Customer Reviews

Ibtaba

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

IBTABA (It's Beginning to and Back Again - a line from German Shepherds, the only original track on this album) doesn't feel anything like a proper album. It contains a mish-mash of revised versions of songs from elsewhere with a couple of brilliant singles added in. In reality, the revised versions of older songs are the result of Wire experimenting with the recording process, taking live recordings and rebuilding them in a studio. They all work pretty well but none of them could be judged to be objectively better than the originals, just different, which makes me wonder why they decided to inflict it upon us. I suppose they had to justify/recoup the studio costs somehow.

What makes this album worth having are the two amazing singles - Eardrum Buzz and In Vivo. Both are shimmering pop masterpieces (to use the vernacular), right up there with classics like Dot-Dash, Map Ref. 41ºN 93ºW and Our Swimmer, and worth the cost of the CD alone. Just think of the rest of the stuff as B-sides and bonus tracks and it makes a bit of sense.

Illuminated is really great as is Earddrum buzz. Illuminated is electronica like people would make 10 years later. This album made out of re-worked live versions of known Wire songs, is simply spectacular.

A strange concept - to release an album of previously released material that is 'based on' live shows. Although their cloak of mystery and craft seems apparent, the songs suffer from relative mediocrity. Most versions are better in other incarnations, but you can get the single version of "Eardrum Buzz" here, which is mandatory. "In Vivo" should have been a hit single worldwide and "Illuminated" is years ahead of its time. The version of "Over Theirs" is quite inferior to the one on "The Ideal Copy" (in fact, I think I'll have to play that one now) and overall this album is a showcase of their knack for reworking the same song into other realms (which has been done better on ep's and live bonus cuts) but not very convincing. A bland attempt at being palatable for an audience that turned a deaf ear. I'll stick with the ambitious stuff, thank you.

Not exactly a live album, nor a remix album, it mixes older reworkings with new material.

First of all, I hate live material, because I can't stand all the noise of applause (really takes away from the music, and in my opinion does nothing for the 'energy' of the performance). And I also greatly dislike most remix albums, but this is far from the usual crappy dubs that pose as remixes.

The new songs (Eardrum Buzz, German Shepherds, Illuminated, The Offer, In Vivo) are all strong pieces that trademark material found on Ideal Copy. I don't care much for A Bell Is A Cup, and the only new track that sounds like it belongs from that period would be The Offer, which still beats most of the music from that album. I don't understand why another reviewer dislikes Illuminated, it's a strange electronic piece with sparse vocals, surely a bit odd, but very interesting. The 12" version of Eardrum Buzz isn't as impressive, in my opinion, as the reworked track, but still holds well, though a little out of place in the album. Also, this version of In Vivo is better than the original single mix, once again in my opinion.

4 of the 5 older songs are from 'A Bell...', but I think are better than the originals, except for The Finest Drops, my favorite Wire song; still, the reworked version is good, and sounds quite different so it stands as its own song, without having to owe up to the original. The reworking of Public Place is far superior, as it gives more ambiance, which I think had been their original intent on the original, but didn't pull it off as well.

Although wishing more material from Ideal Copy had been on this album, I have to give it a full 5 stars for the amazing music, brilliant concept, and overall impressiveness of it. I suppose I shouldn't complain about not enough material from Ideal Copy era, as in a couple years later came The Drill EP, another awesome piece of music.

This CD is great even if you are not a Wire fan. This was the 2nd Wire recording I ever purchased, although now I own a lot, and it is just really interesting, especially with earphones. Get it.

This is a fine re-working of songs from "A Bell Is A Cup" as well as the "Eardum Buzz/German Shepherds" single. It also includes the single "In Vivo/The Offer." I have NO IDEA WHY they released it. The previous versions were all so good - but I'm awfully glad they did. It belongs in every Wire fan's collection. It's simply a companion piece to "A Bell...", or that's how I think of it.

This is my favorite Wire cd for a few, essential reasons. It's Beginning To And Back Again -IBTABA- is filled with mature, ambient, upbeat tunes. It best culminates their second (synth-pop) phase. It has some of their best work in all their near thirty years in music. It never gets tiring to hear and remains fresh to this day and age.

The reworkings of tunes like "Finest Drops" and "Public Place" are better, more mature, ambient in mood and style. This cd includes my favorite version of "Over Theirs", everything about that track is better than in previous incarnations. Here, it's longer, more experimental, and fresher.

My favorite tracks in the cd would have to be the originals. "In Vivo" and "German Shepherds" are right where Wire were heading in their musical direction. Sleeker, nifty,wonderfully-crafted pieces. By this time, they really were a far cry from their early, post-punk daze.

And let's not forget their, arguably, most popular single "Eardrum Buzz". It has a hook and a beat. And everytime after hearing it, the tune plays in my head "over and over,
over and over".

I highly recommend this cd, more particularly to other diehard fans since this happens to be 1 of the most underrated in their catalogue. It takes a while to get into it but the listener won't be sorry afterwards.