Pink Flag | ||||
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Studio album by Wire | ||||
Released | December 1977 | |||
Recorded | Advision Studios, September & October 1977 | |||
Genre | Punk rock Post-punk[1][2][3] |
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Length | 35:37 (original album and 2006 re-issue) 39:31 (1994 re-issue) |
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Label | Harvest/EMI 11757, Pinkflag Restless Records (1989 reissue) 4 Men With Beards (2006 vinyl reissue) |
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Producer | Mike Thorne | |||
Wire chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Pitchfork Media | (10.0/10)[3] |
Robert Christgau | (A)[4] |
Pink Flag is the first album by the band Wire, released in 1977. Upon its release, Robert Christgau called it a "punk suite" and praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment" and detected a rock-and-roll irony similar to but "much grimmer and more frightening" than the Ramones.[4] Trouser Press called it "a brilliant 21-song suite" in which the band "manipulated classic rock song structure by condensing them into brief, intense explosions of attitude and energy, coming up with a collection of unforgettable tunes".[5] Although the album was released to critical acclaim,[6] it was not a big seller. Today the album is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest albums of all time.[7][8][9][10][11] Music journalist, Stuart Maconie, described it as "by the standards of the time it was extraordinary. But I now realise that by the standards of any time, it's extraordinary".[12] The album was listed at number 410 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.[13]
The sleeve concept is credited to B.C. Gilbert and Graham Lewis. The cover is a photo by Annette Green of a flagless flagpole with the pink flag painted on.
Contents |
The album's wide-ranging influence is exemplified in the number of bands that have covered songs from it. R.E.M. reworked "Strange" on their 1987 album Document. Henry Rollins (as Henrietta Collins & The Wife-Beating Child Haters) covered "Ex-Lion Tamer" on the 1987 album Drive By Shooting. Other notable covers include Minor Threat's version of "12XU" on the 1982 Dischord compilation Flex Your Head, Die Kreuzen's cover of the title track on a 7" single in 1990, and fIREHOSE's version of "Mannequin," which appeared on its Live Totem Pole EP in 1992. Elastica also used a riff similar to that of "Three Girl Rhumba" for their song "Connection". The New Bomb Turks covered "Mr. Suit" on their 1993 album Destroy Oh Boy! and noticeably slowed it down. The Amherst, Massachusetts, hardcore band Ampere also cover "Mr. Suit". It can be heard on their split LP with Das Oath. "Reuters" was covered by Therapy? as a b-side to their Troublegum album. The Minutemen took influence from this album, especially their idea of short songs. The Lemonheads covered "Fragile" on their 2009 album Varshons. Moneybrother covered "Mannequin" on his 2006 album Pengabrorsan (the lyrics and title were translated into Swedish).
All songs written by Bruce Gilbert, Graham Lewis, Colin Newman and Robert Gotobed, except as indicated.
The bonus tracks were removed from the 2006 remastered reissues, because, according to the band, they didn't honour the "conceptual clarity of the original statements".[14]
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