Pink Flag

why

Incredible from start to finish. The guitar tones on this album are just unreal. Hardly anything on this list will be able to top this.

Haven’t heard this before but can see why it would make the list - it’s fast and furious and. Encapsulates the punk era.

Cant believe i never heard of these guys

Very good, not much else to say

Very very good. Hard to pick out standouts because a lot of the tracks are snippets, but the flow is great.

8.5/10 I loved, that each composition followed previous one. It gave some sence of unity. Lowdown is a favorite of the album though. Good studio start for the group.

did not know this is where the Elastica sample was from, or that Strange was a cover by REM

The best and worst thing about short awesome punk songs like these is that they always leave me wanting more. I knew some of these songs already (the algorithm has been pushing Fragile on me for years) but this was my first time listening to this album in full. It definitely sounds way ahead if it's time.

Fantastic record.

A loud and quick romp. 21 tracks in 35 mins?? Gotta love punk for that. I can definitely see their influence on artists like the Strokes and Green Day. Pretty smooth listen in the end.

Amazing

no no no

all right, punky, listens pleasantly, good energy

A great punk album that was ahead of its time. I had listened to this a few times before and like it a lot, but I was surprised to see this was released in 1976. What a great preview of the Clash’s best a few years later and of some of the better arty punk rock of the 80’s. Fragile and Ex Lion Tamer are my favorites but it’s a solid record from beginning to end.

good fun

I used to listen to this all the time, but it's so much more eclectic than I remember - maybe it all used to blur together into what I assumed 70s British punk was, but now I hear it as like a sample platter for post-punk where you get a little taste of every sound and style that would follow - some slow chugging riffs, some funk infused beats, sped up hardcore powerchords, snarling drawled out vocals, aggressive angular guitars, grinding industrial sounds, power pop harmonies, a deadly serious but also constantly unserious affect, some hi-energy poppy jangle, lo-fi production. It really has it all and shows how much you can accomplish with minimalist instruments and more talent for song-writing than musicianship, but a huge amount of creative energy to invest in messing around and making stuff - it's dark and angry at times, but also kind of a joyous artifact of the diy spirit and ethic. Favorites: Reuters, Mannequin, Three Girl Rhumba, 12xU, Lowdown, Strange

The song Champs has been showing up on my random play quite a bit recently, and I really like that song, so very stoked to be able to hear this whole album. I liked it a lot; adding it to the growing list of 1001 bands that have been mostly off my radar but are now go-tos. 4/5

This album fucking rules. I knew it already, but really it grows in my ratings every time I listen. 4.5/5

Top 5 punk album? A-

Anothers 70s punk / garage rock album! Weird to get two so close together. It was decent- i liked the instrumentation in a lot of songs. Nothing really stoid out as a hit. I can see how fans of the genre would enjoy it

Pretty classic punk album. I've grown to like it more over the years.

Sorry to all the post modern, "ironic" punk lovers out there, you can't fool me into thinking this one is even remotely good. I don't care if they were making a bad album just to piss people off, it's cheap art. Comically bad vocals on this one- maybe the worst on the list so far. The instrumentation is mid at best. I think this album does a disservice to the genre and I like punk for the most part but this is awful.

I can punk to this.

I feel these 1001 albums have a strong punk/post punk editorial bias, which means that I am both finding a lot of new bands outside of the usual. Another pleasant listen in the genre, though it didn't stand out enough to surprise me

Starting to realise that punk really isn't my cup of tea, can't really fault the album but it just doesn't tickle the pickle for me

Yeah, one of my most favourite albums of all time.

A fun punk album packed with jammers, my kinda shit (3.5/5)

What I like about punk. If I had heard this back then it would have been my favorite,

It's punk. That, basically, sums it up. 1 for me.

Musically I loved it more than most albums from this genre. Vocals pretty standard stuff though.

Wire were a great band who I got to see a couple of times in the very early 90's, ironically once supporting Blur, who are heavily influenced by them. This debut, falls into the category of Punk, but it's more than that due to the more complex arrangements of the songs - this is shown more on their follow up 'Chairs Missing'. But as a punk album in 1977, it was vety different from the other bands of that scene at the time and there isn't a bad track on it. And I successfully avoided the Brit-pop elephant in the room!

A landmark punk release that can only be described as the UK's response to Television. Wire has a knack for making great songs that were over before you knew it. Only the opening track breaches 3 minutes in length, giving itself some space to establish Pink Flag before the hit-and-run songs. Every song is great. Even if it's not great, it just moves on to the next one. That's punk, baybee. Fantastic.

Meh.

Colin Newman's voice is a bit strange to me, a classic album nonetheless. The bass and guitar tone is the highlight I think.

Some really good punk rock. I've listened to this before and yet didn't recognize too much of it. There aren't too many hooks. But I like the vocals and instrumentals. It's weakest point is there isn't much distinction between songs sometimes. Otherwise not bad. 3/5

First time hearing but I loved it! Maybe it’s a punk thing to have lots of short tracks, but it really serves as a nice intro Punk 101 sort of thing, cool riffs that don’t overwhelm/overstay. Also loved the production, gave it an underground feel, whether this is deliberate or showing its age doesn’t matter. 5/5

3+

This is a real fun album, I've listened before but nice to revisit it today.

