PiL got stronger over time. The early stuff is somewhat grating, and hasn't aged particularly well.

i enjoyed it. more focused on message than sounding good which is great for them but not necessarily my tastes. only 39 minutes long but it somehow feels hours long. most songs got a playlist add so it's still good. 3.5

it was aight

Honestly I usually kind of like what I hear if public image. This was a decent album.

3.15/5 half the album is unlistenable while the other half is rather good. big jams with rotten lyrics

Not my favorite PIL

первый трек вайбовый, спору нет. и еще обложка диссонирует с содержимым, это тоже плюс. поэтому 3.

might come back to it ... maybe

Decent listen.

I like their later albums more

Public Image is a great song, although the rest of album is decent but feels a little unfocused. Mr Lydon seems…unpredictable.

The Fall does this kind of thing better I think. They can stretch a song out like this and it rocks. This felt very unfocused. Fine I guess but not as good as those who were inspired by it.

pretty all right, a bit ramshackle in terms of playing, but I like the ideas for the most part. Certainly more intriguing than the Sex Pilots. Will return to this one and check out some more of their Material.

Before I started this list this band was the beginning and end of what I thought post-punk was. Some punk dude screaming over a band that was heavily influenced by dance music. And now that I've heard every post punk band England had to offer from the late 70's to the mid 80's.. nothing has changed. Put this album on the list and get rid of all the rest. Its the exact same shit. Wire can stay too.

"Theme", "Annalisa", "Religion II" are catchy and sounds like something new. The second part of the album is not impressive, and the last thing is too experimental, if it actually "experimental". 3/5 for the first part of the album.

Good album - enjoyed second half of the record much more than the first. Shame john lydons a twat these days. 3/5 ⭐️

Remones, pixies, og muppet show. Jeg ander ikke hvad det var, men kedeligt blev det ikke ihvertfald. 😅👌

Det er egentlig noget interessant post-punk rent musikalsk. Men John Lydons vokal fungerer ikke for mig på det. Hans stemme og levering er alt for skabet. Det virker fint i Sex Pistols, men her bliver det for afvigende ift. musikken.

Another one from Rotten & co. This time with more instruments but sometimes no instruments. I think I prefer it to the other one. Gets a bit tedious though.

Crazy vocals, post-punk guitar with a little thrashy cymbals. Definitely a classic album, but probably not one I'll be coming back too any time soon.

Honestly wasn’t super attentive when I listened to this one.

Opens with a 9 minute warbling track which doesn't evolve or change once throughout. This is followed up by 90 seconds of spoken word against organised religion, and then the same spoken word but set against music. It's abrasive and harsh, and clear from minute one that this is isn't an 'easy' album to listen to. This being said, I do feel the album adds value and is a clear first step into post punk, so it is well worth its listing from impact alone. Public Image is a great song, Fodderstompf is absolutely mad. Shame Lydon is a Trump-traitor. 5/10

This was an ok post punk album, didn't blow my mind but I can see where it is influential

Not an overall fan, but great artistry and very original.

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, thought the guitar work was excellent and Lydons vocals are perfect for this, second half of the album isn't as strong and it ends on a bit of a silly Monty Python-esq song that gets a bit annoying. Overall not bad and I can see it's influence in other bands.

Enjoyed it. Reminded me of the Clash but with not the same bite. Fun but will probably not return for another listen.

Kind of weird, but had some cool moments. The vocals were tough at points.

Didnt even listen

The difference between this and the Stooges (and definitely the sex pistols) is that this album actually rocked. You have the prominence of the kick drum and cymbols, an awesome droning guitar, and an aggressive vocalist. That being said, I don't think that gives them the freedom to play Religion twice and get away with it

A couple real stinkers on here (Religion I and Foddertompf), but the rest of this surprised me. It's solid post-punk. The upbeat bangers are obviously more fun than the slower dirges, but all in all, I liked it.

Not the biggest fan of this flavor of punk/post-punk, but I can appreciate how likely “offensive” and bold it was for its time. Some aspects of it that feel ahead of its time, especially the sound of “Fodderstompf” (sounds very influential towards modern post-punk/disco like LCD Soundsystem.) feeling this one is a 3/5, I get what makes it important but it’s not for me.

Didn’t hate it as much as metal box

solid post punk album

interesting, too loud to work with

I like edginess, don’t love everything about their style or lyrics, but it was real. Points for that.

I totally understand why this would try people’s patience, but I didn’t hate it. The first three tracks feel like they’re designed to chase off the tourists so only the punks (and otherwise like-minded) can enjoy the rest of the album. All the 1 star ratings suggest it totally worked! The lion’s share of this album doesn’t feel very avantgarde or controversial. If the first tracks were intended to turn off mainstream audiences, the creeping new wave influence on later tracks seems like it would be just as off-putting for the punk audience. Then we end with “Fodderstompf” which probably alienates anyone who’s left over. I am surprised that this track isn’t sampled or remade more often, it is cloyingly repetitive but has good bones.

Interesting

While the later contributions of PIL can't be argued with, I have always found this first outing to be juvenile, blame, and ultimately unsatisfying. Teen angst poetry coupled with unsatisfying music equals "I'd rather listen to one of their other albums."

In my day, I probably identified to Punk music more than any other. Perhaps I still do. Anti-establishment fuck all! Right about the end of high school for me. Not that I was a petty criminal or drug abuser. I was just pissed off. I needed the energy and anarchic vitality that punk brings, the relentless beat and lyrical snarls, and the fuck you message. The Sex Pistols brought that home big time, and some of my earliest exposure to Punk was Never Mind the Bullocks. Fucking legendary! PiL doesn’t cut it for me. Yeah, I listened to them… we all did. But I never really liked the sound. The growl was there, but the post punk genre is simply depressing. It’s like the punks forgot it wasn’t about them. Rotten’s ego became the music, and that was that.

