First Issue cover

First Issue

Released

The energy here is unbridled, and the lack of control has aged pretty well. Jim Walker’s drumming only shows up on this one album, and it’s well powerful. Less known than the follow-up, Metal Box/Second Edition, this is where the ideas all run into each other. Jah Wobble puts his bass further into the mix than any other rock, and Keith Levene used all the same distortion and chorus as anyone hired to play in Banshees, with much less intention or stability. “Public Image” was more or less the template for U2, except with a singer who wanted to reject anyone who might love him.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Intensity Ghost cover

Intensity Ghost

Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band
Activities cover

Activities

Anna Butterss
Caifanes cover

Caifanes

Caifanes
Lux cover

Lux

Brian Eno
Solar Motel cover

Solar Motel

Chris Forsyth
New Long Leg cover

New Long Leg

Dry Cleaning
Theory Of Becoming cover

Theory Of Becoming

Evgueni Galperine
Ecstatic Computation cover

Ecstatic Computation

Caterina Barbieri
Mirror Moves cover

Mirror Moves

The Psychedelic Furs