Thursday, November 19, 2020

Public Image Ltd 's live album is a bit of a mess



Public Image Ltd : Précipitamment (Careering) 


In November of 1980 Public Image Ltd released the live album Paris Au Printemps, featuring a cover painted by John Lydon. Released to outsmart bootleggers and to help cover expenses for the expensive Metal Box , it shows off the band's spontaneity and attitude in the concert setting ("I'll walk off this stage if you continue spitting", Lydon says in the kind of on-stage banter we never heard from Elvis) . Three of the seven songs are from Metal Box. The live album, recorded that Spring for those who don't know French,  marks the vinyl debut of new PIL drummer Martin Atkins, but by the time of its release bassist Jah Wobble had already left the band. It's sound is barely better than that of a bootlegged album. 

"Don't buy this live album" Lydon urged. "It's not very good."

Enough people bought the album to get it to #61 in the UK album charts. 




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