Disco de Wire: “Pink Flag”

Really, what more can I say about Wire's Pink Flag that hasn't already been said? The album is so good, so burned in the retina of my brain (even though I still cannot for the life of us unscramble Graham Lewis' lyrics), so nearly perfect that it's sort of hard to write about. In a perfect world, whatever nonsense I may have to say about the record would be moot, as you should already own this record (along with Chairs Missing and 154, Wire's second and third albums respectively). But for those of you who may be enraptured by the recent flurry of post-punk revivalists who continue to make quite a stir, let the reissue campaign of the first three records introduce you to the band that Interpol, Maximo Park, Franz Ferdinand, and Bloc Party only wish they could be.

Recorded in 1977, Pink Flag is an immaculately concise punk record, even as Wire recognized that punk was becoming a self-parody and willed themselves to develop through experimentation with structure, technology, and process. Pink Flag's 21 songs cover a mere 35 minutes, many of them clocking in around 90 seconds or "when they ran out of words" as bassist / vocalist Graham Lewis once quipped. Energetic and volatile, each of the songs on Pink Flag thrash through the repetoire of reductivist power-pop riffs as immediately catchy and aggressive as anything by the Damned, the Ramones, and the Sex Pistols. But even on their first album, Wire demonstrated an uncanny ability with chord changes and melodic shifts that by '70s standards were much artier than their punk bretheren. Of course, in the aftermath of math-rock's acrobatic twists and turns, Wire's Pink Flag hardly sounds unpredictable... but if it weren't for Wire would we really have Laddio Bollocko, for example? Probably not.

The album's opening track "Reuters" is an anxious introduction to Wire's provocation with lead vocalist Colin Newman over-annunciating a polemic against government's abuse of propaganda (sound familiar?) on top of an increasingly agitated metronomic blast of bass, twin guitar, and drums. Elsewhere near perfect pop songs develop out of the angular punk slashing, as heard on "Ex Liontamers" and "Mannequin." Wire ends the album with the monotone anthem "12 X U" which many have declared their "Anarchy In The UK." With a motorik rhythm punctured by concise punk riff, the track simultaneously decries homophobia and censorship with the song's entire lyrics "I saw you in the mag kissing the man / 1 2 X U!"

So yeah, Wire are a seminal band for a reason, and it all started with this album. If you don't have it, please do yourself a favor and buy this album. You won't regret it!

Everyone's heard of the Iggy Pop, The Clash, Ramones, Damned and Sex Pistols, but many of you have probably not heard of Wire. I was very into the punk scene in the 1970s and I loved it all back then. But of all the punk albums that came out between 1976 and 1980, Wire's "Pink Flag" (1977) holds up best for me 30 years on. This album is very raw with a minimum of production, but with some key elements of production here and there. It's been referred to elsewhere as minimalist and taking a deconstructive approach to rock music. Both are true, and Wire does it with intelligence on "Pink Flag". I think they set a standard for what can be done with a few chords that no one else has achieved. The lyrics on "Pink Flag" are mostly imaginative and timeless, certainly better than most of what was written back then. If I had to recommend a few albums that best represent the era, I would include this one. This re-mastered version of "Pink Flag" sounds every bit as good on CD as my original-pressing vinyl LP, maybe even better. I highly recommend it.

Quite simply Pink Flag is one of the best punk albums of all time. Personally, I think this album blows away Chairs Missing. The latter album shows a band less inclined to punk, and more interested in developing their songs and sounds. That said, Pink Flag's songs are not sloppy, they just say what they have to say and then end it--a lesson more bands should heed. Wire has so many good ideas on this album that they can afford to cut off a great track like "Field Day for the Sundays" after 28 seconds. A lesser band would have made it the centerpiece of their album.

As far as I'm concerned, you either like *Pink Flag* considerably or you don't really have the background to evaluate it and much of the semipopular culture of the last twenty-five years. But do you need to spread the gospel of *Pink Flag*? No: the first true cover band, the Ex Lion Tamers, was formed to play Pink Flag note-for-note as an opening act for the reformed Wire (who might need defenders). Do you need to own a copy of *Pink Flag*? I'm not gonna say that; I don't think it would hurt your musical appreciation skills any, but it might interact poorly with Adderall or other "mind-enhancing" substances.

As usual the japanese pressing is far superior in sound to the domestic version of same.This is a milestone "progressive-punk" album that does not let up from start to finish.Wire's distinct british sound coupled with pristine recording is a real treat.Highly recommended.