Customer Reviews

Public Image Ltd. - Greatest Hits So Far

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This collection brings together most of the best songs from the band's entire career (well, ok, not the last album) while including some interesting remixes. People who listen to this CD will fit into 4 groups.

Some people won't like it at all. Hey, PIL is not for everyone. Go buy something else.

Some people will like the later stuff but won't be able to stand the early stuff at all (except for maybe the first song, Public Image). Some people will love the early stuff and find the later stuff boring. Either way, you'll be skipping tracks on this CD and you'll need to buy another 3-4 CDs to get all the songs you like.

Some people will like it all (although maybe not back to back). Those people will want to get the Plastic Box boxed set and will probably still want to eventually pick up most of the albums to get a complete collection. There are a few odds and ends (remixes and outtakes) that are out of print which is kind of annoying.

What I think is needed is two separate greatest hits CD's, an early one and a late one. There are enough gaps in this collection to warrant it. Who knows if that will ever happen.

One other thing. The sound on this CD is not all that great. Everything was remastered for the Plastic Box boxed set. The tracks on there just sound a whole lot better. I made a CDR of songs from both compilations and the difference in sound quality was jarring. Just another reason that fans would be better served by another collection.

Surely after the disbanding of "The Sex Pistols" few would have put money on singer "John Lydon / Johnny Rotten", setting up a
'Post-Punk' band, from the ashes of his first band. But then John Lydon was always about confounding the publics perceptions. So with World music / Worldbeat / Alternative bassist "Jah Wobble" (Who would be later sacked from the band), PiL is an amalgamation of early post-punk, Dub-rock, Alternative Dance & (later on) Pop/Rock.

First and formost, It must be noted that this is a 'Singles' collection more than anything, and thus forgoes consistency in favour of popular hits or singles tracks. So the collection of songs is understandably diverse and a little erratic. Although that's not to say that the singles in question are anything less than excellent choices, in fact it's surprising how well these singles stand up under close inspection considering how old some of them are (late 70's - Early 80's).

The First Track, "Public Image" is closer to the fiercer rockier side of the band that first emerged, with chugging guitars, rapid drumming and John Lydon shrieking with lyrical contempt "Two sides to every story, Somebody had to stop me, I'm not the same as when I began, I will not be treated as property" shows that his disdain of the establishment hadn't completely deserted him, when the Sex Pistols split. In fact this is one of the songs that is like a closest relative to the pistols work. Urgent, conformational, short and to the point noise rock!!. Sure, it's no replacement for the Pistols, and it certainly isn't Punk, but that rough & ready Angst-ridden alternative sound isn't too hard to discern.

If there's a particular stand out track, then for me, it's unquestionably got to be "Careering", a particularly exemplary example of Dub-Rock / Alternative Dance, that takes a sublime slow tempo slap-heavy bass (courtesy of 'Jah wobble'), brooding percussion, and scattershot electronics, which sound like thousands of metallic ball bearings hitting sheets of aluminium. and a shouty-sung dancey aesthetic that belies it's easy to miss seriousness of lyrics, with Lydon yelping "A face is raining, Across the border, The pride of history' The same as murder, Is this living, He's been careering!!", its a stunning juxtaposition of articulate lyrics mixed with the bouncy post-punk, dance sensibility, that earmarks some of the genres finest tracks, and went on to feature on several Post-Punk compilations.

"This is not a love Song" begins to show the transition of the band into a more accessible Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Dance group (much to the cargin of fans of their early material). And yet if you (like me), You are happy to take the music on its own merits, (as opposed to worrying about it's lack "Sticking it to the Establishment" approach from before). Then the introduction of a more refined and less abrasive sound Lydon won't disappoint, as well the use of a horn section, spiky guitars, and a far more FM Rock orientated sound. (Not strictly FM rock, as such, but certainly something that had more chance of being played on the radio, then their early work). But maybe its Lydon's reluctance to completely give in to the general public, because although the lyrics were less confrontational, they still retained that sarcasm that Lydon is famous for, with the lyric "I'm adaptable and I like my new role, I'm getting better and better, And I have a new goal, I'm changing my ways, where money applies" being a particularly Lydon-ish moment.

"Rise" is possibly one of the biggest concessions to refining a more accessible sound. And the single I remember most, on hearing it being playlisted on the radio on its first release. But actually a song that seems to touch up social/racial injustice with Lydon firing up unifying lyrics like : "I could be wrong I could be right, I could be black I could be white...", over looping guitars, keyboard and droning synths, showed that the transition to something that could make an entry into the musical charts was complete (possibly to subvert from within the pop/rock industry??), and although this is the point that they admittedly attracted a new audience with it's more rhythmic sounding instrumentation, largely broader musical scope and less confrontational lyrics (this song was actually the track I remember most, when I first heard PiL), It probably had their intital audience moving elsewhere, but the repeated shouting of "Anger is an Energy" showed that Lydon hadn't completely forgotten his past.

