Reviews (page 8 of 8)
I’d rather be pulling my wire lol
For a short time during my teens I would’ve liked this, and it’s good, but it’s not my genre anymore.
The multiple songs lack much dynamics or variation. Wire would get a lot more interesting with the release of their next record "Chairs Missing".
A Smorgasbord of nothing
21 songs in 35 minutes! Competent punk that had little to no impact on the musical scene at the time. The reason being that none of the songs would make a memorable single. It appears that music critics have made up their minds that this album was influential on the basis of a couple of credits for them bring important, from bands as important as The Minutemen and Sonic Youth. It is possible to list bands that have covered their music - the only one of any significance bein R.E.M. - but the song they covered is not on this album. Overall this is a footnote in the history of punk, more competent than most but as equally forgetable.
I am really surprised by how many punk, or post-punk albums are on this list. Were those bands pushing some kind of boundaries? Yes sir. Do those boundaries seem silly from our perspective now? Yes sir. Of course fight against an establishment is very noble and righteous, it is expressed differently nowadays. Punk and post-punk is not extreme anymore, doesn't seem vulgar or uncivil - I feel like it belongs in a Museum of Old Music, possibly located in London, like all the museums, and all those british bands should be hanged on the wall (symbolically, not literally) named "BRITISH PUNK 70s-90s", people would look at it, be amazed or not and then just move on. It's, in my opinion, a relict of not so old times, where music still had some power over the current affairs. Listening to "Pink Flag" was a chore. The songs were very diverse and different from one to another, you can tell the band was experimenting quite a lot on this album. But ultimately, it was like using the most expensive and rare spices on a raw egg. No matter how much of those spices or condiments you use, at the end of the day you are sill eating a raw egg. It's still just a simple punk album.
Only got to listen to this one, but it was pretty good! Nothing to write home about though
It was unfamiliar but cool early 80’s anger.
With 20+ tracks in half an hour was expecting something a bit more exciting. Maybe this album is very influential but wasn't that impressed
Pretty short and kinda meh
It's not bad but I don't like very much this music.
The album is very short considering there's 21 songs, only 35 minutes. A lot of the songs are pretty short. There's a couple of songs that I like, but overall I think the album is a little too experimental for my taste. Favorite song: Mannequin Worst song: Brazil
Never heard of Wire before and I'm not surprised - mediocre punk, lacks the raw energy and excitement of other punk bands.
Just another punk album, all the songs are super short don’t really get it
Some great riffs (hello Elastica) but the songs are weak. They went on to make some great music (and still are) but there’s not enough art in this art-punk.
Never heard of this before...I enjoyed the intro to Three Girl Rhumba. Clearly Elastica did too. Not the type of stuff I can listen to at home, but I'd be up for watching them live.
I hear elements that have been sampled in current artist. But the genre as a whole isn’t for me
Decent
Meh
Well, that became grating.
Nothing memorable and some annoying stuff.
Sex Pistols, is that you?
Bland, average punk
A couple songs were ok but I wasn’t really into this style of punk.
I can see how it would have been influential, but a bit same same for my taste
Rockiges Album bei dem man leider nur wenig vom Gesang versteht. Erinnert ein bisschen an die Ramones.
Idk I just found this album to be really boring. There’s basically nothing remarkable that I can remember from it. It didn’t help that I never understood any of the lyrics
i think i’m just burnt out on punk at this point
Brit punk noise. Guess I'm just not interested in it, nothing wrong with the music really.
Another band I never heard of and from what I read, that's the story of Wire's life. While I'm not a punk fan, I didn't hate this. But by track 15, I didn't like it either.
How do you record 21 tracks on a 37 minute album? You make a lot of short tracks. Thirteen of these tracks are 1:30 or less, and six of those are less than a minute each. I found myself waiting for songs to develop only to have the track end and another begin. Although the band purposely took a minimalistic approach in writing this album, I found it a little unnerving.
Apparently I just do not like 70s euro punk
two stars to respect pioneers of a genre, but i'd never listen to this by choice
i just couldn't get into this. it's certainly LIKE tons of stuff i like. but it isn't. sorry wire!
