Metal Box

Last updated

Metal Box
PIL - Metal Box original.jpg
Original metal canister packaging released in 1979.
Studio album by
Released23 November 1979 (1979-11-23)
RecordedMarch – October 1979
Studio
Genre
Length60:29
Label Virgin
Producer Public Image Ltd
Public Image Ltd chronology
Public Image: First Issue
(1978)
Metal Box
(1979)
Paris au Printemps
(1980)
Second Edition cover
PiLSecondEdition.jpg
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Albatross"10:34
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Memories"5:05
2."Swan Lake"4:11
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Poptones"7:46
2."Careering"4:32
Side D
No.TitleLength
1."No Birds"4:41
2."Graveyard"3:07
Side E
No.TitleLength
1."The Suit"3:29
2."Bad Baby"4:30
Side F
No.TitleLength
1."Socialist/Chant/Radio 4"12:34

Second Edition

Second Edition fits the album onto four 33rpm sides and features a slightly different song order ("Socialist/Chant/Radio 4" is split into its component parts, with "Socialist" and "No Birds" swapping places). [42]

Side One
No.TitleLength
1."Albatross"10:34
2."Memories"5:05
Side Two
No.TitleLength
1."Swan Lake"4:11
2."Poptones"7:46
3."Careering"4:32
Side Three
No.TitleLength
1."Socialist"3:09
2."Graveyard"3:07
3."The Suit"3:29
Side Four
No.TitleLength
1."Bad Baby"4:30
2."No Birds"4:41
3."Chant"5:01
4."Radio 4"4:24

Personnel

Public Image Limited

Note: Levene played all instruments on "Radio 4".

Technical

Charts

Metal Box

Chart (1979-80)Peak
position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [44] 21
UK Albums (OCC) [45] 18
US Billboard 200 [46] 171

Second Edition

Chart (1980)Peak
position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [47] 28
UK Albums (OCC) [48] 46

References

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  2. Ham, Robert (13 July 2016). "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums". Paste . Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  3. Reynolds, Simon (2006). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 . London: Faber and Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-21570-6.
  4. 1 2 3 Christgau, Robert (28 April 1980). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  5. "NME Reviews: Plastic Box". NME. 11 January 1999. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  6. "Record News". NME . London, England: IPC Media: 4. 10 November 1979.
  7. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  8. Keith Levene: His Metal Box, By Paul Barrel, 2013-11-04, Innocent Words
  9. Murphy, Scott (January 2004). "Fodderstompf - PiL Interviews - John Lydon interview" . Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Gross, Jason (May 2001). "Keith Levene interview - Part 2 of 4" . Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  11. 1 2 Clinton Heylin: "Babylon's Burning – From Punk to Grunge", Canongate 2007, page 466
  12. Jack Barron: "I Cry Alone", New Musical Express , printed 10 October 1987
  13. 1 2 Simon Reynolds: "Albatross Soup", printed in The Wire , December 2002
  14. 1 2 John Lydon's liner notes in Public Image Ltd.'s Plastic Box compilation, Virgin Records, 1999)
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Jah Wobble: Memoirs of a Geezer ( Serpent's Tail , 2009, pages 108–109)
  16. 1 2 3 Simon Reynolds: "Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews", Soft Skull Press, 2009, page 20
  17. Peter Noble: "Jah Wobble of PIL", Impulse magazine, Toronto, May 1980)
  18. Gross, Jason (September 2001). "Keith Levene interview - Part 4 of 4" . Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  19. Alfred Hilsberg: "Public Image Ltd. – Wir sind keine Rock 'n' Roll Band!", Sounds magazine, Germany, April 1980
  20. Fortnam, Ian: "Behind the Public Image"; Classic Rock #148, August 2010, p61
  21. Metal Box Stories from John Lydon's Public Image Limited, book by Phil Strongman, published by Helter Skelter, ISBN   978-1-900924-66-5
  22. Reynolds, Simon: "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984", page 216. Penguin Press, 2005.
  23. Marcus, Greil (29 May 1980). "PiL box". Rolling Stone . No. 318. Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. p. 53.
  24. "PiL Chronology 1980". Fodderstompf. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  25. Gilbert, Pat (November 2016). "The sound and the fury". Mojo . No. 276. p. 100.
  26. Cameron, Keith (7 September 1996). "Public Image Ltd – Metal Box". NME . Archived from the original on 15 October 2000. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  27. Reynolds, Simon (1 November 2016). "Public Image Ltd: Metal Box". Pitchfork . Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  28. Doherty, Niall (December 2016). "PiL: Metal Box". Q . No. 366. p. 117.
  29. Sheffield, Rob (15 November 2006). "Metal Box". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  30. Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Public Image Ltd.". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  662–63. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  31. Reynolds, Simon (1995). "Public Image Ltd.". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 315–16. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  32. Spencer, Neil (8 February 2010). "PiL – Metal Box/Plastic Box". Uncut . Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  33. Ward, Mark (8 December 2009). "Album Review: Public Image Ltd – Metal Box (Remastered)". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  34. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  35. Palmer 1980.
  36. "Rolling Stone 500 Best Albums Entry". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  37. "Public Image Ltd., 'Second Edition' - 100 Best Albums of the Eighties". rollingstone.com . 16 November 1989. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  38. "Pitchfork Feature: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork.com. 20 November 2002. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  39. 1001 albums you must hear before you die (2008 edition) Dimery, Robert page 442
  40. "The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever". Rolling Stone. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  41. "Original Release + Credits". Discogs.com. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  42. "second edition tracklisting". Discogs.com. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  43. "Humphrey Blue Drums". Archived from the original on 30 April 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2007. David Humphrey
  44. "Charts.nz – Public Image – Metal Box". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  45. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  46. "Public Image Ltd Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  47. "Charts.nz – Public Image – Second Edition.". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  48. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.

Sources

Further reading