While I'm not sure I would really want to do it, had I been asked by Continuum Press to write one of their 33 1/3 mini books about a favorite album, I just might have to choose Wire's third album 154. Partially, this choice would be something of a compromise as I doubt that a book on Nurse With Wound's Homotopie To Marie would make for a saleable product. 154 stands in my mind as the epitome of what post-punk should be: a bold fusion of post-situationist / punk antagonism and legitimately experimental methodologies with an undercurrent of smarty-pop to keep the kids bouncing up and down.

I actually came to Wire somewhat late in my record nerd existance, and I actually grew to admire the band through a reverse history of sorts, as I didn't really start enjoying the first three Wire albums (Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154) until other Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert projects entranced me with thier experiments in proto-electronica. This was especially true for the ghostly post-structuralism found on their Dome records. And those Lewis / Gilbert projects took their genetic code for shadow and gloom from elements of 154. An album that was made under personal duress, 154 drips of disintegration. In fact the band split apart for almost 7 years after the making of 154, pursuing a variety of projects -- traces of which are quite present in this album as Colin Newman's pop sarcasm continued through his solo records and the vast array of Lewis / Gilbert projects.

Recorded in 1979, 154 marks the band's third radical reinvention in three years. Wire's pacing has slowed to a lugubrious, Factory-esque crawl but lost none of their punk antagonism. The slower pacing better suited the baritone vocals of Graham Lewis, who had penned many of the lyrics that Colin Newman sang. In lesser hands, the patchwork of forboding atmospheric dirges and punchy power pop numbers would appear disjointed; but Wire's deft use of synthetic coloring, exquisite timing, and simply great songwriting smear the whole album into a wholly convincing masterpiece. "I Should Have Known Better" and "A Touching Display" represent a few of Graham Lewis' baritone marches through plodding drone and heavy basslines, which have more in common with the late '80s, proto-doom of Swans than of the snarl of the Buzzcocks. Newman's pop brilliance also shines on 154 through "The 15th," which sadly more people recognize from the tepid Fischerspooner cover than by this punk-pop gem. Of the first three Wire albums, 154 proudly stands as the most challenging and most rewarding.

According to AllMusic.com regarding the extra tracks: "The original 1989 CD issue by Restless Retro features four bonus tracks from an experimental EP issued with some copies of the vinyl LP." I don't know why Amazon lists these tracks on the remastered CD, they're not there.

I was blessed to grow up in Oz during this period of great musical evolution. The Saints and Radio Birdman charged the senses in the mid-70's to aspire you to listen to 'great music'. Both bands first three albums fit into this category of 'great'. Not one bad song amongst a plethora of power and energy. Such joy!

Very few bands of any era can boast of such. WIRE is one. An amazing array and combination of sounds and words that evolve over the first three albums that can only be classified as 'GREAT'. Of all three albums, which I bought when they were first released, '154' is in my top 5 albums of all time. Knowing and loving the transition through all three WIRE albums, '154' came as the biggest surprise on first listening. It is a wonderous collaboration between four talented musicians who pushed all the boundaries to produce something so unique that it demanded unlimited listenings to try and work out all the nuances that made this so audio-addictive. The moods, the themes, the riffs, the sound effects, the singing.....the every part of it is wonderous and rare. Open your heart and your mind, play it at all different volumes and times, only then will you realise that it deserves a place in your collection.

This has to be the first truly great Wire cd, certainly the best

one in their first incarnation. 154 is filled with all the nihilistic, murky, schizophrenic variety that made it their finest achievement. 154 takes a few steps further from Chairs Missing and makes no apologies for where it takes the listener.In a nutshell, 154 takes one to a dreamy, crazy place with many questions and no answers. A place of musical paranoia and lyrical madness. Right from the start, 154 lures the listener into a wonderous, surrealistic soundscape. Even if there are a few cuts that hark back to Pink Flag (On Returning, Two People In a Room) and Chairs(Mutual Friend), the rest is the next step in Wire's intriguing evolution. Maybe some would place "The 15th" and Single KO" as also Chairs-influenced, but I would say that those two are murkier, and less accessible than "Outdoor Miner".

With that said, the rest ventures into unprecedented instru-mentation and novel melodies. Frontman, Colin Newman, shines on "Indirect Inquiries" and "Forty Versions" as well as on "The 15th", my favorite by the way. The meshing of schizophrenic lyrics with twisted guitar licks, bass, and flexible drumming, speaks volumes. Right hand, Graham Lewis, steps forth and takes center on some cuts (Touching Display, Other Window). The album opener, "I Should've Known Better", begins with Lewis singing and not Newman, another indicator that things were really changing.

154 is rather hard to categorize, like the band itself, aside from declaring it post-punk. Basically, it is a surreal blend of Pink Floyd, The Clash, and The Cure. It is an integral piece in the post-punk catalogue. And amazingly, not surprisingly, the cd is still influential and referenced to this day.

I've been a big fan of Wire ever since I heard their first album, PINK FLAG. Beginning (more or less) as a group of visual artists wanting to expand into music, embracing the (at the time adventurous) punk sensibility and approach to their new medium, Wire (Colin Newman, Bruce Gilbert, Graham Lewis and Robert Gotobed) have -- as true artists -- never been afraid to allow their art to develop. From album to album, the listener can easily hear the progression made by this group. As they became more and more competent on their chosen instruments, taking them (and all of their aspects and possibilities) into their hands as tools, much like an artist might work with different brushes or methods of applying paint, they have always been true to their own vision, never sacrificing it for the sake of commericial appeal.

That being said, there are examples on almost every recording they've made of songs that 'could have been' hits. The most notable example on 154 is 'Map ref. 41N 93W' -- combining a truly 'catchy', hummable melody with intelligent (but not obscure) lyrics, in a 'radio-friendly' length, I think this song is one of the best singles ever released by a 'non-commercial' band. The wordplay in this song -- as in so many of their works -- is stunning.

Most of the songs on 154 are short -- with the exception of 'A touching display', there's nothing here over 4'30". Each one is a mini-masterpiece, displaying many different styles of sound sculpting. The band plays most of the instruments themselves (coaxing some amazing sounds from the standard guitar/bass/drums format), with some synth added by Mike Thorne (their producer), and occasional contributions on voice, flute, viola and cor anglais from four other guests. None of the 'outside' instrumental additions compromise the 'group' effort of the band, however -- this is Wire's creation, from start to finish.

The band's lyrics are always intelligent and literate -- as in the above-mentioned 'Map ref.', stimulating wordplay abounds, and images and emotions are brilliantly conveyed.

I was listening to this cd in my car yesterday with my (nearly) 16 year-old daughter, whose tastes are of course more contemporarily oriented -- she was impressed with it. I think it's something that will continue to stand the test of time -- art is, after all, timeless. I would easily rank this among my 'top ten favorite rock albums of all time'.