Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 04:11:04 -0500 From: Jeremy L Orr Subject: Re: Wire ---from Stacie Slotnick: > On another note....what can people suggest/recommend about > Wire..? I have _A Bell is a Cup_...and I'd like to branch > out a bit. If you like _A Bell is a Cup_, then I would heartily recommend the albums that came out before and after it: _The Ideal Copy_ (1987) was the first album they made after reforming, and _It's Beginning to and Back Again_ (1989) is roughly half new tracks and half 1986-88 tracks re-recorded to show how differently they had begun playing them on tour. And if you like the reworked tracks on _IBTABA_, then you might also try to find a copy of the "Silk Skin Paws" EP. All of the above were available on all formats through Enigma in the US, but with some variations in track listings - for optimum results with minimum items purchased, get the CDs. I don't know if they've been reissued since Enigma went out of business, though. Check the clearance section at your used CD stores, since that seems to be where I usually find their stuff. They went on to release another album as Wire called _Manscape_, which is so bad as to be without worth whatsoever. Next (I think) was _The Drill_, which was an album's worth of different performances and mixes of "Drill" (and I've never heard it, so no comment). Then the drummer quit the band, and the remaining three members dropped the E (ah, the double entendres) and went on as Wir (pronounced "veer", according to Graham Lewis when they were on "120 Minutes"*) and released _The First Letter_, which has a couple really good songs and a bunch that really suck (and interestingly, I just put "Footsi-Footsi" on a mix tape for a friend earlier tonight). I figured that they'd broken up by now, but I saw a Wir release called _Wirvien_ on some new release WWW page a while back...and even mentioned it here, but got no explanations. And just because you like _A Bell is a Cup_ is no reason to go out buying their older, pre-1986 releases, despite what other people on the list will say. Their older material is very different, and - in my opinion - not near as good. I'm probably the only person that thinks this and will admit to it, but I absolutely cannot stand their earlier stuff. I never liked any of Colin Newman's solo stuff, but I like most of Graham Lewis's work as He Said. His/their '89 album _Take Care_ (also on Enigma, and the CD again comes with four bonus tracks) has got some incredibly cool songs on it, much like his songs for Wire but all done almost completely with synths and drum machines. Of course, many of the great sounds/samples and much of the sequencing on that album may be John Fryer's input, but it works for me. * ...and if you'd told me in 1990 that one day I would miss Dave Kendall, I would've laughed in your face. But I miss Dave Kendall. And Kevin Seal. ---Jeremy "...poutin' Grandma...in a corner..."