Huh.
This is the debut album by English rock band Wire. This British punk rock album earned the band a cult following after its release because it was a fresh and invigorating take on the genre. For some unknown reason the album was never a big seller, but it influenced a lot of the punk culture and gave inspiration to other bands that would even cover some of the songs on this album. The tracks were quick, explosive jam sessions of punk attitude that created a bundle of awesome songs. I liked the album and I would recommend it to any fans of punk or rock music.
Sounds like every other English punk band but a little better than the last one that sounded like every other English punk band but not as good as the other punk band after that so this one splits the difference.
Pos-punk meio repetitivo.
While I definitely heard worse, I fail to see the special in this album.
Niet zo tof.
Ik zat met een collega in de auto. Hij werd heel blij van deze muziek. Ik wat minder.
xaropinho na real
Punk type music.
wire less or wire full
Getting a bit tired of these old punk 'golds' tbqh. I know there's a legacy thing, but they're all sounding quite stale these days.
Not my thing- lots of short forgettable songs and thought the vocals were whiny and garbled. Surgeon's girl was bloody annoying in particular. There was plenty of energy at least and Strange was cool, had some Talking Heads vibes.
Best Song: Tough to find a standout in this list of noisy snippets. Worst Song: Three Girl Rhumba. It legitimately sounds like his mouth is numbed for this song. Overall: Really not that much to pick out here. Doesn't have the tempo or emotion of good punk or rock, instead just kinds of sits in this middle space of mediocre noisiness, as if being abrasive were its own virtue.
Big sounds and cutting guitars
I ain’t into it ngl
Meh, generic punk that isn't really punk, it lacks substance.
Not for me, this one. Not awful, but doesn't say a lot to me. I feel like this one must be something that inspired people rather than being brilliant in its own right? Does definitely sound later than 1977, more so the instrumental than the vocals (which are very punky and of their time). About the same number of tracks as Elton yesterday, but half the length in time - only two of the tracks are over 3 minutes long. There are a couple I enjoy in there - Ex-Lion Tamer being my favourite - but I can't see myself listening to this ever again. 2/5.
Meh
Correct, jn album punk queje n’ai pas trippee. 2.75
Sounds like generic punk to me. Including the annoying voice. No standout tracks. After seeing that the album got highest price from almost all critics I'm pretty sure I won't like any punk album ever.
I had this album when it first came out. I didn't listen to it much then, and I can see why.
s'alright eh? Prime UK punk era, which usually means at least good, but just didn't grab us. I dunno.
Yeah it was decent, nothing that I necessarily disliked but nothing that stood out to me as great. Just felt like kind of generic old-school punk rock.
Short songs. Lots of them. Enjoyed a few, wished some were a bit longer, but hey ho.
I feel like I'm playing Skate 3
not really a fan its like punk but in the underground sense, not the vibes
know that people have a high feelings for wire but I just don't get this late 70s punk at all.
Didnt grab me, early punk. It was ok
it's good.
It’s a punk rock album that shows signs or early hard rock. None of the songs really seem that special. It was a quick album that went by and flowed well. Just nothing there that seemed worth coming back to. 3.6/10
I don't like postpunk nor punk rock.
no
Meh. I've heard better punk albums.
Me enfadó pronto
This is one of those albums where the context matters: an angular, low-fi punk album from 1977 that was a little ahead of its time. Fun listen.
Mi stavano piacendo. Ma alla fine pure essendo un album breve con canzoni anche di 40 secondi, l'ho trovato un po' troppo fine a se stesso. Pur riconoscendo che hanno un suono punk che mi piace, forse quello migliore che ho ascoltato finora, alla fine non mi hanno convinto. Peccato! 2
Mai sentito questi Wire prima. Non ho molto da dire, non si distinguono particolarmente dai loro compari punkettoni contemporanei. Sarebbero potuti essere tranquillamente i Clash. Stavo per dire che apprezzo certe cose di chitarra che suonano un po' punk moderno ma poi ho realizzato che è semplicemente che il punk moderno non è che si sia particolarmente innovato (Punk is dead!!). Direi come i Clash dò 2 perché comunque il punk deve essere questo e alla fine me lo so sentito anche se sono stati 37 minuti un po' lunghi.
meh... classic shitty punk.