Not bad but the influence seems to greater than the sum of its merits and blandishments, which is to say one finds it to be slightly overrated particularly relative to its much ballyhooed influence (though one admits one didn't much know it and certainly didn't love it in real-time of release). The punchy raggedness makes for punk authenticity but does bludgeon-grate after a time. It gets steadily better as it goes. "Mannequin" is a great song, and the peak of the record, with "Strange" and "Fragile" the runners-up. Funny, how they ended up as synthy pop tunesmiths down the road ("Kidney Bingos," anyone?), following the Clash > Big Audio Dynamite trajectory to some extent. Despite the fact that REM (one of one's fave all-time bands) liked this record quite a bit, one can't quite convince oneself to round up.

Totally enjoyed the shortness of the songs—like a flight of punk. A little sample of each. Made it a lot more interesting that way. However, not since MmmBop have I heard such diction. No idea what he was saying most of the time. Still, not bad.

Fairly decent punk, loads of short songs which have their good and bad points - the good ones sadly end to early whereas the bad ones thankfully do. Can see this inspiring lots of bands so can understand it's inclusion.

A bunch of drunk guys yelling over guitar chord progressions that every 7 year old could play. I love it

Really good.

never heard of wire love wire great album almost 5* but not quite 86

A very enjoyable album - the tracks are short, fast, and loud, and that format works really well here. I’ll have to remember to check out other albums by this band.

Energetic, fast paced, rock late 70s.

Going all in with Pink Flag as my favorite album by Wire. Direct songwriting with acerbic wit, propulsive rhythms and impactful guitar will win me over every time. This record consistently delivers it all at a high level.

Punk-rock flat-out classic that basically wrote the code for what would become hardcore. What's not to like? I don't care if I can't understand what he's saying, this is great.

A cool Post Punk, Proto-Grunge, Sonic Youth sounding. Digging it. Gimmie that distortion,

70/100 As a whole a lot better than the individual songs. It just flows so nicely and is incredibly fun.

I actually just think punk makes me tired. I'm not sure why but it just sort of drains me. I can respect it and I don't hate it, but something about it just doesn't click with me. And this album is really no exception. There are some fun little moments with these short songs but I just don't find the energy to be all there. Fav songs: - Reuters

Such an influential album for punk and post punk. Personal enjoyment: 5/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

21 songs at 36 minutes. Some of these songs are way too short for me to do anything with. How am I to enjoy a 40 second song. There’s no time for any investment. Production, lyrics, and instrumentation are all good. Vocals are fine. Writing is original enough for me to be able to set them apart from their contemporaries. Fun for a punk enthusiast. Alright for the average listener. This album definitely had a lot of influence, which shouldn’t go unnoticed. 4/5

Occasionally, I need to remind myself that the list from which these albums are drawn is full of suggestions only, not demands. Furthermore, it lists 1001 albums it wants you to HEAR before you die. Thank goodness the author doesn't consider the contents to be the 1001 definitive albums ever released, otherwise sales would be difficult to achieve. I've never heard of Wire, and after my first and only listen of Pink Flag, I can see why. I can also see why I needed to listen to it - this album appears to emanate from a time, place and human condition that I have given very little thought to. I can hear that it's British punk, but I would never have thought it was worthy of being included in conversations about the likes of Sex Pistols, Clash, Siouxie & The Banshees, or even New York Dolls! To my ears, the lyrics are not poetic or even important, the vocalist does not sing in a tuneful or particularly unique manner, and the general musicianship cannot match even the low standards of those aforementioned bands. In parts, I hear something of a bridge into the 90's British style plied by the likes of Blur and Suede, so that makes them different from the punk scene I already knew of until today. So, I've listened once to Pink Flag by Wire. Box ticked. Next!

Didn't like it one bit . But the length of songs was encouraging

Noteworthy songs - 808080808 Magical Dream - Kinda catchy synth, but the rest is bland. Ancodia - Good background noise. Cobra Bora - Actually kind of cool, reminds me of Bomberman Hero. Pacific 202 - N64 vibes, but melody isn't great. Donkey Doctor - Nothing too special, weird ending. 808080808 - Really cool beginning. A little slow in the middle but stays interesting enough. Sunrise - Nothing remarkable. The Fat Shadow - Eerie. Very short.

Punk rock in its purest form. Hook it to my veins!

Such a fantastic record, everything that's right about punk. Smart in it's dumbness, massive in how concise it is, just a brilliant record that was way ahead of its time.

awesome !

It strikes me as being a really important album, and it is borderline criminal that I've never heard of it before. It's like looking into the priomordial past and seeing the first organisms dragging themselves onto the shore, ready to birth a million indie bands. I really enjoyed it. Loads of fun. Short sharp fun. But defo fun.

This was a great surprise. Loved it. Everything I like about that old school punk sound is here, I’m actually surprised I’ve never heard it before.

Nice, not angry.

Artsy side of punk but what does that even mean? The sound is very clear for its lust for fuzz. Voice seems a bit like mimicking a snotty attitude - not knowing they are THE original one could easily assume them to be a later released follow up act. But well…that‘s Happening often when you listen to ancestors which had been copied over the decades after them.

