Anger Is An Energy: The Unique History of PiL's Generic "Album"

John Lydon of Public Image, Ltd.

Recently, John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, founder of the post-punk outfit, Public Image Ltd., and former frontman of punk pioneers, Sex Pistols, made some statements that were perceived as pro-Trump, and the punk set reacted with shock, horror, and revulsion.  And there I was laughing.  Lydon got precisely  the reaction that he was hoping for.  Has no one paid attention to who this man is?  He wants to be adored by no one.  He wants to be reviled and to be the one person who will provoke you into a strong reaction, always keeping you off-kilter and unbalanced.  He doesn't really like Trump.  But he knows that he will piss off a few "snowflakes" by saying that he does.  That is the nature of true punk.

The Sex Pistols in essence was a boy band put together by music industry as a response to the burgeoning punk movement.  They put out one seminal album with a handful of decent if overrated songs before they imploded.  One might question how Sex Pistols contributed to the lexicon of great music.  I would argue that their contribution was their image.  They represented the punk image and attitude.  Not just in looks, but their very existence represented contempt for authority and a huge middle finger at the music establishment.

So, it's no surprise that John Lydon's very next project was Public Image Ltd. (often stylized as PiL).  I remember in my early teens, at the height of my infatuation with punk, sitting down and listening to PiL's "Paris Au Printemps" for the first time.  I was blown away - not in terms of "Oh wow, this is great!"  But more like, "WTF is this?"  It was sheer avant garde.  Free form. Totally ignoring conventions of how music should be put together.  It was like Stravinsky.  But Lydon and PiL represent the heart of post-punk.

John Lydon in 2017

I have often argued that perhaps the greatest time period for artistic music was arguably between 1978 and 1982, after the punk movement crashed and burned in the UK.  Those who had been a part of that scene were free to experiment and push the boundaries of music as an art form.  Some of the most creative acts came out of this time period - Wire, Television, The Cure, Killing Joke, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and many, many others.  At the heart of this dissociative movement was Lydon, the former poster boy for the punk scene, and his experimental band.

In 1986, PiL released their fifth studio record, and, if you bought it on vinyl, it was generically entitled "Album".  If you bought the tape, it was marked "Cassette", or you could buy "Compact Disc".  Lydon promoted this record by posing with a variety of generic brand products.  It was a brilliant commentary on the state of music in the '80s, and, even though Lydon labeled this collection of songs as generic, it was anything but.

During the summer of 1986, I listed to "Album" quite a bit.  I was sixteen and had a job working on the grounds crew at Central Arizona College.  I spent my time during the blistering triple digit days mowing lawns, smoking weed, and listening to PiL.  This record will always remind me of those days.  It was well received by my set of friends as well.  "Rise" (marketed as "Single") was getting heavy airtime on the local alternative radio station as well.

I recently purchased the record to add it to my collection once again.  In researching, I was very surprised to find the interesting story behind its creation.  The album had some generic packaging, but it deliberately omitted the name of some very famous session musicians that made this project possible.  This was intentional.  Producer Bill Laswell said that they knew that if they published on the liner notes which musicians had worked on the album that the critics would focus in on that instead of the music.  So everyone participated without credit.  And they were okay with it.  It was a big joke.

Lydon had written and thrown together the songs in rough demo form, but he was reluctant to record the album with his touring band.  He knew it would sound too sloppy, so he went into the studio and threw down the tracks with guest musicians.  On drums, there was legendary jazz drummer, Tony Williams, and Ginger Baker of Cream, who was brought out of retirement in Italy to play drums for Lydon.  On keyboards, he used Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto - this one really surprised me.  And on guitars was famed heavy metal legend, Steve Vai.  Vai has gone on to say that the work that he is most proud of is his stint with PiL.

The result is a very tight album, almost cinematic in its scope, something that is absent in all of PiL's previous efforts.  Pounding, pummeling drum beats driving the songs forward with Vai's monster guitar hooks and scintillating licks flitting like butterflies through all the songs.  The neatness of the music is contrasted by Lydon's wavering voice as he sneers and spits the lyrics like venom.  Lydon says that Miles Davis came to the studio to see them record, due to Tony William's association on the record, and Miles commented that Lydon sang like he, Miles, played the trumpet.  Lydon said that it was the best compliment ever paid to him.  There was a half-joke that Lydon should take this lineup and make a full-time band, a supergroup of sorts.  But they only ever talked about it, and it never happened.  Lydon assembled his touring band and went out in support of "Album".

My favorites are the aggressive "FFF" (stands for "Farewell, my fair weather friend") and vomitous shrieking on "Fishing".  "Rise" is, of course, the standard that I never get sick of.  There a driving force behind "Bags", and "Ease" actually has Lydon almost really singing.  This record is truly Lydon's swan song.  I don't know if he will ever match this masterpiece, but I am sure he will find ways to piss us off.  It's what he does.