Old school punk, nothing special or interesting
not bad
Grungy/crusty early brit punk, pretty unremarkable. Lots of short songs with similar tempos.
In the 70s everyone had a band...
Pretty raw Brit Punk/Indie that sounds all the same so by the fourth song I was getting bored. Would it kill them to throw a bit of variety in there?
This 3 chord British punk is just not my jam. I guess it has a historical place, but I just don’t really love it
Peruspunkkia, onneks oli lyhyt levy ku ei mitään kovin ihmeellistä tarjonnu
Good
Ugh a 2.5 I guess. Some of the music was really good and ahead of it's time. Some was just screamy and mumbly and annoying. Nothing memorable lyrically. At least the songs were short but that doesn't speak well too the quality of the album.
oof I mean I spent a WHILE with this album probably listened 4 or 5 times because I felt like I wasn't giving it justice with background listening but damn its just kinda there Saved: Lowdown*
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Three Girl Rhumba, Surgeon's Girl Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: This is somehow super basic yet super erudite I don't know quite how to explain it. I appreciate that they were in and out before it hit 40 minutes though. I don't even know if you can call these songs man it's just riff riff riff. I wave the pink flag on this one. Good on Elastica for yoinking the riff to Three Girl Rhumba and making an actual song out of it, more bands should do that with these short ass 'songs'. 2.5 rounded down.
Not my thing. Kinda neat hearing "Three Girl Rhumba" and how clear it was plagiarized by Elastica on "Connection". I remember learning about that but had forgotten who was the original artist. When that song came on I thought it was playing the Elastica song.
Vocals are a little hard to listen to, mumble-y and annoying sometimes, but I enjoy the instrumentals. The vibe is kinda cool but for the most part I think they're just generic
Distinctive sound, terrible name. Green Day long before Green Day. With an average track of just over 100 seconds I can imagine a really tight fast set back in the day. No long intros here, just short, sharp, shock. The sound of the 70’s.
It's OK.
bad af
A little too punk for my taste
2/5 I didn't like this one. it kind of got on my nerves
Solid Punk; subverts a bit of the angst edge. Pretty standard fare tho
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Not a big fan of punk but could hear the influence an album like this has had on a lot of the music that I still listen to.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Not a big fan of punk but could hear the influence an album like this has had on a lot of the music that I still listen to.
Tracks flew by...opposite of Autobahn!
I don't like. No recomended for job.
Raw energy, fast tempos, culturally and politically rooted lyrics, this is truly classic English punk rock. While I did like the album as a fan of punk rock, in objective fairness, I don’t think it is one of the greatest albums of all time, as it does not live up to the bigger bands like Sex Pistols whose punk rock would be higher rated.
I dig the sound, but no tracks stuck with me.
I honestly don't even remember anything about this...
Mediocre
Meh, punk. Three Girl Rhumba and Pink Flag were the best. Strange is cool.
Very meh, sometimes rubbish
Este álbum tiene una onda Punk, tipo "Sex Pistols", con alguuuuunos ligeros toques de Oasis, como por ejemplo en "Reuters". Esos riffs y la vocalización se parecen mucho a Shakermaker, o más bien, al revés, ya que este álbum salió más de 10 años antes. Veo que la influencia de este grupo - y de este disco - es reconocida en muchos artistas posteriores, y realmente suena como si el disco fuera mucho más reciente (no como algo de los 70's), pero no me terminó de convencer.
yet another alternative punk irish album. Not that bad, but not really my cup o tea
Just another rock album, nothing outstanding or incredibly unusual. Back ground album.
Some hints there. Not my cup of coffee. I meant tea.
Short, jerky, angular songs delivered by a man who sounds like he’s hiccuping whilst having a fit. Three Girl Rhumba is interesting as the template for an Elastica song, but overall I’m afraid this is not my cup of tea.
