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Yeah, they've been reasonably normal about the old songs in recent years. You won't get dot dash, but.â Mark G, Friday, January 24, 2020 10:50 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink
... But it seems you might get "Outdoor Miner"!!
― Mark G, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 20:22 (four years ago) link
two years pass...
Wire
Not About To Die
pinkflag
24 June 2022
http://images.roughtrade.com/product/images/files/000/237/028/hero/Screen_Shot_2022-02-18_at_1.39.28_PM.png?1645209764
Wire are pleased to announce the first ever official release of Not About To Dieout June 24th via pinkflag (pre-order). Along with the announcement they have shared track âStepping Off Too Quickâ and an accompanying video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4OKaijZUpA
The original Not About To Die was an illegal bootleg, released at some point in the early 80s by the dubiously named Amnesia Records. The album was made up of selections from demos recorded by the group for their second and third albums: Chairs Missing and 154. These demos had been recorded for EMI, with cassette copies circulated amongst record company employees. However, they were never intended for release.
A typically shoddy cash-in, the songs on Not About To Die were taken from a second or possibly third generation cassette, with the album housed in a grainy green and red photo-copied sleeve. Compared with the high standards of production and design Wire have always been known for, it was something of an insult to band and fans alike.
Now, in a classic act of Wire perversity, the group have decided to redress the balance and reclaim one of the shadier moments of its history, by giving Not About To Die its first official release. All the tracks have been properly remastered, with the relevant recording details in place. As for the sleeve artwork, whilst it strongly references the original, it is decidedly more artful in its execution.
Having received proper care and attention, Not About To Die emerges as a fascinating snapshot of Wire in transition. Herein are embryonic versions of classic songs such as "French Film (Blurred)," "Used To" and "Being Sucked In Again," that the group would develop considerably for their epochal 1978 album Chairs Missing. Later demos such as "Once Is Enough," "On Returning" and "Two People In A Room" would surface in radically altered form on 1979âs 154.
Some songs, such as âThe Other Window," are virtually unrecognisable from their later iterations. But the biggest prizes here may well be the numerous tracks that were destined to be omitted from Wire's later studio albums... Highlights include "Motive," which, whilst obviously still in an embryonic state, has an undeniable power. Robert Greyâs drumming is crisp and minimal, and Graham Lewisâs bass runs are particularly ear-catching. Despite its distinctly un-Wire title, "Love Ain't Polite" is also something of a gem. Bruce Gilbertâs guitar is razor sharp and Colin Newmanâs vocal is especially strong, with his delivery of the âbah-ba- bah-baâsâ providing an irresistible energy and charm.
Meanwhile, the track which gives the album its title Not About To Die, officially known as âStepping Off Too Quickâ and shared online for the first time today, is alive with confident energy, and possesses what Newman half jokingly calls âThe best intro to any song ever." The intro is so good in fact, that it takes up a third of the songâs entire time frame.
These properly mastered tracks have never been available on vinyl before, and they provide an opportunity to hear Wire at a point in their development when they were bursting with fresh ideas and a will to communicate them. This is post-punk at its very finest.
Well yes, but why not just reissue Behind the Curtain, which was an EMI release even if it felt like a bootleg? Is the idea here to reissue the demos without the embarrassingly crude first third, like Mary is a Dyke and After Midnight?
― mig (guess that dreams always end), Friday, 13 May 2022 20:46 (one year ago) link
According to Discogs:
Culture Vultures
French Film (Blurred)
Indirect Inquiries
Used To
Being Sucked In Again
I Should Have Known Better
The Other Window
On Returning
"...have never been officially released; the remaining tracks appear on the 1995 CD Behind The Curtain (Early Versions 1977 & 1978)."
Yes.
Anyway, my copy has just arrived, so..
― Mark G, Saturday, 14 May 2022 13:41 (one year ago) link
one month passes...
I feel like all the criticisms of this album are like "oh it's so silly and OTT and comically doomy".
But that is what I love about it??
― Tim F, Monday, 11 July 2022 13:22 (one year ago) link
Am I the only one who prefers Colin Newman's A - Z? I don't object to "silly and OTT and comically doomy" in general but the tracks led by Lewis and Gilbert just aren't as interesting melodically, harmonically, or vocally (though they are very interesting conceptually and lyrically).
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 11 July 2022 16:57 (one year ago) link