Public Image Ltd. - Second Edition

Among its many virtues, the second album by John Lydon's post-Sex Pistols group has the most brain-devouring bass sound ever, courtesy of Jah Wobble, whose dubby throb overpowers Lydon's drugged-out wail and Keith Levene's spidery, modal guitar lines. Lydon's words and singing evoke unending horror--they're the voice of a man in hell who can barely understand what's happening to him--and the songs here cycle through a few notes over and over until they're abruptly cut off. "This person's had enough of useless memories," he moans, and Second Edition isn't just a repudiation of rock's chords and catharsis, but a despairing attempt to forget. --Douglas Wolk Amazon.com

Fantastic collaboration!

These musicians meshed perfectly on this album to make the most abstract and intriguing albums ever made. You always hear about Jah Wobble's dub bass but I think the genius on this album is Keith Levene. His guitar and synthesizer work broke new ground, it accented and flowed around Wobble's bass perfectly. He was the glue that held the sound together and created the dark moody and scary feeling of the songs that blended perfectly with John's vocals. I just wish he would of collaborated with other musicians after parting PIL since he is a great talent. Levene did come out with a new album lately "Killer in the Crowd" but it was a very short one. May 6, 2008

US Second Edition Vs. UK Metal Box

UK MEtal Box has been remastered, whereas, US Second Edition has NOT been remastered, all the songs are 1-2 seconds longer than US Second Edition versions. Surprisingly, these longer seconds seem to be apparent in the UK songs intros: jangles, noises, and voices.

Song order: Socialist and No Birds are reversed.

Overall, the UK Metal Box is punchier, and more musical sounding. If you are a US Second Edition fan I think you will enjoy Metal Boxes' nuances. July 17, 2007

Killer album...but CD sound does "second edition" serious injustice

Amazing record, no doubt. One problem here though. Put simply, don't buy this album on CD, if you can help it. Get the Vinyl format instead. CD's can't even begin to handle the complexity of the sound on this album, not to mention absolutly the deeeepest bass grooves EVER laid on track. "Second Edition" was recently reissued on Vinyl in a round metal canister with 3 vinyl records (that's how it was originally released in '80). And by the way, the album also goes by "Metal Box" hence the round film canister. Get the vinyl "Metal Box", that is if you value quality, you'll thank me. February 2, 2007

One of the very best post punk albums..

There is nothing I could say about this album that hasn't been said before. An amazing, influential post-punk album, this is the first PIL CD I ever owned. Weaving together cool guitar lines, loud dub bass, and awesome steady drumming(Martin Atkins of Pigface, Ministry, Killing Joke, etc), along with the offbeat vocals of none other than Johnny Rotten, former front man for the Sex Pistols. Even though it is the same singer, the vocals in the two bands sound completely different, in PIL it is more of a spoken word type of singing.
My lasting impressions, as far as comparisons go, would be a nice mixture of mostly Joy Division(bleak side), with a little bit of Talking Heads(upbeat side). Don't be put off by the first song, it is the only one that ventures into the 10 minute mark, and beside, it is a great intro to the CD. After hearing 'Memories' and 'Careering', it is very obvious where Luke Jenner and the Rapture got their musical influences from. From a different musical point of view, the song 'Poptones' reminds me of Fugazi every time I hear it, very cool. There is only one song that I dislike a little bit, and it is 'Chant' (probably too much chanting). After that is the closing song, 'Radio 4', (another modern day post punk band you may have heard of). This song is nothing like the rest on the CD, it is a beautiful sounding instrumental, reminds me of something you would have heard on Radioheads' "Kid A" album. If you could imagine hearing Joy Division with more instrumentation, or if you just enjoy post punk in general, I would recommend checking this out 'cause it rocks. January 12, 2007

Classic

Thank you Johnny Lyndon aka Rotten for you love of music. I know you did the Sex Pistols for the sake of money, i know Can and Neu are much better than Malcom McLaren or Sid Vicious! And thank you for presenting me this crazy virtuoso renamed Jah Wobble - what a a f***** bass player! What music! Buy this and put them next to your Can - Neu - Funkadelic/Parliament - A Certain Ratio - Liquid Liquid - ESG records. It's where mine is. September 21, 2006

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