Public Image Ltd - Metal Box Review
(Worked very hard to get this finished, if there are any faults or errors please inform me)
Public Image Ltd – Metal Box
I’m pretty sure that everyone in England has heard at least one Sex Pistols song. Their thrashy, aggressive guitar is ripped off in most modern “pop-punk bands” left, right and centre (Green Day etc.); John Lydon’s distinctive snarl is still imitated in modern day vocalists, although it’s usually manufactured right over until it’s soft on the ears. The previous four words have nothing in common with the Sex Pistols, or, for that matter, John Lydon’s other band, Public Image Limited. Maybe even less in common.
When the Sex Pistols finally succumbed to an inevitable death after a notoriously short run, I’m pretty sure no one could’ve predicted this next move: John Lydon, after visiting Richard Branson in Jamaica, formulated his next band. Free from the control of Malcolm McClaren and the experimental limitations of his punk rock outfit, Lydon could experiment with his more favoured genres. Such as the avant-garde like Captain Beefheart, or the Dub Reggae he and PiL band mate Jah Wobble were so fond of, or even kraut-rock like Can or Neu. Of course these varying influences wouldn’t be truly realised in the first PiL release, First Issue (Although they are apparent on tracks like Religion II), they would truly shine through in PiL’s definitive release and essential post-punk record, simply titled Metal Box.
And that’s exactly what the album was; a metal box. Released in it’s first pressing as a twelve inch tin, similar to that of a film canister. Metal Box was ridiculously difficult to open, or handle the records (In fact, the re-release continues this trend). But it was popular, so popular that once all copies of the original packaging had been sold they had to re-release it with a standard cardboard sleeve to meet demand.
While the packaging may be spectacular, the album lives up to it’s unique packaging. Opening with a 10-minute track that goes by the name Albatross, Sex Pistols fans, and maybe to a lesser extent, fans of the relatively conventional First Issue would be surprised, some even disappointed. John Lydon sings in an off-putting voice that could turn your stomach, basically it feels nothing like the distinctive Johnny Rotten snarl of the Pistols. It sounds like Lydon finally doing what he wants with music. The albatross in question is most likely The Sex Pistols; Lydon is detaching himself from that part of his life, Johnny Rotten is dead, John Lydon is born. Meanwhile musically, Wobble and Levene’s rattling bass and metallic guitars compliment an aggressive beat, it’s certainly an unsettling way to start the next hour of music. Albatross is followed by Memories, although this song is incredibly different to the 10-minute opener and is much closer to a disco track gone wrong, or sung by John Lydon, by this point the album is already eclectic, what’s next? More disco! Death Disco to be precise, although changed for Metal Box, the third track, Swan Lake, was originally released, as a single by the name of Death Disco. The song is exactly what its original name sounds like it might be. A “death disco”, a funky bass riff, backed with Levene improvising the notes of the Tchaikovsky classic and Lydon sings in his most twisted menace. This song is known to be about Lydon’s mother who was dying of cancer and Lydon had witnessed it. The lyrics “Saw it in her eyes, Choking on a bed, Flowers rotting dead” had they not been backed by this unusual, creepy tune could’ve probably forced a tear out of me. Although, this is clearly Lydon at his most intimate which makes the track incredibly difficult to listen to without feeling uneasy about a lurking presence of death. Now the strange morphing genres don’t stop. Track 4, Poptones is unlike the previous 4 songs, apart from its long, dragging length I suppose. Clocking in at 7 and half minutes, Lydon sings incredibly prose lyrics about driving to the British countryside and getting nude in the woods? Cryptic indeed, but also brilliant; the guitar is an endless, hypnotic riff and the bass rattles all around the track with one of the most aggressive drum beats laid down on record, a personal favourite from the record. Careering, the fifth track on the album has lyrics that deal with an extremely normal human situation and twist them into a haunting, Kafkaesque nightmare. The song has little, maybe no guitars, but instead some incredibly unsettling synths and a drumbeat that sounds like machinery, which combined works perfectly with the lyrics that talk about large, threatening machines. No Birds is the sixth track and the halfway point for the record. There’s no turning back now, it features some shrieking guitars and a similarly steady, aggressive beat. This track is probably one of the most forgettable, although the guitars stand up well to music of today. Graveyard opens with strange horror movie synths, then more standard spiky guitar plays over the track, it’s an instrumental track that gives Wobble and Levene, along with the various drummers that worked on the album a chance to show off their musical skill, it’s another sprawling nightmare. The Suit has Lydon spitting lines of lyrics, perhaps criticizing the businessmen or record executives that Lydon so famously hated. A slow beat, which appears to build an intense atmosphere as the song goes along is complimented by one of Wobble’s central bass moments on the track, it’s a great song with Lydon singing lyrics at an almost Dylan pace, for John at least. Bad Baby follows, with more Lydon shrieks, more cryptic lyrics and a drumbeat that occasionally feels like world music, which would populate the third album so famously, as well as piercing synth lines that show the first signs of the synthpop revolution shortly to come in the 80’s. After Bad Baby, we have one of the most unusual songs on the album; a clear homage to the kraut-rock genre, Socialist surely is. It’s hypnotic bass line, seemingly improvised synths and a motorik beat that could make Kraftwerk jealous. This track feels like it could easily have been taken from Neu ’72. This, like No Birds could be considered forgettable if it wasn’t for the track name. Where do Socialists come into this? Apparently nowhere, it would be interesting to find out where. Next we have Chant, a thumping beat, broken, spiky, metallic guitars and Lydon’s distinctive shriek over the music, this time quite washed out by the back up vocals and intense beat getting heavier and heavier. A great part about this song is Lydon shouting “Chant, Chant, Chant!” It’s an unsettling parody of pop songs typically using a catchy hook or chant to become easily recognisable. But it’s the guitars that make this track so unusual. The metallic sound made by Levene was due to him using an aluminium neck guitar, creating one of the most unique sounds of guitar I’ve ever heard and it’s strange that you can still hear bands attempting to emulate it these days (*cough* Edge *cough*). Now the closer for the album is another instrumental track. Named after BBC’s comedy and factual radio station, Radio 4 is apparently a critique on the typical middle-class attitude of its namesake. Tinged with synthesised orchestras and a subtle bass line hypnotising the listener into submission, this is a beautiful closing track, even if it is intended to be a parody, it closes one of the most unique albums ever in such a special way. It also sounds like the very early traces of post-rock, with the band already beginning to distance themselves from conventional instruments. (This would later be advanced on in their follow up record Flowers of Romance.)
Needless to say the album is pretty spectacular. The songs, as genre jumping as they are certainly do play together well. It has to be one of the greatest records of the 20th Century, still current today I might add. It’s an album so spectacularly unique that anyone attempting to copy it would be a complete and utter shambles. John Lydon has truly killed the Johnny Rotten away. But please, Mr Lydon. Stay away from the butter commercials.