Although I can appreciate that this album was probably mega influental. Its not for me. I can enjoy the instrumentals. But the vocals grind me down over the 39 min runtime

'It's not a cliche / And I wish I could die (ha, ha, ha).' Tho punk was always meant to be taken seriously, there was also a needed element of bluffing, or at the very least, an image. But nothing on this record spells out fake, or overdone, which is a part of the aesthetic problem, tho I guess the chief part of the solution as well: be willing to tell the truth, no matter the cost. But there is a cost, notably a musical one. The record possesses but one track that exemplifies songwriting, the classic 'Public Image.' The rest are yelps and outbursts, believable, crucial perhaps, but not for my ears. And, a steadfast atheist for my entire life, I found myself nodding in agreement to 'Religion I' and 'II,' but not to the beat. I'd take the latter, to be honest.

Punk, but with elements of pop and silliness. Really interesting album that has some cool sounds within it and is sequenced very well. Definitely a unique record, and one that I'd listen to again to get a better feel for.

More like a 7.5/10 or so. I think that the second half was really strong, really unique, very ahead-of-their-time tracks, but the first half struck me as a bit messier and experimental in a way that wasn’t very interesting to listen to. The drone songwriting was cool, but it got a bit tired after a while. Still, can respect how influential this was.

Thought it was okay, never cared too deeply about the Sex Pistols beyond surface level so no surprise i didn't think this was the greatest record of all time or anything. 3/5 stars easy, favorite song was "Low Life", but the bonus track "Cowboy Song" on the 2013 Spotify release of the album was a close second in that regard.

Punky

This was okay, not great. I did enjoy more on subsequent plays, but was overlong and overly dramatic - ‘Religion 1’ should have been removed altogether, as it’s just the standalone lyrics of #2, and falls rather flat in its tryhard angst. Favorite track was either ‘Annalisa’ or ‘Public Image’. Overall 2.75/5

It's more interesting than it is pleasant to listen to, but I guess there's some merit to that. And of course it's completely unsurprising coming from Johnny Rotten. Somehow he sounds better he than he did for the Sex Pistols. Favorites: Fodderstompf

Great

Interesting record. Its punky but kinda posty. I like the punk stuff. The other is neat but not my vibe. Too simple and too long. Kinda the same gripes I have with post genres in general. Cool to see the origins but im not all the enamored with it

What do you do after you save the queen? You die for 9 minutes. Then have some spoken word attacking religion. Not that any late night dorm rant couldn't do it better, but the platform here is wider. Annalisa is one lane where post-punk hits the ground running. Now we're really done with expectations: you get to define them for good or ill. Television for beauty and grace, PiL for abrasion.

I understand the importance of this in the evolution of postpunk. I was always a fan of the public image single. Not an album I feel I’d listen to again for pleasure .

Well, I’m not always on board with what John Lydon is on about, I appreciate that he is laser-focused and undeterred in his quest to speak his truth. Did I love the noisy music? Not exactly, but it’s worth a listen.

I didn't hate this.

Ok

Very crazy album.

I get the historical significance… and is wild to listen to. Johnny Rotten was still a punk rocker and angry. Fun listen probably won’t pick it out again though.

I’m sure important, but not my thing.

I kinda get the intention here but it's not surprising this couldn't find an audience in the US. The last track in particular could be a parody of something by Frank Zappa, and having heard a lot of the other noise post punk stuff here I'm not really surprised or impressed by any of this. Snobbery aside, I recognise this is not what anyone in the 70s would have said.

bass goes crazy! very political album but i’m not mad at it

pretty cool that this album exists, but i doubt ill ever come back to it. except maybe that first track

okay, fine

I liked the overall message this this album had, but so of the song felt to long and just kept repeating the same lyrics.

As much as this set the groundwork for a lot of the more current music that I enjoy, I didn’t really love this in the way I way expecting when I first heard it years ago, and I still don’t. I’ve tried with PiL over the years, even caught them live and it was good. Not great, just good. The instrumentation is strong, Jah Wobble and Keith Levene sculpt sounds beautifully only for Lyndon to nasally wail or read his godawful poetry over. It’s not bad, I just don’t think it’s all that good

wtf is that last track

Esse álbum é raivoso, do começo ao fim. Ele exala ódio por todos os cantos. O baixo é putaria demais. Post-punk na sua infância, interessante. Me lembra um pouco o movimento no-wave em partes também. Poderia ser mais curto. Algumas partes desse álbum parecem filler pra chegar na duração dos 40 minutos. Poderia ser um disco gostoso de 30 minutos, mais coeso. 3/5

I have heard a few songs before by Public Image Ltd. and I liked them to my surprise, so when I started to listen to their debut album today I was disappointed after the the first two or three songs which were really difficult to get through. It was just ugly noise or some anti-religious talking (I don't like anti-religious things, be it any religion, not just Catholicism). From the fourth song it started to sound like a proper album then, and I liked most of the songs. It's influential because it is one of the first post-punk albums ever, and the sound of many songs (for instance the closing track) sounds fresh for late 70s. For its influence and 70% of the songs I liked, I'm giving it a 3 overall.

Love the anger and cynicism. Takes on religion are still fair if simplistic. Dates but understand its value

pior q eu gosto de public image mas esse álbum é bem mid das ideia

bom definitivamente é post punk num eh ruim nao, tem umas barulheira boa. mas nada demais também

cool but not cool enough for me to want to listen to unless im running an ultra hip bar or denim store to look down my nose at people with more mainstream taste than me.

If you build your public image on being a nuisance, you might show some people, but you're still a nuisance.

3/4

O disco não surpreende, mas abriu caminhos para outros que de fato surpreende. Parece algo desconexo com a realidade daquele momento.

meh

Grows on you after the first couple tracks.

If I am unfamiliar with an artist, I usually go in blind, not looking up anything, though the album art usually comes with. When writing this up, I occasionally go to the Wikipedia page, mostly to check the year a spelling, and that's when I learned this is a John Lydon project. My hate of the Sex Pistols is already documented here, so that surprised me quite a bit. This isn't too bad. It's doing some weird stuff, and I don't love it, but I never wanted to turn it off, and it was compelling at points. This just reinforces my opinion that Malcolm McLaren is the worst thing to happen to modern music.

