Chairs Missing

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Chairs Missing
Studio album by Wire
Released August 1978
Recorded 1978
Genre Post-punk
Length 42:27
Label Harvest
Producer Mike Thorne
Wire chronology

Pink Flag
(1977)		 Chairs Missing
(1978)		 154
(1979)
Singles from Chairs Missing
  1. "I Am the Fly"
    Released: 1978
  2. "Outdoor Miner"
    Released: 1979
  3. "A Question of Degree"
    Released: 1979

Chairs Missing is the second studio album by English rock band Wire. It was released in August 1978. The album peaked at N°48 in the Uk albums chart.[1]

Although it features some of the minimalist punk rock of the band's debut Pink Flag, it features more developed song structure (taking some cues from '70s prog-rock, psychedelia, and art rock), keyboard and synthesizer elements brought in by producer Mike Thorne, and a broader palette of emotional and intellectual subject matter. The title is said to be a British slang term for a mildly disturbed person, as in "that guy has a few chairs missing in his front room".[2] The single "Outdoor Miner" was a minor hit, peaking at number 51 in the UK singles chart.[3]

In 2004 the US record label Words-on-Music released A Houseguest's Wish, a CD tribute album to the band consisting solely of 19 different versions of the Chairs Missing track "Outdoor Miner".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com [4]
Allmusic [5]
BBC Music (favourable)[6]
Pitchfork Media 10/10[7]
Prefix 9/10[8]
Sputnikmusic [9]

In their retrospective review, Allmusic gave the album five stars out of five and wrote "The arty darkness of Chairs Missing, combined with the often icy-sounding synth/guitar arrangements, helps make the record a crucial landmark in the evolution of punk into post-punk and goth, as well as a testament to Wire's rapid development and inventiveness."[5] BBC Music called the album a "glorious avant-pop coup" and (referring to the 2006 edition of the album) "the most satisfying of the three reissues [the others being Pink Flag and 154]."[6]

Pitchfork Media listed Chairs Missing as 33rd best album of the 1970s.[10]

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Practice Makes Perfect"  Bruce Gilbert, Colin Newman 4:11
2. "French Film Blurred"  Graham Lewis, Newman 2:34
3. "Another the Letter"  Gilbert, Newman 1:07
4. "Men 2nd"  Lewis 1:43
5. "Marooned"  Gilbert, Lewis, Newman 2:21
6. "Sand in My Joints"  Lewis 1:50
7. "Being Sucked in Again"  Newman 3:14
8. "Heartbeat"  Newman 3:16
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
9. "Mercy"  Lewis, Newman 5:46
10. "Outdoor Miner"  Lewis, Newman 1:44
11. "I Am the Fly"  Lewis, Newman 3:09
12. "I Feel Mysterious Today"  Lewis, Newman 1:57
13. "From the Nursery"  Lewis, Newman 2:58
14. "Used To"  Gilbert, Lewis 2:23
15. "Too Late"  Gilbert 4:14

*The bonus tracks on the 1989 and 1994 reissues were removed from the 2006 remastered reissue because they, according to the band, didn't honour the "conceptual clarity of the original statements".[11]

Personnel

Wire
Additional personnel
  • Kathyrn Lukas – flute on "Heartbeat"
  • Mike Thorne – keyboards, synthesizers
Production
  • Denis Blackham – arrangement
  • Chris Blair – cutting engineering
  • Tim Chacksfield – project co-ordination
  • Andrew Day – reissue design
  • Bruce Gilbert – arrangement, concept
  • Robert Gotobed – arrangement
  • Annette Green – photography
  • Paul Hardiman – engineering
  • Graham Lewis – arrangement, concept, original sleeve design
  • Colin Newman – arrangement
  • Brian Palmer – art direction
  • Phil Smee – packaging
  • Ken Thomas – assistant engineering
  • Mike Thorne – arrangement, production

References

  1. ↑ "Wire (Albums)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 August 2013. 
  2. ↑ "Wire". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Wire (Singles)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 August 2013. 
  4. ↑ Carew, Anthony. "Definitive Albums: Wire Chairs Missing (1978)". About.com. Retrieved 30 August 2013. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Huey, Steve. "Chairs Missing – Wire". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Smith, Sid (20 November 2002). "Wire Pink Flag/Chairs Missing/154 Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  7. ↑ Tangari, Joe (5 May 2006). "Wire". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  8. ↑ Pollock, Michael (5 March 2008). "Review". Prefix. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  9. ↑ DariusBlue (19 December 2007). "Wire. Chairs Missing". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 30 August 2013. 
  10. ↑ Pitchfork staff (23 June 2004). "Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 January 2013. 
  11. ↑ Villeneuve, Phil (11 April 2006). "Wire Reissuing First Three LPs and Early Live Recordings". ChartAttack. Retrieved 30 August 2013. 

External links

Wire
Studio albums
Live albums
  • Document and Eyewitness
  • It's All in the Brochure
  • Wire on the Box: 1979
  • The Scottish Play: 2004
  • Live at the Roxy, London - April 1st & 2nd 1977/Live at CBGB Theatre, New York - July 18th 1978
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 25 Oct 1978 Bradford University
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 21 Jul 1988 Astoria, London
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 08 Dec 2000 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 14 Sept 2002 Metro, Chicago
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 10 Nov 1979 Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, London
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 01 Dec 1987 The Town & Country, London
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 19 April 2002 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 12 Nov 1978, SO36, Berlin
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 17 Dec 1985 Paradiso, Amsterdam
  • Legal Bootleg Series: 02 May 2000 Great American, San Francisco
  • The Black Session: Paris, 10 May 2011
Compilation albums
EPs
Related articles
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