154 (album)

154
Studio album by Wire
Released September 1979 (1979-09)
Recorded 1979 (1979) Advision Studios, West London, England, United Kingdom
Genre Post-punk, experimental rock
Length 44:41
Label Harvest
Producer Mike Thorne
Wire studio album chronology
Chairs Missing
(1978)		 154
(1979)		 The Ideal Copy
(1987)
Singles from 154
  1. "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W"
    Released: 26 October 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
Pitchfork Media9.1/10[3]
Q[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Smash Hits7½/10[6]
Uncut[7]
The Village VoiceB[8]

154 is the third album by the English post-punk band Wire, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music) on EMI imprint Harvest Records in the UK and Europe and Warner Bros. Records in America. 154 peaked at number 39 in the UK albums chart, the highest position the band has achieved.[9] It was first issued on CD in 1987 by EMI Japan and later reissued by Restless Records in 1989. First editions of the vinyl album were accompanied by an EP, the tracks from which are included on the Harvest CD, issued in 1994, along with an additional bonus track. The new remastered release, released by Pinkflag as digipacks in 2006, does not contain any extra tracks, because, according to the band, such additions dishonour the "conceptual clarity of the original statements."[10] The album is so named because the band had played 154 gigs in their career at the time of the album's release. Pitchfork Media listed 154 as 85th best album of the 1970s.[11]

Track listing

Side One
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "I Should Have Known Better"  Graham Lewis 3:52
2. "Two People in a Room"  Colin Newman, Bruce Gilbert 2:00
3. "The 15th"  Newman 3:05
4. "The Other Window"  Lewis, Gilbert 2:07
5. "Single K.O."  Lewis 2:23
6. "A Touching Display"  Lewis 6:55
7. "On Returning"  Newman 2:06
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
8. "A Mutual Friend"  Lewis, Newman 4:28
9. "Blessed State"  Gilbert 3:28
10. "Once Is Enough"  Newman 3:23
11. "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W"  Lewis, Newman, Gilbert 3:40
12. "Indirect Enquiries"  Lewis, Newman 3:36
13. "40 Versions"  Gilbert 3:28

Tracks 19–24 are demo versions that have also appeared on compilations such as Behind the Curtain and After Midnight.

Personnel

Wire
Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve. "154 – Wire". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  2. ↑ Simpson, Dave (3 March 2006). "Wire, 154". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  3. ↑ Tangari, Joe (5 May 2006). "Wire: Pink Flag / Chairs Missing / 154". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Wire: 154". Q (96): 131. September 1994.
  5. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 883–84. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  6. ↑ Starr, Red (18–31 October 1979). "Wire: 154". Smash Hits: 29.
  7. ↑ "Wire: 154". Uncut (106): 106. March 2006.
  8. ↑ Christgau, Robert (25 February 1980). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Wire (Albums)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  10. ↑ http://posteverything.com/news/article.php?id=13620
  11. ↑ Pitchfork staff (23 June 2004). "Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 August 2013.

External links

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