Customer Reviews

Plastic Box

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is no way this set could receive anything less than 5 stars, if nothing else, because the material is as good and as important as it is. That said, there are some significant omissions. This is not the fault of the band members, but rather that of the record label. In fact, John Lydon and Martin Atkins both stated their desire to have more in the way of rare material contained on this 4-CD boxed set; however, and as is usually the case, the record company had the final say.

The first giant ommission is the album Commercial Zone (the last studio album to feature Keith Levene, but never officially released). Unfortunately, its inclusion was never a possibility. Besides the bad blood that exists between the band members, there are licensing issues involved that will keep this title forever in unofficial bootleg or download world. It does appear (along with outtakes) on a long out-of-print Japanese issue: Never Mind the Public Image. Amazon lists it as "currently unavailable" but you might have some luck if you Google the title and find a Japanese site that still has it available (or try an international seller from that world-famous auction site).

The remaining tracks from the vaults that could have appeared, but didn't, are another matter. These include:
- 7" version of Memories, which is completely different from the album version
- Albatross (complete Monitor Mix), Death Disco (complete Monitor Mix) and Albatross (the Melodrama Mix); all available as bonus tracks on John Lydon's PAL-format DVD
- Flowers of Romance (instrumental version from 12" single)
- Vampire (a famous outtake from the Flowers of Romance album)
- Rise (instrumental B-side from Single)
- Religion '87 & The Suit '87 (tracks from the unrealized Renovations project, which is just as well... these attempts to reinvent previous versions featuring Keith Levene and Jah Wobble were not very sucessful)
- various Happy and Warrior 12" remixes
- Live At The Ritz (a full live album and once intended for release)

Of note is the fact that along with Commercial Zone, the Japanese set, Never Mind the Public Image, also contains all 5 tracks from the first 3 bullet points of the previous paragraph.

Despite missing much, it has plenty, to include outtakes, unreleased one-off tracks, two Peel Sessions and various remixes. This is a reissue of a long out-of-print set, which up until now has commanded very high prices for new and used copies. That alone says a lot about this set's value. Previously, much of its contents were never available before on CD.

Despite some overlap with official albums still available, this set is certainly worth it for completists due to the sheer volume of unique tracks and very low price, and it is the best possible introduction to the music of Public Image Limited for newcomers. Very highly recommended.

When Plastic Box was first released over a decade ago, I jumped on it thinking it would be a suitable replacement for all of my PIL cassettes. Well, not exactly.

What is it?
* Almost every track from their first five studio albums, Public Image, Metal Box, Flowers of Romance, This is What You Want This Is What You Get, and Album
* A couple of tracks each from Happy, 9, and That What Is Not
* A hodge-podge of outtakes and one-off releases
* A hodge-podge of remixes, but only some of them
* Two BBC sessions, one early and one late

What's to like?
* I prefer the remastering from the box set to the original CD masters. While some remastering jobs are overdone, I didn't find that to be the case here.
* I appreciate being able to get ahold of the various outtakes, one-offs, and remixes. In particular, I like the the Metal Box-era outtakes, 1/2 Mix Megamix and Another (vocal version of Graveyard).
* The BBC sessions are very good. The second one gives me a greater appreciation for some of the songs from That What Is Not, even though I think the album as a whole is rubbish.

What's not to like?
* I'm not sure what the point is to releasing 90% of the first five albums. A serious fan absolutely has to get Metal Box anyway, but what about the other albums? Someone who bought this might not recognize how powerful the other individual albums were on their ow. Even if the missing tracks aren't the most important ones, they still are important to the album's coherence. As for me, I ended up buying most of the albums anyway.
* This Is Not A Love Song is presented in a remix with most of the lyrics omitted. I guess this is a good thing for the completist, but it also means you need to have TIWYW,TIWYG or Greatest Hits So Far to get the better version.
* I wish more alternative versions were included. If Mr. Miller's review is accurate, I'd like to have a way to get ahold of these things, even if it means that some of the deep cuts of the early albums were left off of the boxed set. (Maybe they'll release a "Deluxe Edition" of Metal Box that includes all of these things in one place - that would at least solve some of the problem.)

The bottom line is that the music here is top notch, but it leaves me wanting more. I guess that is what a boxed set is supposed to do.