So there you have it, It's not a complete summary of the band by any means, and there are almost certainly omissions in track selection. And as been previously mentioned in the reviews below, is the the albums lurches wildly from Experimental Dub-rock track one minute, to Post-Punk throwdown the next, without much consideration for what went before. Plus not forgetting that the album feels largely in two distinct halves. The early Post/Experimental Punk/Rock & Art-Rock work, and the later, Alternative Pop/Rock & Dance sounding tracks, which may alienate early or later adopters to their music. But then this collection was never designed with them in mind. and they should seek out the individual albums.

So bearing in mind these criticisms, why is this release getting 5-Star's??....simple, because if your not concerned with their musical transitions, and how they were then, or how they are now. This is a fantastic singles collection full stop. There's some truly superb material here, irrespective of whether its : Dub, Noise-Rock, Art-Rock, aggressive Rock, Alternative Dance, or any of the other multitude of genres the band touched upon. PiL enthusiasts may want to overlook this release in favour for the studio albums, but the rest of us (especially those relatively new to the band), will find this to be an excellent primer for their work.

Slender but reasonably comprehensive package which if nothing else serves as a good intro into for the novice into the PiL oeuvre. John Lydon actually had to haggle with Virgin Records (Virgin originally wanted a mere 8-song set), but the end result is still frustratingly meagre. Inevitably, many gems are absent, and sadly the LP remake of "This Is Not A Love Song" is included instead of the original single version which, ironically enough, was PiL's greatest (commercial) hit. Still, there are superior remixes of "The Body," "Rise" and "Disappointed," and the set is closed off nicely with the supremely catchy eco-pop single "Don't Ask Me." But there's little need to revisit this collection once you get all the PiL albums.

As others have said, this is not a perfect collection, but it is perfect for the new PIL fan. After John Lydon left the Sex Pistols he formed this band, but PIL is far from the punk sound of the Sex Pistols. While I find the whole disc here good, it doesn't become what I would call catchy until the track "This Is Not A Love Song", though the opener "Public Image" is rather good. The biggest hits to the casual fan will probably be "Rise" and "Disappointed". Both are late 80's alternative classics, and both are over six minutes long. Minor hits like "Seattle" and "The Body" I like also. I'm happy this runs in chronological order, and it ends with the alt/pop sing-a-long "Don't Ask Me", which is hard not to like. Overall it's probably the only disc most fans should need.

If you love PiL, you probably have the original albums. Regardless, this is a great sampling that clearly shows the evolution of John Lydon's music, from the early influence of the pistols to the more melodic, later songs. The last track is a new diddy, recorded for this album. Great CD for the car since it is nicely self-contained!

Comprising of the singles - and a few remixes - which essentially spans the group's career, the 1990 release is a nice sampler of the evolution of the sound as John Lydon took more artistic control after the departures of guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Wobble and drummer Martin Atkins.

The 14 tracks clock in at 65:17 and includes the biting debut single, Public Image (1978), and the fantastic performance art of This Is Not A Love Song. A 7-inch mix of Death Disco, extended mix of Disappointed and remix of Warrior are the slim helpings of scrounging around the vault. A new track - Don't Ask Me (1990) - scored a #2 ranking on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.

The group - essentially a Lydon solo project - released one more studio album in 1992 before going on hiatus, which continues today. The PiL catalog is oftentimes difficult to track down, so this album is a solid way to hear the band as they attempted to use radio to pave a trail to the charts.

This is an excellent introduction to the world of PiL. Its basically a collection of their singles and hits. The date of this material goes from 1978-1990 and does not include anything from their last album That What Is Not which was not released until 1992. If you are unfamiliar with PiL this would be a good start but if you are a big fan then the Plastic Box collection is for you since it has more obscure tracks and rarities. Both are excellent!

This should really be called "A Random Selection of PIL Songs" or at least "Best of... Period" because PIL didn't really produce any hits and the "So Far" thing leads us to belive that their just sitting on the next big thing, still not bad.

...I bought this P.I.L.'s album because I was really curious to see what was John doing after the punk era...

And what a surprise! I like this album! I don't know what exactly is, the style... but it is very uncommon. John has a GREAT voice; he doesn't sing as when he was in the Sex Pistols, but you can really enjoy his lyrics.

I have all Public Image's albums, but if you are looking for your first P.I.L.'s cd buy this one (or 9). You will not be disappointed of this one... great sound, killer voice... and it is also relaxing, sometimes pretty soft!...

Both stars go to the first track, Public Image, one of the best songs of the 70's. Everything else is truly horrible. Lydon's voice is unbearably annoying throughout much of the CD. And remember, these are their best songs too.