Early-ish punk. Catchy

Short energetic songs. It’s as if brit punk is a dialect I don’t understand, so I didn’t catch any of the lyrics the first time lol. But when I go back and look at them they’re not bad.

Highlights: Reuters, Ex-Lion Tamer, Surgeon's Girl, The Commercial. In a nutshell: minimalist punk rock. Boppy, in and out as needed. Perfect album length. This was a first listen for me. So much fun. Overall: 8/10

Wow thos album was so hard to find before streaming and iphones. Could never find it but first time listening to all the songs in their order and its just beautiful. Love it, this album is very important for the development of post-punk and influential to all the most important bands of post-punk, new wave and other generes. Songs are short amd sweet very clean punk and clear lyrics its like punk but cleaned and shinny. Really really good

Punchy, creative, and feels fresh. If there is an album marked as an origin point for emotional hardcore and post hardcore from the 80s and early 90s, I'm pretty sure this would be it.

Fun to listen to and exactly what you would want from a punk album

Better than Innervisions.

3.5

One of my favourite albums of all time. A 21-song punk suite that redefined the genre and brought an art school attitude to it. A band that took a minimalist approach to their music writing and played around with song structure to create songs that only lasted as long as they needed to, just keeping the essential parts. “Think of a number and divide it by two” is the philosophy of this album.

Never even heard of this band. Fun times and very influential.

Some good, fun punk songs on here. Unfortunately this is yet another album that's held back because the singer sounds like if a crumpet could talk

Somewhat unremarkable punk/rock album.

I'm not the biggest fan of really short songs (we get enough of that nowadays), but I love the energy of these songs! Old-school punk is great.

A harder, but even more banal Ramones

I liked this! I like the crunchy/fuzzy/grungy britpunkyness. Especially "Strange." Wtf is 1 2 x U about tho.

This was good but somehow Elastica ruined it for me. Elastica is good too, but you know what I mean.

Meh

3.5 Cool album, hardcore punk, no real standouts but a fun listen

Great. Pow.

Had never heard this band before, but feel like it's one that I would listen to again.

not a fan of punk, but this was pretty decent.

What happens when punk gets soft? Pretty easy listening.

Knowing how influential they were to post punk, I've listened to a bit of Wire but never heard this whole album. Definitely should've checked them out earlier. Musically they're like a mix of The Damned and The Ramones with the lyrics and attitude of the Sex Pistols and The Ramones (depending on the song — at times they're serious and political and at other times more inane and silly). The album has a mix of catchy and harder punk songs. It's 21 tracks, but a lot of them are more like snippets than actual songs. The whole album flies by in only 35 minutes, and the pace never lags. Highlights: Reuters, Three Girl Rhumba (which you might recognize from the riff that Elastica ripped off in the 90s), Pink Flag, Mr. Suit 5/5 just a really good punk album

Just not my style really.

could i write poetry to this? maybe?

This is really good stuff. Their 1978 album Chairs Missing is probably a 5 star. This one is a high 3, low 4.

verey good 5/5

I like it! Some of my early Pop-Punk exposure. 1980, and I fucking loved it! I’m gonna buy this one tonight, cause it deserves $.

Cut and burn. Punk not punk. Satirical masterpiece. Saturday night jitters. Sweetened bitters. Feeling called love be bop a Lula your hula hoops. 12XU. Wire moved on quickly from there adrenalised debut and are still a tour de force today. Individual members have made numerous records. Genius band, starting out on a high, before morphing into individual brilliance, solo and collaborations. Still relevant. Abstract mappers headed off the grid. Essentially yours!!

Ok, interesting. Returnable. Not struck with delight. Not offended. Better than neural. I know folks who would love it. Not quite me. 2 stars for future potential.

a "punk suite", praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment"

En keksi mikä tässä olisi huonoa. Paitsi se, että vaikka kuuntelin puoltoista kertaa, en malttanut kuunnella sanoja. Mutta musiikki veti. Hassu taito saada 3 min kuulostamaan pitkältä (tarkoittaa tässä että mielenkiinto säilyy kuulijalla). Quiro!

Tämä on saavutuksena ainutlaatuinen. Kaikki olisi pedattu tunnelmapaloille, joita oppineet kuulijat yliarvostavat niiden äkkivääryyden vuoksi, mutta tosiasiassa bändin esittelemät palaset ovat kappaleita - ja monet ensiluokkaisia sellaisia (sekä hitaat että nopeat toimivat, uskomatonta). Vain pari miinusta: vaikka levyn ajallinen pituus on järkevä, sen metafyysinen kesto on väsyttävä. En tiedä, olenko onnistunut kuuntelemaan kokonaisuutta yhdeltä istumalta. Lisäksi LP:n soundi nyt vain on ohut. Kuuluu asiaan, mutta esteettiseltä kannalta en voi täysin ohittaa tätä. Näistä syistä ei 5.

I think I need to give this one another listen. Maybe with the lyrics in front of me. It’s good sounding punk but nothing really grabbed me. Maybe I was just having an off morning.

