Disco de Public Image Ltd.: “That What Is Not”

How could people who loved PIL's 9 album not enjoy That What is Not? It's a bit of a mind-boggler, that's for sure. The songs "God," "Emperor," and "Think Tank" are amongst some of PIL's catchiest and best. There are no filler songs on this album, either. Most of the songs here have the guitar near the front of the mix, so it's more audible, but that certainly doesn't give the songs a "metal-based" sound (as many a previous reviewer has wrongfully pointed out). If you like any PIL from 1983-1990, there's something here for you.

Last and final album for this glorious band.1992.I love their more ¨accessible ¨ period, that is to say, their latest albums like Happy ? but this one is dull, unimaginative, and sounds like it had been jammed in the studio, probably to fulfill contractual obligations ? .And god forgive me but it has a certain air of Rush (the canadian prog-metal band)to it.Even guitar god John McGeoch seems to have run out of ideas on this one. All tracks sound alike, and the prime appeal of the band to me, John Lydon's voice, is insultingly low in the mix.Nevertheless, the sound is incredibly hi-fi .For completists ONLY.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with "That What is Not". It's a wonderful album if you enjoy John Lydon's warbling set to endearing pop music. Just for the sake of making it known, "God" is my favourite track on the album. As for the negative reviews... I don't see what peoples' beef is with Public Image Limited's commercial albums that are not only listenable but damn addictive at that. The only incarnation of PIL I don't like is their "experimental" early stages that consisted of minimal scratchy guitar, and full-on drums without a freakin' beat. I bought "Second Edition" and I wish I hadn't. Just because something's experimental doesn't mean it has to sound like crap. Too bad it took John until "This is What You Want" to figure that out. "That What is Not" should be right up your alley if you loved Compact Disk, Happy, and 9.

Oh, and fans of "That What is Not" may want to get a listen of of John's amazing solo dance album titled "Psycho's Path". Unless you're a snoot who's stuck in the past and continues to live by the Sex Pistols' narrow world view and scoffs at anything with an actual melody and blazing synthesizers. If you're one of those snoots, then I highly recommend it to you; I hope it gives you an aneurysm!

In their earlier years, PiL was one of the most innovative rock bands of all time. Band members left and John Lydon was the sole remaining member of the original lineup. He trudged on with various other musicians as PiL and as the years went by the music got less and less innovative. In 1992, Lydon was tired of PiL and he and the band released "That What Is Not" which is basically a metal album. Not his most creative leap by a long shot. There are four really strong songs on the album though and they are:

Acid Drops

Covered

Emperor

Good Things

These songs work because they don't follow the usual metal rules as the other tracks do. They infuse other styles of music and that is what make them stand out. If the other tracks didn't play by the metal-by-numbers rules then "That What Is Not" would have been a much better album.

All that said and done, I still like the album. Lydon has a lot to say but the overall music fails to spark the imagination.

I cannot say I was blown away by this album when it was released. It was a decent enough addition to my PiL collection but hardly the showpiece. 10 years later I realised that it is the one PiL album I still listen to regularly and enjoy immensely. A few years later and nothing has changed. I really like this record!

Why that is is hard to pin down but I think it has to do with John McGeoch's more obvious presence. To correct the previous review, this was not a line-up of session muso's but a stable core of Lydon, McGeoch and bassist Dias. It certainly has the feel of a band working together and is as coherent as anything else PiL ever did [and more coherent than most of it].

Given that there was never anything you could define as "the PiL sound" this album seems as appropriate a swan-song as anyone could hope for. Its strong, catchy and clever.