Ibtaba [Original recording reissued]

Wire | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Mute U.S.
• ASIN: B00004SGTE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,911 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eardrum Buzz, June 19, 2000

By 

Mark Brooks (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ibtaba (Audio CD)

From their earliest songs on Live at the Roxy (1977) it was obvious Wire had left the pack and were adrift in a sea of their own. Emerging with other early London punk acts including the Damned and Generation X, Wire had little in common with their contempories. Like Roxy Music before them Wire had an art school background and soon left their early 3 chord beginings for more unchartered waters.

Here then is "Its Begining To And Back Again" Wire's second live CD (following the very dada Document and Eyewitness set) and Wire once again find ways of challenging conventions by making a very unconventional live CD. Taking the master tapes into the studio Wire recorded new material over the live tracks using them as building blocks for new songs. Even all the crowd noise has been removed making the album sound like a studio set of new songs (which, in effect it was)! Lush Keyboard arrangements and looped drum patterns underscore the songs which have hooks worthy of some of the greatest pop songs ever written. Graham Lewis' Finest Drops kicks of the set and is a great indication of the what is to follow. Deft pop with oblique lyrics and guitar sounds which only Wire know the secrets of. Highlights include the brilliant single Eardrum Buzz and a bizzare techno loop experiment titled Illuminated which loops someone asking "Would he say yeah, would he say no?" over and over untill it becomes almost mantra -like. This 1989 CD is one my favourite Wire releases and a high point of the bands 'second phase'.

While not exactly a commercial band Wire's songs have a way of burrowing into your subconcious and you will find your self whistling a refrain when you least expect it. A worthy purchase for anyone who enjoys their pop dished up with a side order of oddball. A challenging and rewarding effort from Wire.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Live Wire (sort of), May 12, 2004

By 

Mons "Mons" (Norrpan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ibtaba (Audio CD)

IBTABA is a live recording, greatest hits and remix album all rolled into one. They've taken the drum (and other) tracks from live recordings and then added other overdubs in the studio constructing alternate versions of existing songs. Sometimes this works; Public Place wafts out from speakers enticingly, capturing the grey public sector existentialism of the original version but without the elephantine guitar riff. A more polite version perhaps but just as effective. And that's the secret to IBABA, really, the songs here are meant as a compement to, not a replacement of the album version. Sometimes it doesn't work, the rendition of Over Theirs (perhaps the pinnacle of Wire's achievement) lacks the punch and crispness of the original (on the Ideal Copy album) and comes a cross like a sort of dub-ified version with someone at the controls who doesn't really like dub. Or Wire. Finest Drops fares much better, full of live energy and Robert Gotobed showing what a fine drummer he is. Boiling Boy (from the Bell is a Cup...album)is present and correct and without the drums which brings the intriguing, dreamlike lyrics to the front on a wsh of atmospherics. It is towards the end of the album, however, that IBTABA really kicks in and Wire show signs of what they could have achieved if they had veered more towards the mainstream and adopted the pop sensibilities of the Bunnymens, U2s, New Order, etc. In Vivo, Eardrum Buzz (12" version) and The Offer are guitar-driven anthems that are exhilarating to listen to. Illuminated is a cool dancy number ruined by a rather annoying spoken loop repeated ad nauseum.
In brief, IBTABA it is a dubby, textured record that offers previously available Wire highlights in a more ambient version.
What do Wire sound like? To me Wire sound like Joy Division, Walker Brothers and Talking Heads. And they're really very good. Wire are an unashamedly cerebral and arty - definitely not the kind of thing your kid sister would like but will fit snugly into the record collection of any post-punk, new wave, Smiths/Cure/Echo & the Bunnymen fan. Come to think of it I'd choose Wire over Robert Smith's and Ian McCullough's cohorts anyday.
The bottom line? Not the ideal starting point for novices but fans should dive right in.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars panned but well planned, September 28, 2000

By 

W. K. Miller "kenmiller32" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ibtaba (Audio CD)

Wire's IBTABA album was panned by the critics, but it's worth a listen.

These songs were recorded at concerts in Chicago and Portugal, then taken into the studio and reworked. Some of the tunes, such as "Finest Drops," can be found on earlier WIRE albums. Finest Drops, for example, is MUCH better on the IBTABA album than it was on "A Bell is a Cup Until it is Struck."

Only the track "Illuminated" is a poor cut, and it's so bad that it's embarrassing. Other than that, "Finest Drops" and the excellent "German Shepherds" stand out as fine work.