5/5. There are about 5 actual songs here but it makes for a really easy listening experience as there is just enough energy put into each song as deserved, never overstays their welcome but gives the listener something to think about for about a second before throwing a new idea at you and the suddenly the album ends and you want to throw it back on because you didn't get everything, repeat process. An excellent formula and although unconventionally enjoyable, it was a good album, no notes. Best Song: Ex Lion Tamer, Lowdown, Champs

A UK punk band I was not aware of. I'm not big on this style of music, but it was enjoyable enough. It had sounds which are not dissimilar to grunge, so would not surprise me if they were an influence on some bands. 3/5

Totally unique and awesome.

Super fun punk album. Straightforward and catchy. It feels like this band epitomizes the phrase "bring it back to basics" and just writes good songs.

They play music and have a decent sound. Three stars

ok punk album, but wasn't a fan of the lead singer, felt like more shouting rather than singing in this

Very good, energetic, tight punk rock from the 1970s that sounds still fresh, and ahead of their time - if someone said it was released in the early 2000s I'd believe them! Great stuff.

Tiny punk rock amuses-bouches. Get in mah belly.

Never heard of this album. Love the first track. The rest is early punk and just some good old rock and roll. This sounds like the Clash but better.

It takes some effort to make punk rock dull and boring. This album manages it. Is it the guitar tuning or tone, the singer's accent? I normally enjoy punk, and 1970s rock in general, but something big was off here. None of the tracks made any kind of impression. Blah.

Elegant & angry. Rough & refined. Catchy & cacophonous. Trendsetting & timeless.

Punk? Post-Punk? Proto-Post Punk? Proto Crank Wave by-the-way-of-post-punk? Who the f*ck cares? It's a f*cking masterpiece. How terrifically abrasive and yet effectively "moody" are its obvious highlights, having a somewhat "normal" length for a song (opener "Reuters", "Ex-Lion Tamer", "Lowdowm"," the title track, "Strange" and, of course, "Mannequin" and its infectious backing vocals), and looking like long epics next to the many one-minute angry bursts also bringing their fair share of gems:"Three-Girl Rumba", famously plundered by Elastica, prophetic "It's So Obvious", foretelling the importance of year 1977 for culture overall, raging "Mr.Suit", probably against music industry goons, or closer "1 2 X U" and its homoerotic context--possibly a comment on internalized homophobia--covered by Minor Threat, by the way. In that particular league of songs, everyone will have their favorite. But they're all objectively good. To put it in a nutshell, this record is like no other--not even the two awesome albums following this debut (which Dimery should have included as well). Its off-kilter concept makes it timeless, and its overall effect is both mysterious and exhilarating. As seen on the wikipedia page for this record, one Pitchfork writer called it an explosion of "song-fragment shrapnel". Can't do any better than this to conclude this tentative review. Number of albums left to review: less than 200, approximately - I've temporarily lost count here. Number of albums I'll include in my own list: half so far, approximately (including this one) Number of albums I *might*  include: a quarter, approximately Number of albums I'll never include: another quarter, or just a little more (many other albums are more important to me)

Punk Ramones and much better songwriters than them. I didn't feel like I was listening to the same song over and over again.

Quick album. I sometimes missed the transition between songs. Upbeat punk album.

A completely under appreciated album that is unapologetic, energetic and...I dunno...enigmatic? Top tier dirty punk with some of the crunchiest guitar tones this side of the Mississippi. I've been struggling with simplicity in my own music lately, so this album was a swift kick in the ass reminder that great music = simple music.

An audacious album that’s slick yet grimy, minimalistic yet complex, fragmented yet cohesive, and still somehow underrated despite its considerable influence.

As far as mediocre british punk goes, this one was relatively enjoyable

it was good. Interesting to see some early punk influences. But ultimately it wasn't very memorable for me.

Largely forgettable

Energetic British punk. Fun album.

great memories!

It is a very good album and I appreciate that it may have been original and influential, but it isn't quite dynamic enough to hit that next level of greatness for me.

i love wire, i think their first three albums are all amazing but this one easily stands as the best imo. its really fun to listen to and its so eclectic it never gets boring. strange is probably my favorite track but there isnt a single low point on the entire album. 9/10

Although it's not something i've listened to before and will very no doubt ever listen to again this is vintage 1977 Punk/New wave. Great vibe and energy. Authentic stuff.

often I'll just leave the review blank for 5 star albums where i have nothing to add that hasn't been said a million times already here and elsewhere, but sometimes i need to write something just to emphatically underline that sentiment. this is one of those times

A punk sound not to dissimilar to The Buzzcocks in my head. I had never heard of them, and nothing was a turnoff. A song I recognized as covered later by REM "Strange" is in the mix. Cool to hear it's original structure, which highlighted how bare bones this album was.

Very solid punk album

Pretty strong early punk. Could have gone a bit deeper on a few tracks here but appreciated the punchiness. Three and a half. Fave track: Champs

Good, fun, 70's Brit punk. Feels like the Clash at times, Ramones at others. Don't want to drag them down to just a comparison of familiar bands of the era, they are listenable all on their own.

Three Girl Rhumba (2006 Remastered Version), comienza igual que la canción de Elastica.

It's fine.

Never heard of this but it was interesting.

It's good. I've often been underwhelmed by these 70s-80s post punk albums which is probably unfair as I'm coming at them with the benefit of hindsight and taking them for granted. You can hear the influence of this one in Ash and a lot of the 90s-00s guitar music I love, so it's great to experience it as part of that journey. I didn't quite love it though; the sound is great and I did enjoy the overall vibe but never quite found myself thinking I'd come back to it in any hurry.

