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Wire on the Box: 1979

Wire on the Box: 1979 is a live album and DVD by English rock band Wire. Whilst recorded in 1979, it was released on 4 October 2004 as the first in a series of archival releases on Wire's own Pinkflag label.[1] It features the complete live television recording for the German Rockpalast music television show, broadcast by Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR).[2] The live set consists largely of tracks from 1978's Chairs Missing and the then-yet-to-be-released 154,[3] and is the second live recording to be released from Wire's original phase since 1981's Document and Eyewitness.[2]

Wire on the Box: 1979
Live album by
Wire
Released4 October 2004
Recorded14 February 1979
VenueWDR Studio L (Cologne, Germany)
GenrePost-punk[1]
Length58:07
LabelPinkflag
Wire live album chronology
It's All In The Brochure
(2000) 		Wire on the Box: 1979
(2004) 		The Scottish Play: 2004
(2005)

Background

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Wire performed on Rockpalast at the invitation of Alan Bangs, a German-based British disc jockey and radio/TV presenter. "What's remarkable about it was that it took a Brit living in Germany to get Wire on the telly. Nobody in Britain would do it at the time," Wire's Colin Newman said in 2012. "He put us on when The Old Grey Whistle Test wouldn't have us ... and if it wasn't for that there'd be no serious visual record of us playing in the 70s. For that, we're really grateful."[4]

The Rockpalast recording was released by Wire themselves after being in the WDR archive for years. The band discovered that "as artists you have the legal rights to release it - another company couldn't, but the artist could," Newman said.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The Austin Chronicle     [1]
Pitchfork8.1/10[2]
Prefixmag8.0/10[5]

AllMusic found Wire's performance to be "energetic and dynamic," writing, "On the Box catches Wire at the height of its powers and this material still sounds remarkably fresh."[3] Pitchfork also noted the band's "energy and passion" as well as being "tight, focused, even demented in their intensity at times." They described the performance as "spot-on" with a "spectacularly clear" sound.[2]

The Austin Chronicle was less positive, feeling that "without the bold psychedelic flourishes of the Mike Thorne-produced Chairs Missing, ... this rather skeletal set rings hollow." They felt, however, that the band's performance on the release "brims with punch and fire ... and with decent fidelity to boot."[1]

Track listing

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CD/DVD track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Introduction" 0:50
2."Another the Letter"Bruce Gilbert, Colin Newman1:07
3."The 15th"Newman2:29
4."Practice Makes Perfect"Gilbert, Newman3:00
5."Two People in a Room"Gilbert, Newman1:59
6."I Feel Mysterious Today"Graham Lewis, Newman1:44
7."Being Sucked in Again"Newman2:49
8."Once Is Enough"Newman2:47
9."Blessed State"Gilbert3:00
10."A Question of Degree"Lewis, Newman2:44
11."Single K.O."Lewis, Newman2:24
12."Mercy"Lewis, Newman5:44
13."40 Versions"Gilbert, Newman4:06
14."Former Airline"Gilbert1:08
15."A Touching Display"Lewis6:14
16."French Film Blurred"Lewis, Newman2:34
17."Men 2nd"Lewis, Newman1:39
18."Map Ref. 41°N 93°W"Lewis, Newman3:37
19."Heartbeat"Newman4:42
20."Pink Flag"Lewis, Newman3:26
DVD bonus feature
No.TitleLength
1."Interview"19:35

Personnel

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Wire
Production

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Michael Chamy (17 December 2004). "Wire on the Box: 1979 Review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Joe Tangari (17 November 2004). "Wire". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Wilson Neate. "On the Box: 1979 Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b Luke Turner (4 May 2012). "Colin Newman Talks Wire On The Box". The Quietus. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Review". Prefix. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
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