Not my thing...can't figure out why it's on so many best-of lists.
eh, a little goes a long way.
Forgettable, not great
Sort of forgettable rock.
I wasn't impressed with this one. Even though the songs were very short it still felt incredibly long. I couldn't really get invested in any songs and it was hard to make out the lyrics. Overall I'm glad that punk learned from this album and improved on it.
Ok so this is just some late 70s punk nonsense like everything else from the time in this book. Sounds exactly like you'd expect - jangly, English, boring. 2/5.
Ugh
They emerged from the punk scene and apparently their music is difficult to categorize. Really? Sounds like punk to me and after 47 albums and 50 or so years later, I've heard about them for the first time this morning. I wonder why? I'll give Pink Flag a red flag warning - steer clear everyone!
Not for me. 1/5
I did not like this one at all
"Weebubalows stanidtain, weoub anamuboadisnass meebupasol lalilnaw beemlaws ois. Au menninseeguh awuh, hoi." The wiki tells me this is a (YET ANOTHER GODDAMNED) British rock band, but I have no idea what language they're yelling. It sure isn't English. Sounds like the aural equivalent of boiled cabbage.
First off, Tidal fed me the 2006 remaster and hooo boy, what an abysmal mastering job. I guess I have a philosolphical bone to pick with the engineering on this 2006 reissue. I expect a remaster to update the aesthetic to fit the listening sensibilities/expectations of the time. Here, a 1977 production gets a renovation 30 years later, and the result sounds like a coat of primer over graffiti paired with new-old-stock shag carpet that sat in my chain-smoking uncle's garage. The point is, the intent was to refresh this, but it comes off as a poor attempt to polish a crusty turd. I hear poor stereo balance, off-centre bass, awkward panning, weak dynamic range, and thin transients. Some of these aspects remain characteristic of 70s production, and some clearly indicate misdirection during the remastering process. With that said, the music itself sounds like a school bus full of sugar-high fourth-graders chanting nonsense on an unwanted field trip. It begets suffering. I look forward to reading the deluded rationale our "critics" offer up in the book. I can barely imagine a listening experience of lesser value. 1/5, onto the trash heap it goes.
too teenage post punk for my taste, overall songs have the same energy
Not impressed
This is the weakest of the "punk" albums I've heard so far. I liked that all the songs were so short but this one didn't leave a lasting impression on me.
favs: lowdown rating 0.1/5
It's not too often you encounter an album where the average track length is 1:42. Couple that with the unpolished, abrasive punk-in-its-prime sound, and Wire's debut acts as the perfect antithesis to the progressive rock that took the music world by storm earlier in the decade. But punk is nothing new. The late 70s were bustling with so-called English "rebels" that had zero musical talent but a good deal of motivation and alcohol. Wire is just another one of these. Do you think these young British blokes recognise how absolutely horrendous they sound? Especially their vocals? There's nothing good about the congested swamp of anti-establishment faux-musicians during this time period, apart from the sentiment itself, and a few select bands that composed and produced their music better than the pack. But, in general, my ears are not those of a 70s rebellious tween. This genre, for the most part, has not aged well – particularly when the melodies, harmonies, lyrics, and instrument-playing are all crap. The music is extremely simple – almost minimalistic. The first track that could qualify as a proper song is Three Girl Rhumba, but even that isn't particularly strong, with its two-note main riff and shallow drumming being the two most interesting features. Its successor, Ex Lion Tamer, is much better. The interacting vocals and thick wall of guitars make for a rowdy atmosphere that's perfect to dance along to. Following this song is a slew of short snippets of (essentially) weak musical ideas. Low Down, Start To Move, Brazil, It's So Obvious... yeah, It's So Obvious that these songs are pointless and contain nothing of substance. The title track is a big improvement, though: it has this ferocious rise in energy and tension in the second half, making use of heavily distorted guitarwork and rowdy crowdfunded vocals. The following instrumental, The Commercial, is pretty good too. It helps to not be subjected to Colin Newman's voice. The gritty riff in Strange is pretty good. And the singing tone is alright, but I can't get past the godawful enunciation ("Thare's sahmthing gowin awn thass nawt quoit roit!"). Still, one of the standouts so far. The following track, Fragile, continues the unusually long streak of bangers, which ends with the excellent, polished Mannequin. Champs is also strong. Why is all the best material bunched up near the end of the record, instead of fleshing them out and removing the ten-plus tunes that have no reason to exist? There's a lot of good music here, and it would've been so, so easy to make this into a solid album. But artists who shoot themselves (and their record) in the foot deserve no sympathy. 1/5 Key tracks: Ex Lion Tamer, Fragile, Mannequin, Champs
Decent punk album for 1977. 3/10
I'm a simple man. You speak sing at me, you get 1 star
guess I don't like post punk?
