P.I.L.-"Album"

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It's very under-rated.

― Michael Bourke, Sunday, 1 December 2002 04:11 (twenty-one years ago) link

Maybe it's the beer talking, but I think it's easily their best album. The matter-of-factness of "FFF" and "Rise" are some of the band's best moments, and I thinkg a lot of the rest of the album are pretty classick too. (of course, a lot of it is just nostalgia, being the first PiL album that I'd really listened to, and considering the fact that album was part of a special deal that Warner was pushing at the time, meaning that it was a bit more in my face than it would otherwise have been...well, whatever, it was still a great album.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Sunday, 1 December 2002 05:31 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hmmm. I'm not so sure I agree. But with the lack of a valid argument, I'll leave it at that.

― paul cox (paul cox), Sunday, 1 December 2002 05:39 (twenty-one years ago) link

it's got Steve Vai! dude started out as a Zappa sideman, played w/ Lydon on this one, then David Lee Roth on Eat 'Em and Smile ... then the King-of-all-Assholes, David Coverdale.

album is pretty good ... for some reason, i played this one a lot when i was a pot-smoking undergrad.

― Tad (llamasfur), Sunday, 1 December 2002 07:50 (twenty-one years ago) link

I love the way Lydon's almost drawls on the chorus of "FFF." "Fare-WELL-ah my FAIR weather FRIEND!" Halfway to MES there.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 1 December 2002 19:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

Well, "Album" was better than anything since "Flowers of Romance", and it certainly would be the last noteworthy gasp of PiL, that's for sure. (I relistened to "Happy?" and wondered what the hell I was thinking.)

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 1 December 2002 19:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

Far and away it's the last great album Lydon was associated with.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 1 December 2002 23:28 (twenty-one years ago) link

I really like parts of it, some of the intros, particularly, but I don't enjoy Lydon's singing anymore. Well, it's okay. I just get tired of it pretty quickly. I was just think about how much I like the intro to "Ease" (or whatever it's called). This might be a good thing for me to listen to right now.

― Rockist Scientist, Monday, 2 December 2002 01:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

y'all smokin something.

John's the mon but Vai's no guy.

Boom! classic (dumbshit) one sentence review. I dig Rise a fair bit but this is some horribly ayTAYs shit sonically. Though I think PIL was always annoying. The first two albums are at least intriguingly annoying.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 2 December 2002 02:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

ing. Yes, "Ease" is my favorite. I like "Procreation/Have a nice day," and some of Lydon's other patter here, and I have to admit to liking the chorus "Susan and Norman," though for years I had no idea what they were singing. Now that I think about it, it's kind of Zappaesque, the way its sung, which isn't a good thing in my book, but in this case I like it.

― Rockist Scientist, Monday, 2 December 2002 02:45 (twenty-one years ago) link

I think this was the album where typical "shitty 80's production" sunk their teeth into old John. It kind of smacks of careerism; a bit like the inspiration was gone but they had to crank out a new one so that they could tour. Lets get a bunch of good players (Vai) to cover up the fact that we have run out of ideas. This was also the time where Lydon finally won in court against McLaren. Perhaps that took a little bit of the fire out of his belly.

Definitely better than 9 or That What Is Not, but it was their slide into badness. I liked it when I was about 14 or so, mainly because Rise was played so much on 120 minutes back in the Dave Kendal days. I liked a lot of bad music when I was 14. It is not the worst album I have owned, but I definitely outgrew after a couple of years.

― Mike Taylor (mjt), Monday, 2 December 2002 05:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

Well, it depends on who you talk to, but Lydon hates "Album", mainly because Laswell probably ripped him a new one, or something. Though it must be said that Laswell would easily be the target of blame for any "shitty 80's production" on that record.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 2 December 2002 06:25 (twenty-one years ago) link

.. The last decent PiL record .. although 'Fat Chance Hotel' is kinda entertaining ...

But nowhere as good as the first three records .. but maybe better than "This is what you Want.." ..unless you listen to the Commercial Zone version ...

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 2 December 2002 13:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

ANGER IS AN ENERGY, ANGER IS AN ENERGY.

yes, classic. i remember reading an interview in musician magazine with j. lydon around the time, and they asked him "who did those guitar solos, did you get eddie van halen in?" and he sniggered and said "No, steve vai, van halen would have murdered them." i actually bought a steve vai solo album on the strength off those guitar licks. oh boy, was THAT ever a mistake.

― kate, Monday, 2 December 2002 13:13 (twenty-one years ago) link

fwiw, album was partly responsible for my becoming the Zappa freak that i am. i remember asking my high school friend, "who's that playing guitar?" to which the answer was, "steve vai. he used to play with Zappa, too."

now you know who's to blame.

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 2 December 2002 13:16 (twenty-one years ago) link

I love the production on it - it sounds really big! Was it Laswell? Christ.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 2 December 2002 13:29 (twenty-one years ago) link

it's bettah than "compact disc", but not as good as "single"

― zebedee, Monday, 2 December 2002 13:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

oops, i meant http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/scott.murphy/IMAGES/disco/ep/ris12fr.jpg

serves me right

― zebedee, Monday, 2 December 2002 14:53 (twenty-one years ago) link

Ned beat me to The Fall comparison, but I feel compelled that time warp aside, this Album should have been in Repo Man.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 2 December 2002 16:17 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Home"! And I really don't think This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get is all that bad...the synths on "Order Of Death" are unbeatable and "This Is Not A Love Song" is still great. Sure, lots of fatuous stuff on there, but "Round", "Bags" and "Ease" are pretty miserable.

― Chris Ott, Monday, 2 December 2002 16:47 (twenty-one years ago) link

This is rally the only PIL album I still have time for. It's so... PERFECT, at least with respect to my mindset from the first time I heard it.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 2 December 2002 17:30 (twenty-one years ago) link

seven years pass...

This was one of my gateway albums. "Rise" is still epic and the whole thing just flows so well.

Anyone been to the reunion gigs?

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 15 April 2010 22:42 (fourteen years ago) link

I'm going to the Seattle show on tuesday

― van smack, Thursday, 15 April 2010 22:44 (fourteen years ago) link

What to expect from these shows? Looking at the band lineup, I do have nerd feelings for Lu Edmonds because Shriekback/Mekons/Thos. Dolby...

― I Smell Xasthur Williams (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 15 April 2010 22:49 (fourteen years ago) link

As much as I love Second Edition, "Rise" gets, uh, a rise out of me. "Anger is an energy" is one of my proverbs.

― Throwing Muses are reuniting for my next orgasm! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 April 2010 23:33 (fourteen years ago) link

Anyone been to the reunion gigs?

I saw them last week when they were on the Kimmel show (they played five songs) and they were terrific. Edmonds is great and Bruce Smith from the Slits/Pop Group is playing drums.

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 16 April 2010 00:06 (fourteen years ago) link

Aside from Rise I never used to give it much attention. Then played it through recently and liked it much

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Friday, 16 April 2010 21:38 (fourteen years ago) link

one of the top three PIL albums (after metal box and flowers of romance). I know everyone hates bill laswell and most of the time I do too but I love both this and Swan's "Burning World", he was on the top of his game as a producer on these.

― akm, Saturday, 17 April 2010 06:34 (fourteen years ago) link

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