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Public Image Ltd - Album  I'll let you off if you didn't know John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) had life after his other band, that band consumed far too much media attention for my liking.
Up until Album (technically I'm reviewing Compact Disc; each different format was respectively titled) Public Image Limited had been one of England's most innovative post punk bands. The first three albums are highly praised as classics with their non-conformist compositions mixing various foreign styles.
Each successive album saw one disgruntled band member leave until only John Lydon remained. It was at this point that Lydon assembled a new band and moved on.
With his new pop direction it wasn't the first time he polarised fans: Those who loved his first band hated PiL, and now early PiL fans hated modern PiL. Those who actually bothered to take the time to sit down and listen to Album realised not only was it better than the previous PiL album, but its beauty matched that of the first three albums, albeit in an inverted way. It reached number 10 in the charts and featured the classic Irish flavoured single Rise, concerning South African police torture methods.
For this album Lydon enlisted the production talents of Material bassist Bill Laswell, who worked with Lydon earlier on his collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa under the moniker Time Zone for World Destruction, a song that predates Run DMC and Aerosmith's collaboration in rock and rap unity.
Album could be seen as an unofficial solo album. Half the tracks were co-written with Laswell, while the others were written with the fired short-lived live '84 line-up. A stable group was yet to emerge – a group that didn't meet the approval of Laswell, thus the two never working together in the future.
The album features quite a few guest stars that would normally be at odds with Lydon's image, yet the fact he did work with them was truly the most rebellious thing he did, though not contrived: Cream's Ginger Baker features on drums, Steve Vai on guitar (who cites his performances here as one of his best) and Ryuchi Sakamoto on keyboards. Miles Davis even popped into the studio but wasn't used.
Detractors complain that it's just another pompous 80s rock album, but those people aren't paying close attention. Classic PiL elements like production experimentation and the embracing of world music exist, subtly. And neither does the production bare any resemblance to glossy metal of the period. It sounds live, raw and apt.
The eight tracks clock the album at around 40mins and not once should you find the audacity to press the skip button. Opener FFF ("Farewell my fareweather friend") begins the agenda with it's cheery blast of near punk rock. Fishing is a fiendishly good metal track with a much appreciated Vai solo. Round continues themes of world destruction with "Mushrooms on the horizon" and a flavourful sprinkle of tabla. Bags is a song I could press the skip button on, but still feel no strong inclination to do so. Second single Home has been given a comparison to Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger, and does sound a bit clichéd, but is saved considerably by quite a passionate vocal about war. Final song Ease has been compared to Led Zep's Kashmir, and I could also add to that The End by The Doors, with its lengthy epic build up and outro.
The generic artwork for the album was said to have been copied from American punk band Flipper who later reciprocated with an album called Public Flipper Limited. Associated promotional pics for this album featured Lydon surrounded by unspecific supermarket items.
I have to admit however that after this things got a bit hit and miss for PiL. It's not that I have any vendetta against pop era PiL (I loved future songs like The Body and Disappointed as much as the earlier material), but they did descend into mediocrity, despite the occasional gem. Those later albums which veered towards an LA Rock production are somewhat hard to find, and the last LP PiL released seemed desperate to compete with Grunge.
Upon pausing PiL, Lydon collaborated with Leftfield, reunited with his other band for some shows, released a solo album and appeared on television again.
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