not a fan
I will never really understand the appeal of music that sounds like it was written by middle schoolers. Midtempo punk is absolutely that way most of the time to me. This is no different, though Mannequin was a pretty good song.
Crap punk
Screaming garbage
Not in the mood for this crap
Beginning to understand why a lot of American 1001’s complain about the excessive amount of British post punk bands on this list. All much of a muchness. Was just about OK back then but has not stood the test of time. 1/5 13/11/25
Not for me :( All of the songs are sooo short. I kinda liked Ex Lion Tamer, Mr Suit, and Strange. Definitely had to force myself to finish this despite how short. Usually I listen to each album at least twice, but I'm good here...
not my cup o tea
At least it's short. Oh and what about this is POST-punk, it sounds as dreadful as punk so what's post about it. Looking at the lyrics made clear that not being able to understand most of those is a blessing.
Early punk? '77 had to look up why they're on the list. 1/5
Cut this album out and a few Beatles albums and we can easily get it down to the actual 1001 albums instead of 1081
is this the mumble rap of post-punk because maybe i just dont get it but its not good kind of just sounds like a mess to me
We are on a serious roll of crap here.
I really didn't vibe with this It's like punk rock but lame and without energy. Won't listen to this again
Punk. Not my favorite.
The guitar playing is much more interesting than the sub clash/buzzcocks singing. Even that gets grating after 3 songs. Hard to listen to after a while.
2/10 - understand they are pioneers but damn I hate punk
J - 1/5 Best Track - "Mannequin" F - DNL
1. reueterz - 1 2. field - 1.5 3. rhumba - 0 4. lion - 1.5 5. louu - 0 6. move - 1.5 7. brazil - 0 8. obviouz - 0 9. girl - 1 10. pink - 0 11. commercial - 1.5 12. line - 1 13. beatz - 0 14. zuit - 1.5 15. ztrange - 0 16. fragile - 1 17. mannequin - 0 18. me - 1 19. champz - 1 20. love - 1 21. 12 - 1.5
Not the biggest fan of this one as it doesn't do much for me. Cool that this was a shifting album for the "post-punk" genre i guess. The fact that one of the guys said "I can't say this is an enjoyable album. Maybe it's just a stupid bit of rubbish. But you won't know unless you find out" tells me it was created as "rubbish" but they were able to sell it like candy to a kid lol
Do not like this genre of music
ew like actually
Eh. This isn't bad per se, but boy is it not good.
Another ‘ooh look how cool I am, I know this and you don’t.’ I’d rather listen to Eagles Greatest Hits. This album is ok but not essential. 1.5 rounded down.
Easier to pallet punk band from 1977. Still kinda drull into my ears
Punk band out of the late 70’s. Guess you need to be a punk rocker to enjoy.
aikaista punkittelua joka on pääosin unohdettua. jep, huonoa musiikkia on tulossa! räkänokkailua, tämä ei mitään muuta oikeastaan ole paitsi räkänökat kaupungilla häiriköimässä... wave the pink flag.... luovutan... luovutan... luovutan... tight songs no filler... no boring filler stupid long song only short clean songs... haistakaa paska koko valtiovalta ette osaa muuta kun verottaa... pikkasen kiristetään kansaa ja ruvetaan tällästä musiikkia luomaan ei hyvä luoja... yy kaa koo nee lets mennöön woooh!! bäräräräräräräärärär bumbubmubmubumbubmubmbumbumbumb.. one two three four woooh!! durudruduruduruduruduruduruduru bambambambambambambambambambambambambam.... lowdown
Nothing great here.
no no no
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.