John Lyon is a little heavy at times some aspects were great nice beat tight band but some was wailing. You had to be in the mood for a lot of it not bad

Theme is too long. Religion I isn’t strong enough to justify its inclusion given the presence of Religion II. The middle of the album is pretty good, although there is always the backdrop of Lydon’s “I’m being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole, but that’s my art” shtick, which like most pre-teen proclivities is occasionally clever, frequently cringeworthy, and nearly always tiresome.

3 Stars (8/15)

Hmm.. kind of ok, but not fantastic

Really funny, not sure if intentional

A landmark release in the post-punk genre. I wanted to hate this - it's noisy, strange, and just all-around strange - but I just can't bring myself to, lol. Can't help but respect the weirdness and "no fucks given" aspect of the total sound. Also, I really want to know what kind of drugs they were using to come up with a song like "Fodderstompf" - like what the actual fuck lol.

No matter how much you might dislike this band, it’s impossible to deny their contributions to post-punk. That said, I totally get why some people aren’t fans—their music is as confrontational and abrasive as it gets, almost daring you to like it. Personally, I have to be in the right mood to really enjoy what they’re doing.

A difficult first listen. It grew on me.

If you skip the godawful opener and the unlistenable closer, you’re left with a rather decent album. Great guitaring and bassing. Unfortunately, almost half the album is left on the two aforementioned atrocities, so I won’t be shouting the its praise from the rooftops anytime soon.

Odd proto punk, didn't dislike

Not too crazy about this one. Maybe I’ll enjoy Metal Box more. Fav: Public Image

I kinda like how confrontational this is (I think I've mentioned in a previous review that I have a high tolerance for nonsense). I can't quite give it higher than a 3 because, well, it's not really fun to listen to. But good on ya, John, you made my house-cleaning day feel cooler.

Classic

Ah what a PIL. Good start for the former Rotten.

It’s an album, I enjoyed it, but I can’t imaging its everyone’s cup of tea

Much more fun than I thought, but that Religion hate song was a little too much. Still I had fun, strong 3

Post-punk, edgy and smart.

Here we are, the birth of post-punk, from an ex-Sex Pistol. I fully expected this to be abrasive, and it was. And I must admit, it's grown on me slightly. "Annalisa" has a pulsing beat, and this erratic, repeating guitar that suggests being possessed. "Public Image" is the only single off the album, probably because it's the only once that could be. It's the best song on it, and sums up not only the album, but the entire project as a band. It has this salty, arrogant optimism to it that's infectious. "Fodderstompf" is a song to chill and relax to. In a strait jacket. Absolutely insane. But hilarious. I know it's a stupid throwaway but I keep coming back to it. God help the next person who hands me the aux cord. Fav tracks: Annalisa, Public Image, Fodderstompf

It’s a perfectly fine post punk album that’s a little too up its own ass. Not nearly as bad as the reviews say but the religion songs are so lame

3.5. Very interesting

Too repetitive, even if that seems to be the ethos of post-punk.

There are some PIL songs that I've enjoyed in the past, but they aren't on this album. Listening to the first song "Theme" was a chore. The two songs about Religion, were ironically, admonishing and self righteous. Then the album picks up and I found it to be ok. I think I like Lydon's voice because it reminds me of my cat EightBall (R.I.P.), and as for the music, sometimes you need a dose of nihilism on a Thursday morning between work meetings.

The

As the debut from them I expected it to be more raw and it was. Was never drawn to the British punk scene.

The best Public Image Ltd. Album I have head. It was a pretty low bar, but this clear it. None of the songs are to long, or to repetitive. I probably won't listen to it again. But I wouldn't skip this, if it came up on a shuffle.

More grating than I remembered, but worth a couple of listens

2.5 Doesn't really deserve a 3 but whatever, at least it's better than "Metal box", and I kinda like the post-punk sound, grating as it is.

Cool! Får Sex Pistols til at lyde pænt tamt. Det sidste nummer (som vel er en fjerdedel af på pladens længde) var elendigt og trækker ret meget ned

it was a fine, probably seminal in some way punk album

Enjoyed decently well

Some interesting ideas on display. Quite liked Fodderstompf. Not a huge Johnny Rotten fan, and he is definitely pretty obnoxious on a couple tracks here. Not my favorite post punk, but still worth listening to

A long time ago I used to vibe off this band but I think I’m getting too old.

WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED, WE ONLY WANTED TO BE LOVED.

I liked it. It's a bit chaotic, though, but I think that's the point of pretty much all post-punk, especially in its early days. Key tracks: Annalisa Public Image

More post-punk?! Come on, give me something different already. I don't even dislike post-punk or anything, I'm just tired of it. I've gotten like three post-punk albums in the past 5 days. That's the same as the amount of hip-hop albums I've gotten in the past month. That's insane. On top of that, this album has John Lydon (formerly known as Johnny Rotten) on vocals, which is a problem because I just got the Sex Pistols less than two weeks ago! I'm not upset that this is here, I just think now was the worst time for me to get it. Anyways, at least the album's pretty solid. It has problems, sure. The first and last songs aren't my thing, largely because of how long they are. The last one in particular is not great in my opinion. The vocals on it sound like Carl Wheezer from Jimmy Neutron. The 6 songs in between are good though. "Public Image" is probably the best one. Aside from the last song, the vocals are pretty similar to the work on Never Mind the Bollocks, which means they could be more annoying. I miss the "r" rolling though. The writing is okay. It's vague, avant-garde post-punk writing. What do you want me to say? The sound is cool though. I don't have much else to say. I just want some more variety in what I get, even if what I'm getting now is pretty solid. High 3/5.

Theme, Annalisa (my favorite) Public Image and Low Life are the only worth while songs. The rest are 🍑🍑

It has its moments

Public Image was the best track. The rest was fine. Except actually the bass is really good, I’ll bump it up a star just for that guy putting in work

I never quite took to this album back in the day and while I liked it listening again now I'm still not a big fan. I like some of the other PiL stuff better. I think it is the music that interests me more now, since I listen to more dub these days. I agree its probably before its time, even the precursor for a lot of music that has followed.

