<D.DaggerPresents>

Wire formed during the initial punk explosion of 1977. But unlike the Clash or the Buzzcocks, Wire separated themselves from the lot with odd song structures and art school aesthetics. Few bands have progressed musically in just 3 records than Wire. Their first LP, Pink Flag, was for the most part straight ahead punk rock with a few Pop gems in the mix. Most will recognize the song “1 2 X U” due to the fact that countless punk bands have covered it including Minor Threat. But songs like “Mannequin” and “Ex Lion Tamer” showed that Wire had Pop sensibilities in addition to their art-punk abrasiveness.

Then in 1978 they released Chairs Missing. This was an album that would further push Wire into new and strange Prog territories, but still keeping a connection with the punk rock of Pink Flag. Listening to Chairs Missing is like foreplay. There are a lot of good songs that keep your attention, but you continue to listen for the Pop climaxes like “Outdoor Miner” and “I Am the Fly”. In fact, “Outdoor Miner” almost became Wire’s first hit single, but a payola scandal with their label (EMI) prevented this from occurring. Just when you thought Wire had pushed the boundaries of punk to the breaking point, they released an album that would reveal that punk’s “boundaries” are only in the minds of the musicians and the listeners.

1979 saw the release of 154, just three short years after their debut Pink Flag. In this limited amount of time Wire had progressed more than most bands do in 20 years. They took the abstract art punk of Chairs Missing and took it to the next level. 154 was in deed incredibly Prog and way ahead of the curve. The record was very dark in a Joy Division/ Bauhaus kind of way, but there were still some moments of Pop satisfaction. Some might recognize Wire’s “The 15th “ because Fischerspooner covered it on their debut record #1. This song was Depeche Mode before Depeche Mode with regards to the darkwave synth atmospherics.

After all the musical ground gained with Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154, Wire disappeared for 5 years after a dispute with EMI. They reemerged in the late 80’s sounding more electronic than punk and nowhere near the creative level of their first 3 records. I hear their latest record isn’t too bad though. So listen to these MP3’s in order to get a taste of true musical ambition, then buy the records to get the full dose. You will not be disappointed.

www.pinkflag.com

NOTE: I'm using Rapid Share for the downloads. When you click the MP3's a separate page will open. Scroll down and click free download. Another page will open, so scroll down and be patient (you may need to wait a few seconds before you can download).