Customer Reviews

Read & Burn 1

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those who know Wire mostly from the artsy, breezy pop of their "Eardrum Buzz" period will find this CD to be a bit of a jolt, and those whose knowledge of the most adventurous group to come out of the late '70s milieu goes back that far will find *Read & Burn 1" to be a real trip down memory lane--of sorts. Yes, *Read & Burn 1* recovers the punk energy of *Pink Flag* 25 years after the fact--with ten times the precision, so these don't sound to me like *Pink Flag* b-sides or outtakes. But this CD does thrash and burn for all 17 of its minutes. There are six tracks (two of them under two minutes). "I Don't Understand" slows the pace a bit. Otherwise it's breakneck speed throughout.

For those who by some chance don't know, Wire is Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), E. Graham Lewis (bass, vocals on 6) and Robert Gotobed (drums). The vocals are fairly far back in the mix. The flourishes of keyboards and other instruments we sometimes got from previous incarnations of Wire are nowhere to be found. You'll either like this or you won't. *Read & Burn 1* won't be for everybody!

But then again, those of us who have been following the careers of this group and its members in their various incarnations, solo projects, collaborations, etc., for over 20 years now know that these four people are capable of going into the studio, doing whatever they please and coming out with something interesting. This time they made a punk rock CD--a "son of Pink Flag" as it were. The next go around--or maybe the next incarnation of Wire after another hiatus--it might be something entirely different.

Recommended to anyone who likes punk, anyone with a taste for the adventurous, and of course anyone who absolutely must have every CD Wire has done or is associated with the group in any way. Not recommended to those who want a Wire content to be locked into a box, be it art-pop, punk or anything else.

I've always thought that Wire has a timeless sound, and this record shows they are still at it in force. It seems to mix elements from a lot of their earlier work, overall it's a stripped down fast paced affair. I don't agree with the assertions that it's "Pink Flag II". However, it does have that classic Wire sound. What can I say, a new Wire album. What else can you say about a band that began as original punks, and quickly mutated into art rock. Around 1979, when the rest of the world was just beginning to figure out what punk was, they were already moving far beyond those narrow constructs. And they continue to evolve with Read & Burn 1. I can't put my finger on it, but the tone of this record is very appropriate as a soundtrack for this point in history. Best of all, it's delivered with that sneer all Wire fans will immediately recognize. Now go out and buy this record, and pick up a copy of Pink Flag while you're at it. Or just buy them all, they're all great.

People credit the Beatles with being the most creative, most transformative band out there, but for me and and a small group of others who have been lucky enough to bump into them, that band is definitely Wire! These four musicians have been to every corner of the sonic universe, and this time they've surfaced with six very catchy and raw combinations of technology and traditional punk energy. Seriously, if you consider music an art form and you want to go on a truly amazing journey, buy Wire's Pink Flag, 154, Chairs Missing, The Ideal Copy, The First Letter, Read & Burn, Colin Newman's A-Z, Graham Lewis' HALO, Bruce Gilbert's Shivering Man, and one of the Dome CDs -- you won't regret it!

You're familiar with Wire if you're reading this... Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, A Bell is a Cup. I stumbled upon their 154 album in 1980 and worked backwards, amazed. Their later releases didn't always connect with me, but I always admired the fact that each album sounded like a completely different entity, a completely different group... They were always trying new things, new sounds (unlike REM, who professed to be fans of Wire but somehow always sounded like REM on album after album). Now I've stumbled again on an amazing thing: Read & Burn is Wire 20 years later, playing music that screams comfortably next to the best of their prime output. It's got it all: loud, fast, repetitive, catchy, dosed in 3-minute chunks... The second 20+ Year Reunion release this year that's knocked me out (see also Crispy Ambulance "Scissorgun"). Buy it!!

Oh, Wire, why do I love thee? Is it your primal energy that makes you smell so sweet? Or your constant search for reinvention? Your taste and restraint?

Yes, fans. Wire is back and as good as ever. Read and Burn 01 is especially good on three levels: 1.) it has a cold and emotionally distant feel like Joy Division. It also feels very mechanical in many ways, like Kraftwerk, although that is rather misleading. I think this works in the albums favor. 2.) it has the electric energy of the best "punk" bands since Wire's first incarnation -- Fugazi, Pixies, McLusky, even Sonic Youth, of whom I am not much of a fan. It's much more forceful and powerful than anything else in their catalog. 3.) Wire, along with the new Fall album and even the new Mission of Burma album, have completely shredded all their imitators to bits and superceded them. Its great to know that bands like these have such incredible staying power and vitality.

Actually, I personally find both Read and Burns more immediately satisfying than anything in their catalogue (while 154 will always be my favorite). Why did they bother with Send? They should have just put the two e.p.'s on one cd and added some extra tracks. Oh well. Read and Burns 01 & 02 are two of the best releases of the new millenium so far.

It's been 25 years since Wire released their seminal debut Pink Flag - 35 minutes of pure mind-numbing adrenaline. Since then, they've gone through interesting permutations of their original sound - catchy abrasive punk gave way to a streamlined, nearly devotional type of new wave dance music, at which point they began deconstructing back towards the basics. On Read + Burn 01 they've arrived. This six track EP is Pink Flag whittled down to its heady essence. Yet this is not a retread, more a re-acquaintance with the thrill of music that inspired them in their 20s. For middle aged men (they're in their 40s) to connect so fully, so passionately with the music of their youth is, right, nostalgia, but at this level of intensity, it's also triumphant. There are plenty of original punks out there (Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols). None of them have equaled their early work. Wire, on the basis of Read + Burn 01, may just surpass it.

