Public Image Limited
metal box (2016 super deluxe reissue)
umc
the second pil album gets the deluxe reissue treatment, with extra demos, outtakes, b-sides and session and live cuts.
‘Metal Box’ came out less than a year after PiL’s debut ‘Public Image: First Issue’ yet it was nothing like its predecessor. While outside pressures mounted PiL channeled their energies (negative and positive) into a record that would set them apart back in 1979. Whether it be John’s powerful and passionate vocals; Keith’s wailing guitar and melodic synths; Wobble’s sub-disco reggae basslines; or the crashing rhythm that holds it all together, ‘Metal Box’ has many strengths. The deluxe edition includes rare and unreleased mixes from the recording sessions, along with B-sides and BBC sessions, plus a live recording from a now legendary unplanned show at Factory Records Russell Club in Manchester arranged on the day of a Granada TV appearance.

Tracklist
CD tracklist:
Disc 1:
Remastered album
1. Albatross
2. Memories
3. Swan Lake (Death Disco)
4. Poptones
5. Careering
6. No Birds Do Sing
7. Graveyard
8. The Suit
9. Bad Baby
10. Socialist
11. Chant
12. Radio 4
Disc 2:
B-sides, mixes & radio sessions
1. Death Disco (7” edit)
2. Death Disco 12”
3. Half Mix / Megga Mix (b-side)
4. Death Disco - BBC TV, Top of the Pops July 12.7.72
5. Memories 12”
6. Another (b-side)
7. Poptones - BBCRadio 1, John Peel Sessions 1979
8. Careering - BBC Radio 1, John Peel Sessions 1979
9. Chant - BBC Radio 1, John Peel Sessions 1979
10. Poptones - BBC TV, Old Grey Whistle Test 5/2/80 (audio)
11. Careering - BBC TV, Old Grey Whistle Test 5/2/80 (audio)
12. Pied Piper (rare compilation-only track)
Disc 3:
Unreleased Mixes
1. Poptones (version 3) (unreleased)
2. Swan Lake (monitor mix)
3. Albatross (monitor mix) (alternative mix)
4. Swan Lake (“master”) (alternative mix) (unreleased)
5. Unknown INST Jam 1 (“Chant”) (unreleased)
6. Unknown Jam 2 (“Megachant”) (unreleased)
7. Music from an Oven (aka Memories) (unreleased)
8. Radio 4 (“symphony suite”) (unreleased)
9. Home is Where The Heart is (original mix) (unreleased)
10. Unknown INST 2 (unreleased)
Disc 4:
Live at Manchester, Russell’s Club (The Factory) 18/6/79 (unreleased)
1. Chant
2. Swan Lake (aka Death Disco)
3. Memories
4. Public Image
5. Annalisa
6. No Birds Do Sing
LP tracklist:
LP 1 & 2:
‘Metal Box’ studio album
Disc 1 (side 1):
1. Albatross
2. Memories
(side 2):
3. Swan Lake (Death Disco)
4. Poptones
5. Careering
Disc 2 (side 1):
6. No Birds Do Sing
7. Graveyard
8. The Suit
(side 2):
9. Bad Baby
10. Socialist
11. Chant
12. Radio 4
LP 3:
Live at Manchester, Russell’s Club (The Factory) 18/6/79 (unreleased)
Disc 3 (side 1):
1. Chant
2. Swan Lake (aka Death Disco)
3. Memories
(side 2)
4. Public Image
5. Annalisa
6. No Birds Do Sing
LP 4:
Rare Mixes & BBC Session
Disc 4 (side 1):
1. Swan Lake (monitor mix)
2. Albatross (monitor mix)
(side 2):
3. BBC Radio 1, John Peel Sessions 1979
4. Poptones
5. Careering
6. Chant