Public Image Ltd “First Issue”

(Light in the Attic) I could be wrong, but I don’t think PIL’s debut was released in the US, or if it was, something went wrong with distro, because I never saw a non-import copy, and I saw lotsa “Metal Box”s. Even if it was, this version, with a bonus of their first single (a repro of the sleeve and all) is certainly new to these shores, and well worth the wait. Forget what came to be known as post-punk, this in many ways was thekey post-punk release, as Mr. Punk Rock was done with punk, made clear with a musical declaration that dubby, noisy, atmosheric, ambitious art rock was where it was at. And though these forays into dance clubs and anti-religious poetry night at the pub contain more pretension than a Silver Jubilee’s worth of Sex Pistols singles, they also seem more thrilling and challenging. Their only “hit” off the album (ahe band’s theme song…something I endorse wholeheartedly for all bands) may be the most familiar thing here, but even that sounds fresh in the context of this nice packaging. There’s also a lengthy archivsl interview, but I can only take about five minutes of Johnny Lydon talking.