Album/Compact Disc/Cassette

Performer: Public Image Ltd.
Artist: L. Shankar; Steve Vai; Ginger Baker
Producer: John Lydon; Bill Laswell
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: The LP version of this release was called ALBUM. The cassette version was called CASSETTE. Public Image Ltd. includes: John Lydon (vocals); Nicky Skopelitis (guitar); Bill Laswell (bass); Tony Williams (drums). Additional personnel: Tony Thompson (drums). Personnel: John Lydon (vocals); Steve Vai (guitar); Shankar (violin); Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards); Ginger Baker (drums); Bill Laswell (programming). Public Image Limited's eighth album takes no prisoners, opening with crunching chords and John Lydon's snarling in "FFF." Released in a generic blue-and-white sleeve--each format titled accordingly--this is arguably PIL's most consistently successful album. "Rise" is an amazing piece of work and a high point in the band's career. Lydon's lyrics about torture in South Africa afford him the opportunity to use all of his vocal tricks--from his patented warble to angry shouting. He even sings(!) on the great chorus. The musical backing highlights big-beat drumming, ringing guitar, and an agile, fluid bassline. Production assistance from Bill Laswell does two important things for the band's sound. It gives weight to the rhythm section and also adds harshness to the guitars, making them more suited to Lydon's caustic vocals. "Ease" experiments with the drone of the didgeridoo. "Home" is a crashing rock song that, while proclaiming "Better days will never be," manages to suggest that righteous anger can be a force for change. This is a classic album by a band with a history of uniformly fine material.

After the breakup of the Sex Pistols in 1978, John Lydon (formerly Johnny Rotten) continued to push the boundaries of music with an "anti-rock" project that he initially declared more of a corporation than a band. Public Image Ltd.'s early efforts defined post-punk, incorporating dub, avant-garde, and Eastern influences along the way, yet despite their increasingly chaotic sound, they continued to score success in the U.K. into the 1980s. PIL, like the Pistols, became well known for anarchistic antics that involved drug use, unrehearsed shows, and last-minute recording sessions.

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