It was ok

Fuck yeah

Cool 70s punk rock that’s actually listenable vs what much has sounded like on here. Nothing remarkable but the fuzz on the guitars is sublime.

Another 3

I guess I'm not a punk fan. Why is anybody?

A whole lotta the same thing. I grew bored quickly. Next!

I started off not hugely impressed but my tolerance levels rose with each song. Not a bad bit of punkish rock.

MANNEQUINNNN

I've listened to this album a few times now and I keep coming back to it. It does however become a little repetitive and I can't over-listen to punk or the vocals induce a headache. I hear a lot of elastica in it (or vice versa) which I love. For me mannequin is the obvious stand out- it sounds like it could’ve been made today by some indie band- well ahead of their time with that sound. favourites: "Three Girl Rhumba", "start to move", "Mannequin" skips: none

This was fine, 21 songs in 35 minutes. Kept my interest for the most part

Not the worst post punk we’ve had.

Cracking debut album, punk but also post-punk before post-punk became a thing.

i would love to love this but a lot of the songs feel very samesy which isn’t a knock to its quality, but it makes listening to the whole record uninterrupted a little tiring.

One of the best albums of the post-punk era. Structured, but noisy and angular in the best way.

Never heard of this lot but their influence is clear - three girl rhumba shamelessly ripped off by Elastica and Reuters seems to be the basis for Teenage Fanclub’s career. At their best with songs like Strange, Mannequin and Pink Flag and their worst when they’re trying to be the Ramones.

Yay, post punk again. I guess this wasn’t awful so maybe as good as it gets?!

Blimey, did every 90s english indie band listen to this. They should sue Blur especially. Enjoyed the fuzz but couldn't name a stand out tune. Maybe that's what they wanted. Still think post punk is an excuse for over artistic experiment instead of some cracking tunes.

Cool British punk.

Not really my thing

Fun and surf rocky, solid album all the way through. Would be good for…idk putting on in the background while playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3?

está bien. correcto. okayyy

I wasn't exposed to raw punk when it was a thing. I can appreciate the genre to a point and do think some is essential listening because of its emergence and influence. This album, to me is as representative as it gets, but, still didn't encourage me to explore further.

7/10

Sorta punk but dull

How have I never heard of Wire?!? They are fantastic

This is the third best punk album I've ever heard after the Sex Pistols and London Calling. The singing voices/styles are the most immediately recognizable elements of punk, but these bands are so incredibly good at their instruments. If an album's instrumentals alone could be 5 star, you've got a pretty god damn good one. Favorite track: Champs

Not my thing! Mannequin is the highlight of the album obviously! 2/5

Think of a Number. Divide it by 2. Five stars. <first 3 Wire albums all 5 stars - this is number 1>

Entertaining, interesting, and not straightforward punk album.

A little dissappointing, ok punk but nothing special

Decent. Had never heard it before.

Strange Lowdown Mannequin

não me pegou

According to my last.fm account this is my most listened to album (since 2014 when i reset my plays), so you could say i kind of like it. Barely a month can go by without me giving it a spin, I genuinely believe it's one of the best rock albums of all time. Incredibly catchy, short punk bangers that just fly through in half an hour. The two longer cuts of the title track and 'Strange' show their versatility that would become more apparent on their next two albums (which are also incredible). Thank god for Wire.

106 Beats that Mr. Suit Mannequin 1 2 X U Punk

The most influential, timeless, essential punk album of all time.

Another 4 star classic I have nothing to say about. It’s good!

I hear and the punk legacy they helped establish but it’s more of a “hmm” than a “wow!” I think it’s more my issue though due to a first/only listen; many of the tracks are catchy but seem unfinished as if this were a demo tape. Three stars today, but could see with further listens could be higher.

Cool! I liked it, I was already familiar with Wire so I knew what I was getting into.

1970s ... Punk ... loud ... quick ... simply as it should be :-)

Short and uninteresting. Very little development of any of these ideas and it just comes across as generic punk.

There's something strange going on tonight There's something going on that's not quite right Joey's nervous and the lights are bright There's something going on that's not quite right There's something going down that wasn't here before Keep your eyes so screwed to the floor No one's gonna save your life There's something going on that's not quite right Not bad. 4/5

Just pure dogshit all the way thru. Late 70s British musical scene was a fuckin hellhole I swear, there's a literal handful of good things to come out of it, stuff like Iron Maiden or Motorhead etc. The rest is just a sludge of shitty punk and even worse post-punk.

Not having it. It's not absolutely terrible to be an instant 1, but I still can't give this more. Not much to enjoy here, at least it was really short.

Late 70s influential British Punk band sounded like exactly what I figured it would sound like. Enjoyable, if you're in the mood for it.

First time hearing this. I like the Post more than the Punk but I'll be checking out more records from their discography

Short and to the point. I like the guitar work, but it lacks identity. Favorite track was Feeling Called Love

Many of these songs are ideas that don’t outstay their welcome. The album is great. Favorite songs were Mannequin, Three Girl Rhumba, Pink Flag, and Fragile.