Oh wow, my first Public Image Ltd. album. I only know one song by these guys, "Rise," off of one of their albums from the eighties. It came up for me on Spotify shuffle one time, and it still pops up for me from time to time. It's a fine song, but it never really inspired me to check out more music from PiL. I don't think I ever knew that John Lyndon was involved in PiL until after I saw him on The Masked Singer. I got curious about him and glanced over his Wikipedia page and learned that he was in this band after The Sex Pistols. I also learned that he really likes Donald Trump, which, gross. His performance on The Masked Singer was dedicated to his wife who was very ill at the time, and I know she passed away due to that illness somewhat recently, which is really sad. Enough rambling. I really like a lot of post punk music, so despite this album's unfavorable reviews, I'm excited to formulate my own thoughts on it. I'm really torn on how I feel about this album. I certainly didn't love it, but I did appreciate that this album represents an incredibly important piece of post-punk music. I didn't mind the noisy lead-off track of "Theme," with its heavily distorted guitars, but I can't fault anyone who would be completely put-off by it. The "Religion" tracks were fine, but certainly not groundbreaking to me. I thought they were an interesting bridge from the songwriting and themes of The Sex Pistols' music, and for that reason, the heavy message of the lyrics didn't feel forced or fake. For my money, "Public Image" and "Low Life" were far and away the best songs on the album. I loved the guitar playing on both songs, and while the songs had a high energy to them, they had a lot more restraint than typical punk music. "Fodderstompf" was easily the worst part of the album though. I can't think of a single redeeming quality in that song, and I couldn't wait for it to end. Now that I've processed my thoughts on this album a bit more, I'd say I'm pretty lukewarm on this one. I didn't hate it, but I can't see myself listening to it again. The biggest thing this album has going for it is its place in music history as a major influence on post-punk music. It certainly pushed late seventies rock in a new direction, and having some familiarity with The Sex Pistols' music makes it more enjoyable and interesting to listen to.

This is full of some super interesting ideas. Some of which I enjoyed more than others.Cool guitar noises and vocals that decided to ignore melodic sensibilities. Lyrics are good too. If Theme and Fodderstompf had both been shorter I would have enjoyed this more. Favorite songs were Religion II, Annalisa, Public Image, and Attack.

Not Lydons best. Public image the single is a fantastic track, nothing else matches it.

Not sure I get the appeal. Felt like subpar noise rock.

This album was a variety show! Some good punk, some bad punk, some shreddy bits. Overall not my favorite listen, but had its moments.

Kinda mid

Brit rock isn’t always my thing, but I enjoyed a few songs on this album including Rise and Ease.

it was weird but had an interesting sound, religion was a cool concept of a song, the title track was good and annalisa was great too, decent album overall.

I appreciate what they’re trying to do but I don’t think it hit yet.

One song that I knew before might've inflated my expectations

This was interesting but pretty weird.

My only hot take is that I like it better than Sex Pistols

I loved the band itself. The groovy bass and electric guitar. But Lydon's cheeky vocal affectations and the affected rebelliousness of the lyrics brought it down a bit for me. Maybe I just don't get it, but I would willingly listen to another album by them to find out.

A lot more to this than I thought there would be. John Lydon and his various projects have always turned me off but I thought this was pretty interesting. Especially as I went in imagining I'd hate it. I didn't!

That is not what I was expecting from the album cover. The obnoxiousness of “Religion I” was luckily rescued somewhat by “Religion II” - the heavily accented rant is much better set to screeching guitars, but then we could have just done without the former spoken word. Then “Annalisa” delivers the real promise and potential of the band and its aesthetic. “Annalisa” sounds like it could be a Pixies song, and must have been a big influence on Black Francis. It was at this point when I wondered “who are these guys!? Did we listen to them once already?” We did, but I listened and never reviewed and forgot what I thought of and learned about “Metal Box.” So I looked them up again, and was surprised, and yet not surprised, to find it was John (Johnny Rotten) Lydon! Along with Jah Wobble and The Clash’s Keith Levene, Lydon was reinventing the Sex Pistols punk into something new. More off-kilter, more brash. It makes sense that it would come from Lydon. The album continued with more attempts to deconstruct punk before things all came to a screeching halt with “Fodderstompf.” It was like a bad Gorillaz outtake. In fact, if decades later Damon Albarn followed his unexciting Blur work with funky dub hip hop in Gorillaz, here Lydon was following his exciting post-punk with truly annoying funky dub. Opposites of a sort. And makes me nervous to now go back and revisit “Metal Box,” the Public Image album that followed this one. Tracks 4-7 earn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for both content and influence, but 2 and 8 are worth at least a one star deduction.

Good

Debut album by Johnny Rotten. Post punk. Kinda interesting but fairly average. Wouldn’t listen again

This was fine. I had quite high expectations. Didn’t quite get there for me. 3.0

3/5 - I preferred the Sex Pistols sound. This is a little too unstructured for me

I like this album cover. The photo is something of a cross between a mug shot and a business card, and that amuses me for some reason. While this list has made me a post-punk fan, this was a little too out there for me. I didn’t mind it and there were some stand out tracks (Religion I, and Fodderstompf), but I can’t see myself listening to it again.

As difficult to listen to punk albums go, this was alright

I haven't heard this whole album in decades. I don't know how I'd feel about it if I heard it for the first time just now. But because I loved it when I was young, and it was a big part of my growing up I still love it. No matter how dated it actually is.

i like the beats!

Não esperava gostar mas é até bom. Aquela sensação de repetitivo mas não incomodou. Boas letras

Kolmosen ansaitsee. Vähän kahden markan melvins, mutta parani loppua kohden! 3/5

This is one of those albums that was included because it was groundbreaking, rather than because it was successful or long-lived. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but it's a lot more tolerable than most of the \"ahead of its time\" picks I've encountered so far.

Surprised to see it so hated-- I didn't mind it, I liked it more than most of the rock that comes through. And the song for me was an added touch.

Meh. I liked Second Edition so much I bought the vinyl after hearing it on this challenge. This one, not so much. There are glimpses of great stuff here, but the annoying outweighs the good. Religion kind of toes the line between deep and “I am very smart and you’re all sheep” teenage obnoxiousness. The two super long tracks feel like they last forever. Lyndon’s voice even annoys me here, and I generally have a high tolerance for him. 3/5 but probably more of a 2.5 if I could give half stars.