Not a flat-out recycling of their vintage late-70s minimalist art-punk phase, but Read & Burn is similar to Wire's masterpiece Pink Flag (1977). It's terse energetic songs are similarly structured, though Wire's sound is heavier and seems deliberately modern (there are a few minor sonic embellishments with modern studio technoglogy).

For Pink Flag cultists like me, it might take repeated listen to acclimate to R&B (it did for me anyway). At first it sounds like jarring, formulaic hard rock, indistinguishable from other artists. But eventually, it dawned on me what Wire is doing here: They're taking fragmented musical elements from from several musical styles (including hardcore, thrash, perhaps even trance and techno) to create a new vision. Each song relies on two or at most three riffs played in a repitious pattern. While it seems monotonous at first, the presentation is so intense and catchy (eventually) it becomes mesmerzing. Even the lyrics seem to convey an interesting combination of typical hard rock themes (anxiety, destruction, etc.). It's also refreshing to see Wire's sense of humor return. On "Comet", perhaps the strongest track, the literal/ironic chorus, "and the chorus goes, b-b-b-b-bang", makes the rollicking, slyly comic music (along with Newman's typically wry delivery) even funnier.

While R&B isn't as visionary as Pink Flag, it is an inventive, energetic release from a revitalized, undeniably relevant band. Wire have managed to produce music more creative and mememorable that most newer rock artists (many of whom were influenced by Pink Flag): An acheivement greater than anyone could've reasonably expected from a group in the third decade of their on-again, off-again career.

There is no more perfect band than Wire. They have done more new records collectively than any other band. They started at the dawn of English Punk. They recorded three great records, Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154. Pink Flag was picked as the second greatest punk record behind The Ramones in some recent survey. Wire went on hiatus in 1980. Solo projects ensued. Some of the weirdest records ever imagined were foisted on a public. Wire (the second leg) returned in 1986 with Snakedrill. They released four more albums as Wire before the drummer left. They continued as WIR at the dawn of punk (the second leg, i.e. Nirvana). Soon a need to do more solo projects evolved. Colin Newman continued on as a techno producer. Bruce Gilbert did more sonic landscapes. Lewis did weird Swedish pop with aggressive lyrics. Robert Gotobed changed his name back to Grey and did some farming. almost ten years past without any collective Wire collaboration.

In 2000, Wire reformed for a third time, and played live shows in Europe and the USA. They played songs from all their albums, including songs from their first three which they had never played in over twenty years. Many people who weren't born when Wire was first formed in 1975 so grew interested. In the past year Wire was invited to play some festivals including All Tomorrow's Parties. Out of this grew the first new material in over a decade. For people wondering about Wire picking up where they left off with Manscape and WIR, the new Read and Burn sounds like the most energetic music that Wire has ever produced. Where a lot of their punk associates have been doing the same thing for years, Wire shocks us again with fresh new songs. These songs sound like the "Chairs Missing" era. "In The Art of Stopping" kicks off the record like a bullet. There's a new sense of production but there's a sense of rock. I am reminded of some obscure Wire songs like "Dot Dash" and "A Question of Degree" but as well the Snakedrill EP. The drum sound on "I Don't Understand" is great and pounding. "Comet" may be one of the fastest Wire songs. It has lyrics "And the chorus goes ba ba ba ba ba bang" which is very funny. "Germ Ship" is probably the most new sounding Wire song. The EP goes from familiar to unfamiliar. "1st Fast" is maybe a sign of good songs to come. Lewis and Newman both sing the last song "The Agfers of Kodack" which is the hardest rocking Wire song here with true Wire Fuzz guitar. This reminds me why I liked Wire in the first place. They are a sonic assault in the land of Ur and Um. This seventeen minute is what we have been waiting for.

(www.freewilliamsburg.com)

Read & Burn is simply an amazing record. Few can say that they can reinvent themselves as the smartest ever left of center arena rock band. Even fewer still can say that they can rock this brilliantly in their life period. [These guys gotta' be pushing their 50's]. Simply stated lyrics, music and concept. Packaging is well executed as an added bonus. Those in the know will be blown away [as usual]. Those choosing to discover WIRE for the first time will be in for a treat. It's a short project...but you really don't feel like you are left hanging. You are, in fact, totally left craving a glimpse into the next installation in the series. Speaking of which...Read and Burn 02 smokes as well! Buy them all as they become available. I agree with one part a previous review of this...it's a close cousin of PINK FLAG...minus the fact that PINK FLAG came out in '77. [the mix destroy's Pink Flag...naturally]. The punk reference seems a little off...but punk is a reletive term. Usually used by those who missed the "Punk" boat by about 15 years. "Art" is more closely related to WIRE, but whatever...it's a great soundtrack to kicking out some ceiling tiles the next time you have a few too many pints. So...sure, WIRE is a smokin' punk band.

Advice for the first listen: The best way to experience this record for the first time...is full blast at every traffic light in your town with all of the windows down. Giving the moronic "boom boom" sissy's something to think about. [Not to mention random citizens deserving of nothing less than a complete liberation from their comfort zones.] Note: This also works with most housing situations...given that there are windows and enough stones in the system to deliver a noise ordinance charge from the local police.

When Wire resurfaced in the late eighties many of their die hard fans I imagine where hoping for a pink flag/chairs missing type lp. Snakedrill the ep sort of fell along those lines but the lp, Ideal Copy was anything but punk(still a good release just the same).

Now much more than a decade later i have just heard read and burn and though its not the sparse raw sound of pink flag its much closer to their early punk sound than the eighties syrupy gloop that followed ideal copy. R&B is solid if simple. I am reminded of early pixies, Chrome and other eighties post punk punks.

Any fans should not be disappointed (as manscape and bell is a cup did for me) but not blown away either.

However in a way this could be considered a concept album as here these guys are considerably over the hill thrashing away. Once again Wire is doing what they are not supposed to be doing.