I had never heard of this band or this album before. I'm amazed that it came out in 1977. It still stands up today! There were definitely standouts like 3 Girls Rhumba and Ex Lion Tamer. Some of it even reminded me of Fugazi during casual listens. I'm definitely going to give this one some more plays.

Just not really my thing.

Pretty standard Punk offering, with some pop flavors and hints of Lou Reed. Cool name for a band though.

This was an easy album to listen to, but not a great album for me

So British I couldn’t understand them

It was great!

Another previously unknown band that I'm going to deep dive.

loud and muddy sound

Я не большой фан панк-рока, но тут в принципе мне было нормально. Интересный ритмический рисунок, грязненькие гитары. Ну троечка.

Давно не могла послушать, наконец-то послушала. Крутая и легендарная панкуха.

very samey after the second song

Stripped down 70s punk, at first it was a no, but it grew on me. Obvious to see how it influenced misfits, and way more.

this genre is so good that even if I don't like the album itself very much, it still makes me move

You can see the early days of punk in this album. Syncopated muddy guitars, wild drums, and a British singer singing his heart out. This is not my favorite music, but I do like the guitars and drums that provide cool background tracks for the wild verses. It is hard to rate this album too highly though because I did not like the singing. I think it sounded sloppy and off tune but then again, that is part of the style.

Cool album. Original punk!!

Not as obnoxious as other punk albums this project has cycled through so far, at least there is a semblance of musicality here

It was ok, better towards the second half of the album, I do enjoy very bare bones early punk though, especially at dive bars

Good album!

Classic punk from the late 70s.

Wire hold a peculiar place in rock history - they were always on the outer but still put out some great stuff. This has strands you can here in lots of music to follow (including of course Elastica)

Never heard this album before but really like it.

Me: Why did you give Supergrass a 1-star but you like Pink Flag My Brain: ...

I always wondered why I was drawn to Wire when I first heard them, beyond the start/stop crisp riffs and deceptively simple songwriting, and then I realized that a half dozen different genres that I love — from post-hardcore like Quicksand and Helmet to britpop like Elastica to that entire Minutemen/Black Flag scene to nearly the entirety of what would eventually become the "post punk" MTV revolution — all sprouted from its loins. This album rules, but it's also a bit longer than it needs to be. Love Wire, but don't always love a full album of Wire.

25 pounds of chaos in a 5 pound bag! Love it

Saucool!!!

Rating: 9/10 Amazing album. This is punk that is so refreshing to listen to, very groovy, catchy, and interesting. The classic punk tempo is prevalent throughout, especially on the shorter songs, but the riffs and vocal melodies that are incorporated are so creative that no two songs feel redundant or repetitive. The longer songs are all fantastic, they were normally slower in tempo and very groovy. Overall, this album is incredibly catchy and fun to listen to; very close to being five stars, I think there are just a few too many of the short songs for me to give it a five but that may change with time. Favorite songs: Reuters, Three Girl Rumba, Ex Lion Tamer, Lowdown, It's So Obvious, Pink Flag, Mr. Suit, Strange, Fragile, Mannequin, Champs, 12 X U. Worst songs: 106 Beats That, Different to Me.

Grunge all the way. But not sure what makes it stand out more than others of that time and era.

More boring punk nonsense.

simpatico, ma non eccezionale

Fairly typical post punk rock with the exaggerated singing and shouting and endlessly repetitive riffs that make it almost hypnotic. And 21 songs in 32 minutes—now that’s rocking and rolling.

The members of Wire got lucky. Their music is beginner, their lead singer is unintelligible. I don't understand how they got a record contract. The mercy of this album is that every song is under 2 minutes. I think there's a political message in some of the songs, but I can't understand the words, so I have no idea. What if 4 dudes picked up instruments yesterday and started a band? This album is the result. Blech.

Stunning and very influential album.

I like the ambient background stuff. Better than some other Brit-punk ...

My first thought was 21 songs! But then I realised it was only 35 minutes long :) Not listened to this before and enjoyed this. A good punk album and you can see the influence it had on some more recent bands

Fairly generic punk, normally love this sort of thing, but felt a bit flat. That said i will remake this album.

Brilliant! Some of the tracks went on a bit though 🙂

So-so punk from back in the day. Three Girl Rhumba is in my playlist of maths songs!

I honestly thought we'd already had this album, then I remembered that we'd at Elastica a while back, and I'd checked out this album because of the Three Girl Rhumba/Connection. It's a good punky album, not too aggro, quite accessible - the short runtime helps too. Enjoyed it!

Heck yeah. That's the lowdown! Solid debut by a seminal band with some great tunes on it (ex-lion tamer, mannequin). Their recent stuff is more consistent, though I like the two different sounds they have (earlier v later)

Already heard this, it is amazing, literally only slays.

Meh

I can’t believe I’ve never heard this before. You can hear the influence this had on so many bands. I also had no idea REM’s Strange was a cover.

More punk that I dislike

This one fills in a gap in my musical education. Because I wasn't familiar with Wire, and yet I can hear so many bands that I *do* know in their music and specifically this album. 1977?? My goodness this is innovative.