Highlight: Low Life, Public Image. In a nutshell: punk 2.0 Following the dissolution of the Sex Pistols, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) started a new band without the blackjack or hookers. One with mighty guitar (Keith Levene, bass (Jah Wobble) and drums while still spitting in people's faces. John Lydon is an insufferable twat but PiL laid the groundwork for noise rock and grunge. Maybe even industrial rock and shoegaze. I don't know for sure if Pixies listened to this album a lot in their early years, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Overall: 5/10

This was a bit strange. I think I'll stick with punk over post punk.

Thi rating is not so much for the quality of this particular album but for the albums that it would inspire from other artists down the road.

Happy to see this come up. PIL was one of those bands I mostly missed and wondered how much I would like them if I got around to listening to them. I did listen, and I realized that they rated now, just were they had before today. Ok music that I would not turn off, but I'm not likely to seek.

I actually really enjoyed this, more than I expected to. Going in, I was prepared for something abrasive and chaotic, but what stood out was how inventive and atmospheric it is. The basslines are brilliant throughout, driving the songs in a way that feels fresh and slightly unsettling. There is space in the production, which makes everything feel more deliberate and less frantic than I imagined. Religion I and Religion II are the clear highlights for me. Powerful lyrics, sharp delivery and far stronger melodies than I was anticipating. There is anger there, but it feels controlled and purposeful rather than just noise. It feels like a proper step away from punk into something darker and more experimental, and you can hear the foundations of so much post punk that followed. For a debut, it is bold and confident. Favourite song: Religion I and Religion II Least favourite song: None. Every track brings something interesting Album artwork: Awesome. Striking and very of its era

Not too bad, especially the middle of the album.. the beginning and end aren’t great

Good album with a whole lot of Pistols on it. Tough to judge in context. Its more of a continuation of where they left off another band. Last 2 songs I could live without too experimental and crappy in all honesty but thats what punk is really about. You can imagine this album influenced Pink Floyds The Wall as a critique to the fascist state and a little screw you to The state for what the did to nevermind the bollocks. Also we hear a similar beat line to Another one bites the dust of Queen. Meaning this follow up project of johnny rotten was highly influential for the next years after pistols dissolved. Its better to judge it now amd see how it is so important in context to the progression of the post punk and rock scene.

Bits and pieces of this album are pretty amazing, the others are more of an experiment that is not something you want to listen to more than once. There are other PIL albums I love like The Flowers of Romance, the 2nd album and Album. This is him cutting his teeth on a new found musical freedom and at times sounding like a prophet musically ( pointing towards Albini, Jesus Lizard… ) other times like a crazed prophet preaching that you want to avoid.

Bastante indigerible, igual valoro su entusiasmo para animarse a publicar algo así.

Extra star for the experimental sound but it’s a little bit tiresome.

Not too bad - love the guitar and Johnny Rotten's voice. However probably wouldn't listen again

Good songs are great. The rest not so much

Public Image is fine, I think Johnny Rotten is an arrogant asshole and that sense permeates through most of LTD's songs but this album was decent

That was an adventure. I like the drums up front in the mix but it is very chaotic.

Did not particularly enjoy this and it's certainly not "good" but can see how it's influential for better or worse. Religion I and II make some salient points in regards to organized religion pretty much being bullshit so it gets a star for that. Closing track Fodderstompf was weirdly interesting so I'll round up to a 3 for this album. I'm surprised too!

I thought this was quite a bit better than Metal Box. There were a couple decent punky songs in the second half, but even the long, rambling jams usually had hypnotic basslines that I didn’t actually mind listening to for minutes on end. More good than bad, for me: 3 / 3.5 stars.

There is only one way to describe this glorious mess of an album: "Music to bask in your own filth by" Love it!

I guess it's influential industrial punk, but it's not enjoyable nor interesting to me.

Ah, a religious text for the sabbath. I feel edified if not entertained.

Metal Box (the previous Public Image album I rated) got a 2 and I was happy it was over. This one was notably better! A few of the songs I was leaning towards a 4, but mostly this settled right in at a three.

Some standout guitars, and provoking lyrics for sure.

Catchy beats, Soft Play should expect a letter in the post

I thought it was pretty good. I feel like the album could've done better without Religion I. Religion II is a great track on its own, but Religion I really makes the song superfluous.

I liked some parts, mainly the middle three tracks as examples of decent post-punk, but the rest felt incomplete. The lyrics can be very patronising and juvenile, but I can concede the influential nature of the album. 19/01/24

Post-Punk seems not to be my type of music 😉

Having previously listened to Metal Box, I came into this fully expecting to hate every second of it, but it wasn’t quite as terrible as I feared, mostly because John spends much more time chanting/speaking than trying to sing. But what is the point of speaking a poem, a bad poem at that, and then immediately speaking that exact same poem again but over drums and a guitar riff? Also, I know this probably came across as more profound in 1978, but listening to the religion criticisms in 2024 all I could think of was that “Who’s an edgy boy” meme.

3.5/5

I like this band, I like their sound, I don’t love this album. starts out really preachy and repetitive, too much beat poetry sprinkled in (ol Johnny clearly going for a Patti smith-horses vibe - and getting away from the Sex Pistols sound that made him famous). The album gets better though, “annalisa” and “public image” are great songs). Shocked the scores are so low. anyway, The next PIL album is way better -dare i say ‘great, (second edition), no preach talking and a solid vibe throughout.

Sort of what you would expect, slightly sparse bleak post punk before PIL hit more of a groove. Certainly interesting.

Het enige knappe is dat als je volledig talentloos door het leven gaat, je blijkbaar toch een succesvolle carriere kan hebben. Johnny "Rotten" Lydon bewijst het. De zang, of wat er voor door moet gaan, is echt tenenkrommend slecht. Qua muziek vind ik het eigenlijk nog best wel goed. Er zit een prima ritmesectie in, de gitaar gooit er een lekkere gruizige deken overheen. Alleen Sjonnie had er van mij niet per se met een megafoon aritmisch doorheen hoeven bleren. En jammer van het matige begin en einde. Maar het middenstuk is dikke prima. Ik kan daar best 3 sterretjes voor uitdelen.

