Track Listing
1. 40 Versions - Godflesh
2. Mannequin - Lush
3. It's a Boy - Resolution
4. Serious of Snakes, A - A Miniature
5. Question of Degree, A - Kustomized
6. Ahead - Band Of Susans
7. Three Girl Rhumba - Bark Psychosis
8. On Returning - Ex-Lion Tamers
9. 12XU - Spasm
10. Lowdown - Fudge Tunnel
11. German Shepherds - Laika
12. Mutual Friend, A - Chris Connelly
13. Eastern Standard - Carl Marks
14. Our Swimmer - Petty Tyrants
15. Eardrum Buzz - Scanner
16. Being Sucked in (Again) - Polar Bear
17. Fragile - Lee Ranaldo
18. Map Ref 41n 93w - My Bloody Valentine
19. Outdoor Miner - Transformer
20. Used To - Main
21. 15th, The - Mike Watt
| Details | | Distributor: | Caroline Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
W**** is a collection of artists covering Wire songs. The booklet contains essays by many of the included performers discussing Wire's influence on their own music, and why they chose the songs they did.
Producers include: J.K. Broadrick, G.C. Green, Pete Bartlett, Lush.
Engineers: Giles Hall, Resolution, Lumen Soundsmiths.
W**** is not a "tribute" album in the trite, commercial sense, unlike similar projects before it, although its very nature will inevitably get it pigeonholed as such. The musicians involved don't give penance to their heroes so much as they offer their own particular spins. Those musicians of an electronic orientation make the most of this practice.
Resolution paints "It's a Boy" in Plasticine electronic strokes and augments the song's inherent momentum with surging, gnarled sequencers. Scanner turns "Eardrum Buzz" into turgid, Aphex Twin-like fuzz dub, while the delightful Laika whips "German Shepherds" into a silky symphony of beatbox rhythms, angelic ersatz chimes, and intergalactic synth swarms. The remaining cadre of bands either hold Wire in utmost reverence (Band of Susans, Lee Ranaldo, Mike Watt) or express obvious enthusiasm in re-processing Wire's material (Main, Transformer, Godflesh, Bark Psychosis). A freshness and exuberance prevails in the choice of songs and in the ultimate conditioning. The participants testify to the ideals behind Wire, a group of progressive musicians who not only didn't play by the rules but invented their own rules and continually expanded the parameters of those rules. This was not just an exercise.
Editorial Reviews
3 (out of 5) - ...like the band it pays tribute to: multi-faceted, imaginative and, more often than not, unique....consistently gripping versions which remind me why Wire have lasted so long....Finally, a tribute comp worth selling your body for.
Alternative Press (08/01/1996)
It would be hard to imagine a more intriguing and ultimately frustrating task than covering a song by Wire....Yet the Wire enthusiasts here--from Lush to Lee Renaldo to Band Of Susans--do their best to keep the legacy alive with spirited covers that, even if they don't come close to the originals, at least demonstrate what Wire might have sounded like if they weren't--well--if they weren't Wire...
Option (07/01/1996)
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