The changing of the classic rock to punk very English punk sound

Just a non-stop fun listen overall I remember this being one of the first albums that got me into post-punk and its still one of my favourites from the genre Favourite tracks: Reuters, Three Girl Rhumba, Ex Lion Tamer, Lowdown, Pink Flag, Strange, Fragile, Mannequin, 1 2 X U

Not a huge fan of Brit pop/punk

Me recordó mucho a The Ramones. Aunque no conocía ninguna canción, alguno de los riffs de guitarra y la batería me sonaban conocidos, por lo que imagino que habrán servido de referente a otros grupos posteriores

It’s good. But you. Ant listen too much of it.

decent. punk with early alternative vibes

Not my type of punk

I liked the sounding to it but I feel like others did a better job with the genre. Still beats a lot of albums so 4

duplicate

Definitely punk

When you’re a kid and find out Minor Threat’s 1 2 X U is a cover and first discover this album. That’s a good part of the developmental process.

Erm, it was kinda good but also didn't really leave an impression. 3/5

Punk halt! Handgemacht, einfach, eingängig, schnörkellos! Bleibt nicht wirklich hängen.

I actually didn’t immediately like this one as much as I thought I would. There's a lot of stuff going on here. On more listens there's a lot to like. I really like the driving momentum of the title track. There's some crunchy / spacey experimentation happening, like on Strange. Good guitar tone on the right setup! I like Ex Lion Tamer and Mannequin, catchy stuff. I wish this was more a cohesive experience, but I guess that's the point? 4/5

I don't know this just ain't my thing. Not terrible but not really good

I’m sure this is very influential and pioneering as some kind of proto-post-punk but I’m not really into punk or post punk so don’t really care all that much. Not unpleasant.

A good album to listen to while reading.

Meh, might have been cooler when it came out in 77’.

Fun British punk album, good mixing too. 4.1

No dilly dally here. It moves at a relentless pass. A refined rawness.

punky spunky enjoy do me

Understand why this album belongs in this collection and appreciate that some will like it. First sounded like the same, second half is better, appreciated that the songs were short; post-punk ain’t my thing.

Just noise

Na vijf ultrakorte nummers ben je deze zeikmuziek al zat. En dan moet je er nog zestien! Dacht het niet, daar is mijn tijd me toch te kostbaar voor.

Een lijstje snippets, met af en toe een nummer ertussen. Met de stereotype net niet passende punk-zang. Af en toe hebben de fragmenten best een aardige basis. maar het meest geluisterde nummer op Spotify is het Lalala-nummer Mannequin. Tja...als dat je klapper op je album is....

Vroege punkrock, met wel die typische Britse punkzeikstem, maar het tempo ligt regelmatig een stukje lager dan bij de "niet na denken maar hakken en zagen" punk van die tijd. De variatie zit hem dan ook met name in het tempo, want het drumbeatje en de gitaarriffjes zijn vrijwel continu hetzelfde. Toch snap ik wel dat dit een basis heeft gelegd voor veel punkrock en hardcore van later. Maar ik blijf herhalen dat ik het fijner vind om te luisteren als het wat meer gepolijst en geproduceerd is, ipv het rauwe en ongepolijste. Wat dat betreft doet Wire dat dus al beter dan zijn tijdsgenoten, maar met de kennis van nu weten we dat het nog veel beter kan. Wel vermakelijk om hier kennis van te nemen, want ik had er slechts vaag van gehoord, maar nooit helemaal geluisterd.

I like it

the original waves of punk/post-punk were so rich and diverse

4.3 One of the best post punk albums, before post punk was even a thing. Fucking iconic. Fave songs: Mannequin, Ex Lion Tamer, Reuter

What a banger record, I would be into a band that put this out yesterday, so I definitely think it’s cool that this came out in 1977. I really like the track Strange, probably my favorite on the album.

Not really my flavour. It was okay enough, but I won’t seek it out again.

Classic

All of the tracks kind of meld together into one long track and there isn't much in the way of lyrics, but it was still enjoyable. I can see why this is an influential album. 3.75 stars, close to 4.

What a blast

I always think I like punk until I actually listen to it.

6/10 Sounds nice but no songs stand out

Really enjoyed this. I'd heard the name but never dived in. I'm delighted I started at the start and it will allow me to work though everything in order. This sounded to me like a mix of the clash and gang of four. Short sharp scuzzy and very good. A new fan.

Ok, will not listen again.

An absolute cult punk classic, this album is up there with the best from 1977, which says a lot given the level of music that came out that year. To name a few, Marquee Moon, Never Mind the Bollocks, Rumours, Low, The Clash, The Stranger, Lust for Life, are some of the albums that make 1977 one of the best years in music in my opinion. The songs are short but impactful. You need to listen to the album to appreciate them. Songs in isolation are not long enough, but together in the album they just flow. This is impressive given the rawness of the music. This album is a five-star punk masterpiece and so underrated. More people need to hear this album.

Even though I feel punk is very monotone, I liked this album a lot. It’s short songs and Good riffs created a very unique experience. I definitely feel more ready to listen to more of this genre and I feel like this is a very good takeaway for this album.

