Wilson Neate

If you love the album, you'll enjoy the book. I have a much deeper appreciation for what Wire intended and achieved with this landmark album. Wilson Neate deftly ties together contemporary interviews with the band, the engineer who recorded the album, and many of their contemporaries and peers to present the story of the album's creation, interpretation, and lasting influence. The whole book was quite good, but of special interest is the song-by-song breakdown of the album that shares the inspiration of each song, some background on its recording, and other tidbits. The book is worth the modest price for this section alone, but the whole book is illuminating if one is fond of the band and this first album of theirs. It chronicles their early history and the circumstances that gave rise to their 1977 recording and release of Pink Flag. I only wish it had been possible to include the full lyrics for the songs. The lyrics that are quoted are helpful as a guide to some of the more difficult-to-decipher portions, and the author gives ample consideration of Wire's lyrics as an integral part of their music. This is such a well-considered guide, however, that I found myself wanting to have all the lyrics in front of me at a glance.… (more)