John Lydon has announced a few Public Image Limited live dates in the U.K. It’s the first time that PiL has reformed since 1992.
Immediately when I heard the news, I thought that this would be the classic PiL line-up of Lydon, Keith Levene, and Jah Wobble. I mean, it makes sense doesn’t it? With all of the recent reunions taking place and with live appearances becoming the largest source of revenue for artists thanks to declining cd revenues, you would think that Lydon would have been smart enough to concoct an event that would get some attention.
But no. Lydon seems to think that by reprising the PiL moniker, we will return. What he fails to remember is that Metal Box (Second Edition) is the band’s masterpiece and, essentially, the only evidence of Public Image Limited working as a ban (minus a consistent drummer).
Album may be the band’s last decent album, and that was nearly twenty-five years ago. That record was followed by a run of continual line-up changes and half-inspired material. It was clear that Lydon had either run out of ideas or no longer wanted to invest the time to work on a third album of groundbreaking proportion.
Think about how awesome it would be if Lydon, Levene, and Wobble got together and performed the Metal Box album in its entirety.
Never mind the Sex Pistols, that concert would be something worth seeing!
No bollocks.
Guitar geek alert: Check out the Travis Bean Wedge that Levene is playing.
1 comment:
If he were reforming the band anew I would have no problem with the lineup, but it's a cash-in. At least the Pistols did it right in that regard. Seems like the bad blood between Lydon, Levene, and Wobble is still in effect. Too bad. A true reunion would've been something, huh?
I happen to love the "generic" record. It's one of those rare albums which I remember exactly where I was when I first heard it. But if you recall, that was recorded with the likes of Bill Laswell, Steve Vai, Ginger Baker, and Ryuichi Sakamoto--not exactly PiL. Actually, you could say it was Johhny's first solo album.
Btw, I met the Lydon/McGeoch/Dias/Joyce lineup at a NYC Tower Records instore during their last tour, I believe. Lydon was quite nice to me. (Signed my copy of Bollocks, no problem.) Bassist Allan Dias was cool, too. John McGeoch (RIP) was hilariously ripped and ex-Smiths Mike Joyce was very gracious and humble.
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