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As opposed to the axis of throbbing bass and guitar slashings of Metal Box, The Flowers of Romance is centralized on razor-sharp drums and typically haranguing vocals. No dubwise grooves here -- bassist Jah Wobble was kicked out prior to the recording for ripping off PiL backing tracks for his solo material. And growing more disenchanted with the guitar, Keith Levene's infatuation with synthesizers was reaching a boiling point. His scythe-like guitar is truly brought out for only one song. Stark and minimal are taken to daring lengths, so it's no surprise that Virgin initially balked at issuing the heavily percussive record. "Four Enclosed Walls" opens with something of a mechanical death rattle and John Lydon's quavering warble, framed by backwards piano and Martin Atkins' spartan, dry-as-a-bone drumming. His rapier-like drums seem to serve a similar purpose to Levene's guitar on Metal Box. An unsteady drum pattern and fragile, wind chime-like guitar from Levene shape "Track 8," a bleak look at sexual relationships. Lydon adds color with pleasant imagery of Butterball turkeys and elephant graves. "Under the House" and "Francis Massacre" are the most violent tracks due to Atkins' machine gun firing and Levene's chilling atmosperics. Lydon lashes out at zealous fans on the only bottom-heavy tune, "Banging the Door": "The walls are so thin/The neighbors listen in/Keep the noise down." Perhaps the band's most challenging work (in the avant garde sense), it's just as "love it or hate it" as Metal Box; it'll either go down a treat or like a five-pound block of liverwurst. [The UK version adds three bonus tracks: an instrumental version of "The Flowers of Romance," "Another," (essentially "Graveyard" with vocals) and "Home Is Where the Heart Is." The latter two can be found on Plastic Box.]
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Martin Atkins, ComposerLyricist - Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Stephen Jones, ComposerLyricist - Martin Atkins, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Keith Levene, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Glen Matlock, ComposerLyricist - Paul Cook, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Martin Atkins, ComposerLyricist - Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Martin Atkins, ComposerLyricist - Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Stephen Jones, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Glen Matlock, ComposerLyricist - Paul Cook, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - John Wardle, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Jim Walker, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Keith Levene, ComposerLyricist - John Wardle, ComposerLyricist - Richard Nother, ComposerLyricist - Public Image Limited, Producer, MainArtist - John Lydon, ComposerLyricist - Sean Magee, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
(C) 2012 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
Albumbeschreibung
As opposed to the axis of throbbing bass and guitar slashings of Metal Box, The Flowers of Romance is centralized on razor-sharp drums and typically haranguing vocals. No dubwise grooves here -- bassist Jah Wobble was kicked out prior to the recording for ripping off PiL backing tracks for his solo material. And growing more disenchanted with the guitar, Keith Levene's infatuation with synthesizers was reaching a boiling point. His scythe-like guitar is truly brought out for only one song. Stark and minimal are taken to daring lengths, so it's no surprise that Virgin initially balked at issuing the heavily percussive record. "Four Enclosed Walls" opens with something of a mechanical death rattle and John Lydon's quavering warble, framed by backwards piano and Martin Atkins' spartan, dry-as-a-bone drumming. His rapier-like drums seem to serve a similar purpose to Levene's guitar on Metal Box. An unsteady drum pattern and fragile, wind chime-like guitar from Levene shape "Track 8," a bleak look at sexual relationships. Lydon adds color with pleasant imagery of Butterball turkeys and elephant graves. "Under the House" and "Francis Massacre" are the most violent tracks due to Atkins' machine gun firing and Levene's chilling atmosperics. Lydon lashes out at zealous fans on the only bottom-heavy tune, "Banging the Door": "The walls are so thin/The neighbors listen in/Keep the noise down." Perhaps the band's most challenging work (in the avant garde sense), it's just as "love it or hate it" as Metal Box; it'll either go down a treat or like a five-pound block of liverwurst. [The UK version adds three bonus tracks: an instrumental version of "The Flowers of Romance," "Another," (essentially "Graveyard" with vocals) and "Home Is Where the Heart Is." The latter two can be found on Plastic Box.]
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:47:36
- Main artists: Public Image Ltd.
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Virgin Catalogue
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2012 Virgin Records Limited ℗ 2011 Virgin Records Limited
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