Essential 4-disc retrospective of PiL's 14-year career. Along with many tracks culled from the studio albums, the set includes B-sides, 12'' versions, a few alternate mixes, a selection of radio session performances other rarities to round out the collection of the serious PiL enthusiast. Highlights include an instrumental remix of "Fodderstompf," the outtake "Pied Piper," the B-sides "Question Mark" and "Selfish Rubbish," and "Criminal," from the "Point Break" soundtrack. Unfortunately, this set fulls short of being definitive. Nothing from the two live albums is included (which most people would regard as a good thing). There's also nothing from "Commercial Zone" (except "Blue Water," which was an official B-side), and B-sides/remixes from the latter era of PiL are almost non-existent (the 1987 remakes of "The Suit" and "Religion" would have been perfect inclusions as they were only ever released as 12'' vinyl B-sides, and never on CDs). Practically every track from the first five studio albums (1978-1986) is included, and then selected material from the final three (1987-1992) is squeezed onto the last disc, which reinforces the (false) perception that the LA-based PiL was something of a write-off. In the absence of a fifth disc, deleting tracks from the earlier albums - to allow room for more songs of the later PiL - would have resulted in a more balanced set (it's annoying that great, underrated material from "Happy?" and "9" is absent to provide room for dead weight from "Flowers Of Romance" and "This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get"). No matter though - despite its shortcomings, "Plastic Box" proves what a damn good band PiL in all its various permutations was (John Lydon's frank and informative liner notes rate a mention too). Collected sets rarely get much better than this...

Most box sets and best of's have glaring omissions, or versions no one ever cared about. Not so with this. Just about everything the PiL fan has been hunting for; and just about everything a new fan needs to get their brain around this bands' awesome awesome catalog. Most everything here needs to be heard. This box set will still be important 25 years from now.

THE PLASTIC BOX is the four-disc collection of the best of the music tracks from the Public Image Limited (a.k.a. The John Lydon Band). The first two discs are the best of the bunch (when they still were a collective unit). Disc three and four are best used as coasters (unless you love the John Lydon version of P.I.L.). Instead of searching out for the first three albums, you can get them all collated in this box set. The plastic box also comes with a nice booklet with pictures and thoughts from John Lydon.

If you love Public Image Limited (either versions) then you must seek out this set. You wont be sorry.

Highly recommended.

I don't want to bash amazon, but I bought this awesome collection on half.com for $31.99 brand new. I'm not sure why amazon is charging over $100.00 for it. I would highly recommend this Public Image Ltd. set but not for over $100.00. Shop around!

I picked this collection up in hopes of getting a few different versions of songs & saving me the expense of buying some of PIL's later albums that were basically just not as enjoyable. Some of the later efforts should actually be called The John Lydon band, but that's up for debate. The BBC sessions are great, you get a different perspective on some of the songs you've been hearing for years. There's also "The Cowboy Song" a 12" remix and another B-Side. I'm sure there was more rarities that could be included here but the price was reasonable, so I can't really get too upset. The songs from HappY?" should have included "Fat Chance Hotel"-which is the closest they came to their original sound. Still waiting for the PIL reunion.

I agree with the comments in the other 5 star reviews here and will not add to them. One thing to note, however, with this re-issue of Virgin's 1999 box set is that here the liner notes have been edited. There are no photos with the text, nor any LP artwork as in the previous issue. I believe the tracks remain the same; that's the important thing.

Enjoy the music and do yourself a favor and ante up for the recent re-issue of "Metal Box".

John Lydon's post-Johnny Rotten work stands as living proof that the man was more than just the wailing, cackling frontman of punk rock's most lucrative and enduring brand name. This box set succeeds where most retrospectives fail, by balancing the scope of the band's official discography with bonus goodies (remixes, sessions, and unreleased material) of true tangible value. No wanky fodder here, folks... everything on these 4 discs truly matters to the genuine PiL enthusiast. OUTSTANDING.

Collecting together the absolute best of PiL must've been a hard task indeed! I've been a PiL fan for a while now, and if you can get your hands on this, this is all the PiL you'll ever need. This is everything a box set should be... a definitive collection of, what I consider to be, one of the best and most influential musical groups in history. It's on the expensive side, but it can for all purposes replace your entire PiL collection. And the extra songs that were never released/hard to find are a nice treat for all those fans who are still awaiting another record.