It's punk. That, basically, sums it up. 1 for me.
Didn't like it one bit . But the length of songs was encouraging
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.
Just not really my thing.
So British I couldn’t understand them
loud and muddy sound
More boring punk nonsense.
More punk that I dislike
Not a huge fan of Brit pop/punk
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.
Thank goodness these crap songs are only a couple of minutes tops.
No thanks
eehhh??? this is an album that somebody on this earth must enjoy, perhaps only robert dimery, but it isn't me. these are extremely short songs, and the album has a relatively short runtime. it lacked substance as a result. it's punk by the music and the runtime length, but this comes across as another founding punk album that allowed other musicians to excel after them.
Something about this made me think it was some sort of special album. Something about the Apple Music description, I'm not sure, but the minute I pressed play, I was glad to know I could put this in the pile of unnecessary UK albums. Maybe it's because the selection the last week or so has been terrible, but I'm getting tired of these albums. It certainly makes the good ones that much better but how hungry are you for ice cream after you've had to eat pounds of crap?
I listened to this twice to make sure and can confirm it is absolute tuneless garbage. Rating: 1.5/5 Playlist track: Mannequin Date listened: 17/02/23
I did not like this. Could not stand the vocals. Didn’t like the production/ drum feel.
This sounds like nothing. There is nothing remotely interesting about this record to me. Every song sounds the same. The only silver lining is that all the songs are like a minute long.
I don’t know what this album was trying to be but I hated it.
I swear every album that is given by this site is the exact same genre. Was hoping to hear a variety of stuff but it's all the same. Like a 1/5
Unlistenable.
Not for me.
I'm sure this is a seminal punk rock album, but punk rock just isn't for me. As much as I have tried, I can't enjoy this style of music. The raw vocals and fuzzy instrumentation just sound ugly and unpleasant to my ears. To each their own! The only song I legitimately enjoyed on this album was "Mannequin". I could at least tolerate some of the slower, more melodic tracks like "Three Girl Rhumba" and "Lowdown"... but not enough to ever seriously revisit them. The rest just sounds like noise, to me. Sorry, punk rock fans! Standout tracks: "Mannequin"
the opener works well the singers voice is so so annoying im reading lyrics as i go along and the lyrics are powerful and clever the really short second track has a really catchy instrumental a lot of the songs are just hard to listen to every song so far i dont see myself returning to but i enjoy the guitar the track "mr suit" is one of the most annoying songs ive heard in a while this would be a 1/10 if it wasnt influential and had bad songwriting 2/10 worst one we've had yet
Another boring punk album
wouldn't come back to it
Poopy. I think 3 chords were used in this whole album.
Nogmaals, punk is niet mijn ding. Punt.
Bla
Every song sounded like a watered-down version of The Clash or X. I found myself wondering why I wasn't just listening to one of the other "real" bands.
Awful
shouty noisy never plan to listen to again
Drivel
This isn't something I'd care to listen to normally. Kinda punk rock. Really not feeling this album at all. It's boring. I cannot wait for this to be over. Oh my god there are 21 songs. At least they're short. THANK GOD IT'S OVER.
eh
Punk music always gives me the urge to roll my eyes. During the first song I thought "this isn't too bad", but by song 8 I was completely annoyed and stopped listening.
Hadn't heard of this & will be happy not to hear it again 🙁
Punkzera pao com ovo. Provavelmente foi influencia pra cents bandas na epoca e adolescentes rebeldes mas hoje eh soh meh.
no more punk please
nar
That's gonna be a no from me, dawg
Very early, British punk rock. Unfortunately I fail to appreciate the art in it, it sounds bad, the singing reminds me more of drunk people yelling at the pub......
Uk old school punk