If you have 01 and 02 then you just have to get 03, even if just to appreciate the color permutations of those lovely minimal graphics!

Anything by Wire is worthy of attention, and this is what they are doing now. Wire were seminal in the 70's and the 80's - both eras currently being heavily plundered in derivative ways. Wire's lack of popular status is possibly due to their restlessness. They always move on just when others are catching them up. In spite of their pedigree for them the past seems more properly consigned to its place than with many contemporary acts.

03, of course is completely different from its predecessors. If 01's bludgeoning noise was a reboot of the initial punk thrash and 02's buzzing intensity (my favorite!) of the post punk with electronica, 03 is supposedly an update of the mellower "beat combo" 80's. Which, while valid, is kind of misleading 'cause the whole point is that this stuff doesn't sound old, it sounds new!

This e.p. has four quite distinct tracks (less than the previous installments but longer). Different people seem to like different ones. Personally I like the first two. The first track is nearly ten minutes long. It has a great bass line (more than just one note this time around!), nice sparse textures, spoken lyrics that could be cringe-worthy but which manage to become highly amusing in their obtuse wit and delivery, and an absurd chorus which compresses the meandering travelogue into a manic pogo. I love the time song; it has a great groove, an amusing conceit, lots of lovely layers of processed noise and one of those drop-ins that really works!

After that it all gets a bit Githead but without the lightness. I love Githead (especially the yellow one!) but the fourth track of this set just seems a bit too ponderous for me. Others think this is the outstanding track, so horses for courses I suppose.

In a way though it doesn't matter with Wire whether or not a particular track falls within your personal "like" zone. Here's a band that acknowledge and seem to be actively reflecting on their work in the past while determinedly pushing into new forms. Successful or not (and I think they mostly are, although this e.p. is more like a set of experiments than a single coherent statement) Wire deserve the attention of anyone interested in the past, present or future of experimental pop.

After having reviewed Object 47, the other R&B's and Send, I feel I should give my ideas on this piece as well. In a way, this short album is less a transition period from Send and Object 47: There's a long period between Send and RB3, so it isn't as though Wire released this to finish off any ideas they still had from RB1-2/Send; also, the tracks on this EP were recorded during the same time of working on Object 47, so it isn't really an introduction to the O47 material, but stands out as its own piece.

The music, as well, is much different from Send: much less aggressive in musical the lyrical content (most of which I find represents time), but it does use the same electronic style presented on that album. RB3 does have some hard hitting moments, but more refined and composed.

It also doesn't resemble O47 much either; I personally think that album sounds more like a Githead album than Wire, not that it's a bad thing really, but Githead just doesn't hit as strong or intelligently as Wire (the O47 tracks to which I'm referring: 'Circumspect', 'Four Long Years', 'Patient Flees', especially). This EP is the last release with B Gilbert in the band, who's always been a major artistic force behind Wire, and the lack of his input in O47 really shows.

23 Years Too Late is an awesome, lengthy, and intelligent track that sums up the rest of the tracks. It's airy verses function well with the narration provided by Graham Lewis's deep and heavy voice. The chorus, which is repeated many a time, uses Send-stylized guitars and percussion with Wire's trademark vocalist, Colin Newman. In my opinion this track is not any short than it should be, and the production qualities are very attentive to every detail, easily one of my all-time favorites.

'Our Time' is another great, somewhat airy, often muscular piece that couldn't be any better.

'No Warning Given' is to me the weakest track in the EP; it's too long, and drags on for a minute longer than it should, and just doesn't hit that airy/muscular contrast that the previous tracks do.

'Desert Diving', a semi-acoustic, down-tempo tracks, sounds the most diverse of all tracks, yet closes the EP perfectly. Like the other tracks, the chorus comes in full force, but it doesn't overdo it by removing the calming nature of the verses.

Since none of these tracks appear on O47, this is a definite necessity for Wire fans, especially for those disappointed in their latest material. It's so strange to compare the perfection of style of RB3 with O47, but hopefully RB4 will be a whole new phase.

As has already been pointed out in reviews of this EP (and by my own review of the last Wire album, Send), the first two Read & Burn EPs, as well as the full-length album, Send, were an extension of Pink Flag. Wire delivered stripped-down and very short tunes, first so successfully achieved on Pink Flag, and took it to new heights with a new "maturity" via the release of the CDs from the early 2000s.

Now comes Read & Burn 03. The big difference here compared to what has gone before is guitarist, Bruce Gilbert, is no longer a member of Wire. Perhaps as they did for their release The First Letter (which did not feature drummer, Robert Grey), the name should have been Wir to indicate the missing band member. This is an excellent CD however, even though it sounds more like a Colin Newman and Edvard Graham Lewis collaboration than true "Wire" material.

The high-point is the first track, 23 Years Too Late, clocking in at nearly 10 minutes. The remaining three tracks are exceptional too and this short EP will find itself in your player quite often.

... The rest of them, that is. In the face of such perfection, how can anybody else possibly believe that they have anything to contribute? OK, this sounds like typical, over-the-top fanboyism but I just can't help it because that is how I view this release. It is simply the best EP of all time. I don't care about genres or anything else [I didn't think this kind of music interested me any more], this is just perfect pop/rock. 23 Years Too Late is apparently almost 10 minutes long - I hadn't noticed just listening because it never drags, never bores. Its like a collision between two solo efforts, one from Lewis, one from Newman. Our Time builds the tempo nicely before cascading into the real stand-out, No Warning Given. After the blistering guitar-pop on show here, Desert Diving seems a little disappointing until it gets to the first chorus. From that point it is totally mesmerising and I find it painfully short. That is a good trick because you just want to listen to the whole thing over again. And again. And again. So you do and it is glorious.

This is a whole new Wire from the one you heard on Send [as you'd expect] but it is still the Wire you know and love, only now they are really hitting their stride.

Just bought the Read & Burn 03 EP at posteverything.com. As a bonus I get to hear all the full tracks, while waiting for Mr. Postman. Sound differs from the former two Read & Burn's that got a lot of punk emotion across, as were it like the first time in '77. (anyone with the live dvd knows how intensive those songs were performed). Good, great stuff.

Comparing '03' to earlier Wire material: The first song '23 years Too Late' is changing gears in tempo between a narrating Lewis and a chorussing(ing) Newman. Gilbert's playing soft guitar-reminders of 'Dot Dash' when the music get's quieter. Great song. 'Our Time' is the one that hasn't convinced me as yet, but the bassline is pulling a chulking Newman along. 'No Warning Given' has a more than interesting production, and is a fantastic track. The harmonous guitar playing is covered in a kind of sparkling wall of sound. 'Desert Driving' starts of as a kind of 'Heartbeat' (of 'Chairs Missing'), but straight away starts to be more melodic through Lewis bassline and a quietly singing Newman. There is a well camouflaged build up in the song. You only notice it after hearing this song over and over. Very subtely done, and it's a grower.

Wire is an institute. For the lucky few, I have to add. There is a new Wire album to follow up. These 03-songs won't be on it, so... new expectations all over again. The next album was recorded over the same period of time as 'Read & Burn 03', whatever that means with chameleons like Wire. We have a new colour of Read & Burn. It's green this time. Ok...change colours, and surprise me again.