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WIRE On The Box: 1979

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Wire

 
WIRE On The Box: 1979
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A rare live snapshot of a band forever in motion

  • We Say...

    Review by Douglas Wolk

    Despite their habit of extensive touring — their third album, 154, was named after the number of gigs they'd played in their brief existence — Wire's early records leaned very heavily on producer Mike Thorne's studio expertise and on arrangements that had little to do with the way they played their songs on stage. So this hour-long live performance from Valentine's Day, 1979, recorded for the German TV show Rockpalast and repeatedly bootlegged over the years, is a valuable addition to the band's discography.

    In the late '70s, Wire's music was evolving so quickly that their albums couldn't capture every stylistic shift they made — only Pink Flag remains in the set here from their first album, and they're already playing eight songs from the not-yet-recorded 154. Without the keyboards and unsettling treatments of Thorne's production, some of their songs sound radically different, especially "Former Airline," a wobbling loop in its studio incarnation and a three-chord blitzkrieg here. The non-album single "A Question of Degree" hews closely to its roots in garage-rock (its title's similarity to the Balloon Farm's garage classic "A Question of Temperature" isn't accidental). It's also clear how dramatically different the four musicians' aesthetics were: Colin Newman is the headlong punk rocker (he rockets through the show's opening number, "Another the Letter," in barely a minute, so fast that the audience takes a few seconds to react after it's ended), bassist Graham Lewis is his looming pop counter-force (crooning "Blessed State" as insouciantly as he can manage), Bruce Gilbert lobs in textural blurts of guitar as if they were grenades, and Robert Gotobed, as always, drums with a minimal, metronomic array of ticks and cracks. The band would fall apart for the first time barely a year later, but the internal stresses audible here are what kept them in motion.

  • They Say...

    Review by Wilson Neate, All Music Guide

    Although it's not hard to find footage of performances by many British punk bands in their prime, late-'70s live footage of Wire has rarely been seen. In fact, until On the Box: 1979, there have been no official video or DVD releases of the group in concert during its highly creative first phase (1977-1979). The only substantial evidence of the band live around this time was the often-unlistenable album Document and Eyewitness, which chronicled a challenging and chaotic 1980 gig. On the Box, a 1979 in-studio performance filmed for German TV's Rockpalast, eases any lingering traumatic memories of Document and Eyewitness. The band is energetic and dynamic, unfazed by an apathetic, uncomfortable audience resembling a librarians' convention. Menacing and manic, guitarist/vocalist Colin Newman leads the charge through a set largely comprising tracks from Chairs Missing and the then-yet-to-be-released 154. Wire is at its most intense on the 56-second opener "Another the Letter," the harsh "Mercy" and the frantic 45 seconds of "Former Airline." More expansive tracks like "A Touching Display" and "Blessed State," to which bassist Graham Lewis lends deep, foreboding lead vocals, are equally compelling. While Lewis and Newman are the focus of attention, in the background, anti-guitarist Bruce Gilbert produces all manner of audio detritus, and minimalist drummer Robert Grey (at the time known as Robert Gotobed) lays down his signature metronomic beats. Indeed, one of the pleasures of this DVD is the up-close view it provides of Wire's quieter pair, underscoring their unique contributions. On the Box catches Wire at the height of its powers and this material still sounds remarkably fresh, especially compared with the work of many other bands from the period. (This DVD also includes a 20-minute interview and comes with a CD featuring just the audio track.)

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