9

Public Image Limited | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1992)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B000008TW5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,265 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is everybody (not standoffish with the 80s) happy?, October 23, 2004

By 

The Drainpipe (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 9 (Audio CD)

Lazy title identifies this as PiL's ninth album release, although it's the seventh studio album (and Lydon's second with the McGeoch/Dias/Smith nucleus). And it's another effective rebuttal to those who casually dismiss the latter-era, LA-based PiL. When plans for Bill Laswell to produce fell through, production chores were taken over by Simple Minds-cohort Stephen Hague (who specialises in lavish, art-of-noise production - and it shows here) and Eric "E.T." Thorngren. Like its predecessor "Happy?", "9" is steeped in unmistakable, archetypal 80s rock production, but if you accept it on its own merits, it's compelling nonetheless: synth-based, catchy, dancey hard rock (highlights include the opening "Happy" [why wasn't it on the previous album?], the airforce-bashing "U.S.L.S 1," the carnivalesque "Sand Castles In The Snow," and the synth-pinball chorus of "Same Old Story"). "Brave New World" has an incredible chorus, and "Like That" has an inherent goofy charm. "Warrior" boasts some embarrassing lyrics and musical touches, but "Disappointed" is one of the most stunning PiL songs, ever: great rousing music and Gospel vocals set to Lydon's cynical appraisal of friendship ("Disappointed a few people/When friendship reared its ugly head/Well, isn't that/What friends are for?"). Lydon is especially playful with his lyrics throughout, with liberal use of well-worn clichés ("The best things in this life are never free", "The devil takes care of his own", "Why should the devil have all the good tunes", "The emperor's new clothes", "The King and his castle," etc). His abrasive vocals don't chafe against the PiL/Hague musical environment of spiralling riffs and rhythms and gothic melodies, which makes this relatively accessible, as PiL albums go: wild and sprightly, but musically disciplined. In retrospect, "9" is probably PiL's most underrated release: infectious, likeable, brilliant.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dance Hall Days, April 1, 2009

By 

Bicycle Day - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: 9 (Audio CD)

By the time of this May 30, 1989, release, Public Image Ltd. had become an ongoing solo project for John Lydon and long gone was an exploration of a cutting-edge vision for the soundscapes.

Slated to be a collaboration between Lydon and producer/bassist Bill Laswell - which fell apart due to artistic differences - the 10 tracks fit easily into clubland rhythms, with Disappointed the superior track; it reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.

The mostly-instrumental U.S.L.S. 1, Happy? and Brave New World allow the musicians - Alan Dias (b), John McGeoch (g), Bruce Smith (d) - to keep the grooves moving.

Even as the band settled into the "alternative" dance sound, it continued to expand the fan base - being part of "The Monsters of Alternative Rock" tour - with PiL demonstrating staying power as the post-punk movement began to swerve into a revival of the darkwave style.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like PiL, you'll love it, February 3, 2002

By 

John Chaney III (damn I forgot) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 9 (Audio CD)

I happen to disagree with Jed, the reviewer above, but I think lots of people may agree with him. He is right about one thing, which is that it does sound like an album made in 1989, which to me is an album that crosses over between sophisticated arrangements and slightly chincey arrangements. It seems like quite a few albums did come out like that, but for me and many, the late 80's were a weak spot in the rock genre anyway. If you can put that aside, you can really start to see that this album was mixed, arranged, and written the way it should have been. I do mean that in a complimentary way. If you like the PiL vibe itself, you'll probably like this album all the way through. If you like only a couple PiL songs, you will probably only like Happy and Disappointed, maybe a few others. I do actually like Lydon's ostentatiousness, in his singing and as a person, and if you don't, then you are probably creepy anyway.