Public Image Ltd. - Compact Disc

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Music reviews of Compact Disc

Music Review: Rotten Masterpiece
Rating: 5 Stars

"Album" (aka Cassette, Compact Disc) has a distinct pace to it; "FFF" starts the album off with a bang (literally) and is an amazing, acrobatic rocker about so-called friends falling by the wayside during tough times. The song flows directly into "Rise," PiL's biggest hit song.

"Rise" starts off slowly, building up in tension as it goes along. Sex Pistol fans will be shocked; Lydon had never sung before so melodically, so tunefully. But as the song, purportedly about South African aparthied, pounds along Lydon's careful delivery tenses and eventually returns to his snarl from classics like "Anarchy in the UK" or "Memories."

The next cut, "Fishing," has one of those angular, snarling riffs that Post-Punk made famous, but with a Heavy Metal edge. "Fishing" is the heaviest song on this album and Lydon's sneering vocals are in full force, but even at his meanest he keeps things melodic and amazingly catchy.

"Round" follows the pattern of fast-slow-fast-slow that this album follows; it opens with deep bass and slow, rhythmic steel drums. This song remains subdued and only picks up in tempo towards the end as Lydon begins a circular chant about nuclear holocaust.

"Bags" is dismissed by some as the album's weakest track, but it's always been a favorite of mine. Big drums, deep bass, goth-pop keyboard lines, and one of Lydon's best performances. Ever. The man's melodic sensibility is immeasurable. For an antichrist.

"Home" was a pretty big single in Britain, almost as big as "Rise." It's easy to see why. The tight rhythym section plays it steady as Lydon proceeds to scare the living poop out of you. And the heavy metal guitar solo has to be heard to be believed. Great keyboards, maybe a little overcooked with the back-up singers.

Actually, "Home" breaks up the fast-slow-fast pacing that makes this album so brilliant; this has always been, in my opinion, the one flaw here. The pacing of this album makes it much more tense, and enjoyable. This may be knit-picking, but I think this detracts from the album as a whole.

Well, on to Album's closer, "Ease." I'm not really too keen on the quasi-Australian intro of the song; it sounds fine but I think it's a bit too long before the drums crash through, followed by the rest of the band. We're only talking about (maybe) 90 seconds of music, but I think it could have been done in about 30. Once the song get going a meditative mood sets in. The keyboards' high notes make for wonderful drama, and Lydon returns to his tuneful, melodic voice from "Rise." Overall, a fine way to end a classic, albiet blemished, album.

Some people refer to this as "Johnny's metal album," but it's not. No heavy metal album, particularly from the dismal 1980s, ever packed the stark dynamics captured here. PiL has always been about attitude, intelligence, and originality.
This album packs all the above in droves.

Description of Compact Disc

Alternative Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Hard Rock & Metal
• Pop
• Rock