Don’t know what all you cry babies are on about, this was perfectly listenable

3.6 - Any album that marks the death of punk’s preeminence in Western music is good in my book. But this album is just good. A few tracks are great (“Low Life”, “Annalisa”, “Public Life”), a couple are shit (“Fodderstompf”, “Religion II”). And I’m still not sold on this Jah Wobble character - this is his third project that Dimery has recommended me and I remain ambivalent about him, at best.

I laughed to myself when I first saw this album, thinking the reviews for this should be pretty entertaining. A fan of the Sex Pistols and PIL, this is pretty much what I expected. Angry and in your face. Have to believe the Religion songs upset quite a few. But F em. The song is spot on. Maybe I'm going to hell, but Bon told me, hell ain't a bad place to be. A solid album all the way through and one way to relieve some stress while working. Public Image is probably my favorite song by these guys and great banger for everyone. Religion had the best lyrics and is the song most true to life. Fodderstompf went a little long and strange, but this is really my biggest complaint. Overall, a solid album. I'm going with a 3.5 but scorebaord will show 3. 3.5

Enjoyed the middle run of songs, but start and finish were terrible. Not for me but I can imagine some weirdos loving it.

This one was less cringe than I was expecting - the religion section was definitely on the nose, but the rest of the album was standard post-punk fare for the era. Does take a bit of patience (I understand those who tapped out here), but if it doesn’t have at least one grating, never-ending track is it really a post-punk LP?

MEH

It was a nice album. Felt more punk and post rock. The first track is the peak of the album imo. The risks taken and the rawness shown on it is unmatched by the tracks that follow it. I would have liked to have more tracks like it - more screaming, more distortion and experimentation. Nonetheless, it was still a good album. Religion 2, public image, attack, and low are all good to great. I don’t care for annalisa - it’s more of the same, doesn’t carry a memorable riff and for a 6-7 min track it doesn’t progress well and feels monotonous at times. The last track also feels a bit weird and out of place. The vocals just sound annoying to me. When the track started I was really excited to see where it goes because the bass line is great accompanied by these syncopated synths beats , but again I wanted to see more rawness and distortion which was missing. Overall, it was a good album. I’d give it a strong 3.

Really creative, experimental album. I tried to transport myself to a 'pre-post-punk' world and view the album through that lens. It's certainly a pioneering record which would go on to inspire so many post-punk bands. Keith Levene's guitar playing on this is incredible, and the bass/drum section of the band are great too. However I think it's let down somewhat by the longer, repetitive tracks.

I'm all punked out this week, otherwise I might have appreciated this more. It's good.

This was significantly better than Metal Box. I could actually tell how this album influenced plenty of post punk to come, and some of the songs were actually songs (despite being a little out there). However, the lyrics to a couple tracks were so heavy-handed and Fodderstompf was just horrid. 5/10

It certainly feels like an album of more to come and I guess this was pretty unique for it's time. Fave: Fodderstompf

Really good bass on the opening track. It seems more important for being an influential album than an album that’s fun to listen to. Public image is probably my favorite from it. Rating: 2.8

It has merit. I liked it more than Sex Pistols which just popped up here a week ago, but I'll need to revisit this album again to be sure.

I thought this was quite interesting and enjoyed it.

Pussy Filter: The Album 7/10

I feel like there were better Public Image songs on better Public Image records?

Though I understand his attempts to subvert the music industry and appreciate the idea, it just doesn't work that well for me musically.

Lead vocalist John Lydon (previously known as Johnny Rotten, the lead vocalist of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene (one of the original members of The Clash), bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker. This is their first album Standouts: Public Image Others: Religion II 3/5

A ferocious, fiery, blood bursting shit that you never quite recover from. My lord it hurts. It hurts so bad. Tear my eyes out, Jimmy boy.

🤌🤌🤌🤌

A bit confusing this one, in some aspects it feels quite pioneering, in others, a little annoying. Probably doesn't help that I'm clouded by my negative opinion of John Lydon in his later years. The punkier elements are pretty cool but I can't go more than 3/5

The more “accessible” tracks are great, punchy rock tunes! The more “experimental” tracks make me want to eat pavement.

confesso que nao se destacou tanto

Good! I liked the sound a lot.

Interesting album but not completely for me. Some songs saved it tho

Listened Before? Y Man, I love Johnny Rotten, and I love the concept of this band and album. That being said, it's just not very accessable. I know that's the point but it's not doing a lot for me. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Public Image

Strictly worse than The Fall, but credit where it's due for doing The Fall type stuff this early on

3 stars. would be 3.5 but there we go.

Decent punk, reminiscent of the Sex Pistols.

Cool

First I didn’t like it, but towards the end it turned out to be a solid album

Surprisingly good. Can’t believe I’ve never heard of this band.

Unhinged clown music by psychos and for psychos. A tad bit TOO crazy, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

first song “theme” is so long omg the guitars are really cool and the vocals are really powerful but i dont really think its worth 9 minutes of my time. second song “religion 1” was a spoken word about hating on religion which was unexpected but not unappreciated next song “religion II” is just the poem from before but over a track im enjoying how out there and bold the start of the album is. the fourth song “annalisa” is a relatively normal song but i dig it quite sex pistols like wich i guess makes sense its listenable next song on the album “public image” was mid “low life” was probably my favourite song from the album the test of the album is kinda the same i enjoy “attack’s” bass riff and i like “fodderstomof’s” name and it was probably a close second favourite from the album

3.5

I get the theme and the idea here. It's not supposed to be a clean sounding record, or even a normal sounding one with normal song structures. It's supposed to be uncomfortable, abrasive, rough, and unpleasant at times. And I get this is almost like just anger with society in general as an album, but for me it wasn't very enjoyable at times, although I did kinda dig some of it, even the whole bass groove and vibe of the final track. Then the moron went and supported Trump. So much for whatever he believed in here I guess.