Songs seemed to all run together so i give it a 2 rating. Fav song-Fragile

Boring. I'm not sure if this band is joking at times? Or are self aware? But some songs sound good. And the the next song is just God awful. I'm sorry to punk rock lovers... But that whiney punk voice... Is horrible. You know that sound? For example, Johnny Rotten singing "I yaaaam annnnd anti-Currr-ryst!" it's so dead pan and out of tune. I get it. Punk is raw. Punk is 'I don't give a Fuck' but also... Punk sucks! Punk is horribly played instruments with horrible singers. I'm generalizing, of course. I do like some punk bands but it's very few. And there hasn't been a new good pu k band since the 90s. So... Just like rock and roll, it. Is. Dead. Oooor hiding. This album, despite a lot I dislike, there is some good guitar tone and distortion that I quite like. Some decent riffs. But that really is it.

I didn't know this type of punk music existed during the 70s. Cool! For that reason a 3

I can see this is a important root for the punk and new wave movements

This was a solid punk album. I like the short snippets of energy. I wouldn’t say it was groundbreaking, but of course that’s from my 2023 perspective.

Que punk cru e foda demais... Nossa, fazia tempo que não ouvia algo no volume máximo assim ahahaha

Thank goodness these crap songs are only a couple of minutes tops.

Bit shouty

Never listened to much Wire although I know they're influential. Punks who could write. Very era-ish but still got something. 3.5?

Too repetitive in style

I found some of the tracks unexpectedly interesting.

You can hear the influences and what it's influenced so much it sounds almost generic and early tracks make it feel like a parody of punk rather than anything more interesting. Dig a little deeper and there is much more to this, it has a daft number of tracks, many of them short enough to sound like ideas that didn't get finished and there's some interesting depth in that as you travel through, particularly when the energy levels change or they move further away from the standard punk style. Flawed but interesting.

Not bad, not very memorable though. I kept slipping off the end of the Spotify playlist and not realising.

Don't know how I didn't hear of this lot. Solid

Loud, noise, rockin'

#26. This is the second 70s British punk band that I've gotten this week that is supposedly pretty well known I have never heard of even once. I have decided though that I like Wire better than The Fall. Or at least I like this particular album better I liked the other anyway. It's definitely more punk-ish anyway. The songs are short, sweet, and to the fucking point. The songs are a little bit samey, but I guess that's true of the whole genre, and that's kinda the point, so it's hard to fault it for that. I would say that I liked it on the whole. 3/5: acceptable Song added to playlist: 1 2 X U I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

I feel like I should like this album more than I do. This might just be a punk thing (especially early punk) because I feel like that happens a lot with this genre.

Punk rock. Liked some songs a lot will listen again.

A surprise as I hadn't heard this band before but a really solid album from the early punk era

Really good punk record. Not really what I expected.

No thanks

Respectful punk/post-punk. Easy to enjoy

D'humeur à récompenser les albums courts

jai rien compris

Ok

Really enjoyed this. Want to check out more of their sound that was apparently always changing.

This is one of the essential Punk albums and I am a big fan. It hits all the classic punk elements while also providing its own take on certain things like their less on the nose lyrics and the more minimalist sound they had compared to contemporaries. This is one of those albums that really needs to be listened to as an album. It is much greater than the sum of its parts. Listening to a playlist that has a few of the songs really takes away from the experience and would probably not make you feel as strongly about the album as I and most other fans do. I think this is a near perfect album and is very deserving of a 10/10. From track 1 to 21 the band creates incredible atmosphere and movement in each track that really makes the album fill up a room or your headphones. It feels very fleshed out sonically despite the minimalism when it comes to instrumentation. I feel like this album is sort of like a plateau in that no one song feels much better or worse than the rest. The songs work like a well oiled machine to make this album a great experience to listen to. The only thing that stood out to me was at the end it felt like they had some tracks that felt like they were intended to be the hits, those being "Mannequin" and "Fragile". That being said it doesn't really take away from the experience of the album because they aren't selling out their sound to make the hit. Each of those tracks still feel like a song from "Pink Flag" more then their own thing so it is still a smooth ride. As said before this album is a pretty clear 10/10, is one of the most essential punk albums and imo is a must listen album for anyone not just punk fans.

Amazing post punk album, never gets old.

The originator of that whole ‘ton of songs in short album’ thing, and it does it well. Only 3 songs even reach the 3-minute mark, and those songs are some of the best on the album. The shorter songs are great, too, and they don’t overstay their welcome. I remember thinking ‘Three Girl Rhumba’ was the second song on the album and lasting 29 seconds, but it’s the third, and a minute and a half. The second song is - well, not that song, I guess. Anyway good album.

Think of a number (10) divide it by two (5(stars))

It’s fine and all but I couldn’t tell two of these songs apart if my life depended on it

How many generic punk albums do I have to listen to before I die?

How did I never hear of this band? I feel like a poser! They are good and hearing what they did in 1977 is definitely an indication that they were early influencers on in the punk/emo scene. That being said, I only mildly enjoyed it and likely would not listen to the album again.

It was fine. A little punk rock.

Good beats. Interesting punk rock. Singer is terrible. Singer drags it from 3.5 to a 2.

21 songs in 35 mins? Now we're talking! Loud and fast and doesn't outstay its welcome -- this is punk at its finest!

Although the name rang a bell, don’t think I ever listened to this record before. A very nice surprise, such a raw and cool album.