I like PiL. I think Mr L is a bit of a plonker who isn't ageing well (I can relate, but I do hope I'm not like him) but I still like PiL

Bit punky, bit show-offy in a self conscious way. It overtly says, "Oh look at me aren't I contraversial?"

Generally like the sound but not much really stuck with me in terms of "this is a banger". Glad to listen to a pioneering album for post-punk though.

The highly experimental and horrifying Metal Box is one of my favorite albums of all time. This previous album carries many of those themes but less coherent and more accessible. The drum beats are hollow that post-punk and gothic contemporaries (like Joy Division or Siouxsie) would adopt. The bass is incredibly deep and pronounced, among one of the most memorable bass I've ever heard. And I previously criticized the Jah Wobble album on this list. The guitar squeels in terror. And of course Lydon's (of the Sex Pistols) vocals and lyrics tie together feelings of chaos and mental turmoil that I don't believe any other album has been able to capture as well up to this point. This album takes punk in a whole new direction. The songs are dissonant and out-of-control, and the track listing is incredibly hard for untrained listeners to get a feel for. The first song is barely audible and could only appeal to fans of jazz, post-rock, or emo, and it's 9 minutes of chaos. The next track is a spoken word criticism of religion, and the third is literally the same except with a melody over it. And it's not very easy to listen to either. They fuck with the stereo mixing and sound quality and introduce all sorts of strange and unsettling instruments and effects, not to mention the use of repetition, to make it a very interesting yet harsh listen. I guarantee this will turn off 95% of people, but I personally love this shit. It's so strange and artsy and really resonates with my feelings of anger and insanity that other genres like metal could never even hope to reach. We then get "Public Image", their only easy pop track until their 1984 This is What You Get Album. It's very traditional punk but also super innovative, I can hear the influence in all sorts of post-punk bands to come, even the revival bands like Interpol. "Low Life" follows this trend in more accessible territory. "Attack" sounds sorta similar with the accessible approach but drifts further away into chaos with the vocals that sound like they were recorded through a tunnel, and have some unsettling repetition. Finally, "Fodderstompf" is a really difficult closer based on industrial synth effects, reminding me a lot of Suicide and CAN. The bonus "Cowboy Song" is a wild and fun lofi surprise. Looking back on it, I did really enjoy the whole album. Something memorable and creative about each one, but I can't help but compare it to Metal Box, which I think is a masterpiece in its composition. In comparison, this one is less satisfying and can be very grating at times, where I felt excited about every track in Metal Box. Both closers (the real one and bonus track) were too abrasive and sudden, compared to Metal Box's peaceful "Radio 4." The styles were also much more all over the place, where Metal Box felt consistent despite the varying styles. For this reason, I am being a bit more critical than I should now that I see how it could have been so much better. But still really enjoyable and I will revisit.

Chaos, and not always good. Shades of Janes addiction in the first track...10 years before that genre was a thing.

Rotten no more, John Lydon explores his real musical influences, the ones that would have gotten him firmly kicked out of the punk scene he and the Sex Pistols helped establish. The record as a whole is rather dark and uninterested in being slick or commercial, and that’s commendable even in the less enjoyable moments.

Post-punk raruno. Ni fu ni fa.

Not bad.

Overall satisfactory

This album is another case of I get why it’s on the list but it’s not my thing. There was some interesting stuff going on rhythmically but John Lydon’s voice was grating throughout the whole album. Based on the final track, “Fodderstopf”, at least they didn’t take themselves too seriously. I really enjoyed that one.

Charisma and anti-charisma are mainly what remains, post-punk already falling into patterns which keep it from aging to well. But it's a loved genre, and Public Image give it a strong start, with a few puzzling choices. Annoyance is of a piece with punk, I suppose.

Секс пистолс понравились мне больше ввиду того, что они придерживались чётких рамок жанра, но здесь границы размыты и чёткого панка уже нет. Из-за этой сумбурности звука альбом мне понравился чуть меньше (особенно в конце, я еле выдержал эту семиминутную пытку), но как основоположник постпанка, этот альбом заслуживает хотя бы немного вашего внимания (6.5)

A lot of noise after the first song

A toned down 80s John Lydon

Because I first encountered this band and their music when the album called 'Album' was released in 1986 when I was in college and open to all sorts of styles of music, I owned and liked that album but never really knew anything about it or the band other than the fact that John Lydon of the Sex Pistols was lead singer, I assumed all these years that was their debut album. Yet another testament to why I love this 1001 Albums project is how many misconceptions and myths it clears up for me, and of course I realize now thanks to this album coming up in the rotation that they first formed and recorded in the late 70s. This album is so darn raw, and I do understand that's completely intended. I do like some of the tracks and I hear in them a lot of the elements that we'd hear for years and years in the post-punk era. I get this album's importance. Nicely done.

3.5/5 The first song of the album literally screaming for 9 mins and 10 seconds made me feel like..... I..... I can't..... 😭..... *"I wish I could die?"* you and me both buddy..... But then, the religious read in the second "song", and the self-awareness of the rest of the album kinda redeemed it for me somehow. This is probably the first album that *felt* like it really had seminal/foundational/pivotal energy. Whether it was or not, I: a. Rocked out to it in the shower, b. Learned about punk and "post punk," and c. Didn't hate it.

There are some really interesting post punk records. this isn't one of them. It was fine.

So much post punk on this list. This one is closer to the punk ethos than others I’ve listened to. Heavy instrumentals, angry vocals, controversial lyrics. Pretty good, but is a bit too long.

Not bad. Didn’t get all the way through but I liked the first song pretty depraved and dark.

Somewhat interesting. Liked some of it, some was irritating. Mostly unhinged

This album's alright. I like the opening track 'Theme' the most for sure. There's quite a bit of lazy/half-baked songs on this one but I actually think I like it more than the Sex Pistols album, though that at least had a few unarguable hits on it. I think I'm more interested in listening to 'Second Edition' after this one because this feels like he rushed it out after the Sex Pistols and I'm curious how/if the band evolved more. Standout Tracks: Theme, Public Image

Oh good, the birth of post punk

I'm not quite sure how an album can be so bizarre and yet so boring. Maybe I'm getting a bit jaded by several post punk albums coming up in close succession? Dunno. That slow beat and riff are pretty cool on Theme, but I think it could have been 5 minutes shorter; it really overstayed its welcome. The utterance of "Terminal boredom" at the end was quite appropriate. Some of the songs were pretty good but often just suffered the same fate by the end. Favourite: Annalisa

This is soooo much better than their later albums. Lydon is still mad and has something to say. The band has purpose and wants to move music in a new direction. That said, it's not perfect, but it's trying.

This must have been a seriously groundbreaking sound in 1978. At this point there were still 15 years or more of solid punk records to make but PiL were ready to move on. Lydon is so pissed off and I love it. “Theme” could be an unfinished Nirvana song. “Public Enemy” sounds a little like the Pixies. This album must have been a big post-rock influence of the alternative bands who would make it big decades later.

Gets a 3 from the 3 middle tracks alone - the rest is generously characterized as "experimental". Very creative perhaps but a half-finished sketch of the much better Metal Box to follow

Post-punk raruno. Ni fu ni fa.

rough punk rock there are definitely interesting ideas but also low points

Complicato, ma 'Public Image' mi piace.

kuunnellessa hyvä, mut muistellessa mieleen ei palaa juuri muuta kuin hyvät kitarat ja tietynlainen ajattomuus. ja Anna-Lisan koukku

Vaikka tämä on periaatteessa soundi-/tunnelmalevy, koen, että minulla on tälle tulevaisuudessakin käyttöä, vaikken olekaan ihan varma minkälaista.

I mean, it sure has a unique sound. Some good stuff in some of the songs. The interview was...interesting as well

Given how much of an arse John Lydon has become as a public figure, it's a little difficult to assess the *very* experimental record that the first PiL album is on its own merits and flaws... But let's try. "Theme" is utter nonsense musically speaking, but it's quite an artistic statement as an opener. Gives you an inkling of that particular time when punks wondered where to go now that the "no future" mantra had shaken the world of music. Most people will turn their head away at first, but if you give it your full attention, the track has an uneasy-yet-hypnotic drive that can send you in quite an interesting mood. It's the conflict between the dub-inspired bassline and the pre-no wave sound of those meandering noisy guitars circling around you like vultures... "Religion I and II" is similar in a drier, less expansive way, so it's less effective. This is where artistic intent can't really hide the lazy writing. Post-punk has its own shortcomings sometimes, here exemplified by this track. "Annalisa" accelerates the pace to more recognizable shapes for the first time. Still lazy writing, but a nice energy here. "Public Image" is one of Pil's best songs. Closer to the Sex Pistols than everything Lydon has ever done on his own after the demise of his first band. Melodic and catchy, yet cold and menacing thanks to its drum sound. Lydon's voice does wonders on this one. "Low Life" is in the same vein. Nice chord changes on it. Oddly enough, this song could have been longer where other ones go on for a little too long. "Attack" is a more by-the-number punk cut in comparison. Yawn. "Fodderstompf" goes back to the nonsense mode that opened the album, but this time such nonsense is amped up to the max. The only good thing about this track is that it's quite impossible to describe. Give it a spin for yourself. Being totally obnoxious is the effect Lydon looked for here, and it's a complete success. Interestingly, PiL here opens a box with all sorts of trippy electronic toys inside it, but it's one they would use with far better results later on. End assessment: trimmed of half of its contents, *First Issue* would have made a fine E.P.. But as an LP, it doesn't stand the test of time. And there are a couple of later PiL albums that would have maybe deserved to be in this list, instead of this one... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 800, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far  Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter (including this one)

Ça a commencé par 5 étoiles, puis Je trouvé ça répétitif, et à la fin j’étais juste lassée

Cool song “Religion” but the rest was okay.

PIL have always fascinated me, but I've never really been hooked.

Pretty good post punk vibes. Songs were all ok

Almost a 4. Some interesting, snarly punk with some good riffs. Was probably pretty unusual in its time

On comprend sa place dans les 1001. Pas mon genre de punk mais devait clairement être bien influençant.

PIL plays a music hard of swallow. This album is fundamental to understand the transition between punk and post punk eras. Kevin Levene's guitars are like knives. Lydon singing in a very particular way. Definetelly, album to listen before dying.

I like this

It's good. More considered than the Pistols, but like anything with John Lydon, also a little hollow. Some good songs on here, and some dull stuff.

Pretty interesting but not something I'd listen to frequently. 6/10

Svolítil læti, en líka svolítið skemmtilegt. Finn ekki þörf hjá mér til að skipta um plötu þótt ég myndi kannski ekki leita þetta uppi.

Public Image: First Issue is a good…demo. Johnny Lydon can't figure out where he wants to take his new band. Are they still punk? Are they post-punk? New Wave? The over nine minute opening track even has some early Industrial flavors to it. Whatever this is, Lydon's screeching doesn't help. He's all over the place as punk icon, poet, and attempted crooner. Later releases from PiL are list-worthy, but my lord did Warner Brothers do the US a favor by not releasing this. If only the people that though this would be a worthy entry onto a list of albums you must hear before you die followed the same rationale. 3/5 for musicality. 1/5 for 'Must Listenability'

J’avais déjà entendu le nom, mais je ne savais pas que c’était le groupe de Johnny Rotten après la dissolution des Sex Pistols. Les guitares sont vraiment intéressantes sur l’album. Par contre le mix avec son abus du panning qui bouge à certains moments est désagréable. Définitivement un album qui a influencé Nirvana, tellement que Radio Friendly Unit Shifter sur In Utero est basée dans la structure et les arrangements sur la pièce Annalisa qu’on retrouve sur cet album. Je vais sûrement revenir à cet album.

genérico e pouco memorável. mas pode ser a minha antipatia pelo johnny rotten desde que ele virou um direitoso. sou mais os clash.

Not bad post punk

Okay. Very political, which isn't always a bad thing, but if you don't like the message then it can get a bit irritating after a while...