Colin Newman's "A-Z"

...almost as good as Dome 1

I was glad to see Commercial Suicide get a reissue last year, it's been out of print for too long.

Scott, I agree the follow up to CS ("It Seems") wasn't as strong, but the single "Better Later Then Never" is one of my favorite Newman tracks.

I really like the techno/ambient stuff that he released on his Swim label in the 90s, even if it doesn't really sound like Wire at all.

I've had this album for ages and it just keeps getting better. The first time I heard it I found it impenetrable aside from a few cuts, then as time passed and I heard different sounds, "A-Z" began to open up and became wonderfully dark, brittle, exhilerating and fun. Today it sounds absolutely perfect.

I love this one, and I love 'Not To' as well. Haven't heard any of the other solo ones though. What's good?

A-Z (1980)
Provisionally Entitled The Singing Fish (1981)
Not To (1982)
Commercial Suicide (1986)
It Seems (1988)
Bastard (1997)

Commercial Suicide is great!

"Singing Fish" is almost ambient instrumentals, nice but not critical. "Not To", which is paired with Fish on a single CD if you can find it, is great and a logical continuation of "A-Z", more off-kilter and even less accessible for the most part. "Commercial Suicide" and "It Seems" are like synth-chamber music with Colin's wonderful baritone and Malka on occasional backing vocals - decidedly different stuff in his catalog, a bit dated but great tunes.

I can't remember what the good ones off Fish are called because they're all just numbered, but yeah they're pretty and good for a certain mood but not urgent. "Remove for Improvement" off Not To is dope, pretty and sad and a total fucking earworm, and my two favourite ones off It Seems are "Quite Unprepared" (just like mad nice chilled out synth-hippie shit) and "Round and Round".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvy7KAbpfFo

"Fish / Not To" was one of the first CDs I bought, it has a pristine and autumnal appeal for me. "A-Z" is more abrasive - not a "mood" record.

I like "Life On Deck" as much as any Wire song- seamless mix of teh weirdly pretty with the very awkward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP_prz8aPKQ

Beautiful song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMRRk100TBU&playnext=1&list=PL797AE62E4274874D&index=3

don't forget about those Githead records, too.

A-Z was to be the fourth Wire album. If you check the liner notes, everyone is on it except for (I think) Lewis.

A-Z >>>>>>>> 154

How did this album pass me by all these years??! So far the brightest silver lining of the last 3+ weeks of quarantine. "Order for Order" popped up on youtube autoplay yesterday and I thought it was some lost Kas Product song at first. Just a phenomenally inspired album.

Wire got a bit... diffuse at the end of their initial run. While I like Dome, it's always been mostly about Newman for me, so 'A-Z' is the long-lost Wire album (the others around the time like 'Not To' are also very good).

Make sure you don't miss 'Commercial Suicide,' from '86. Very different but possibly even better.

They reissued his first 3 solo LPs in 2016 with a plethora of bonus tracks and demos, thanks for the reminder - I haven't listened to that new material since they came out.

thanks for the reminder

Don't bring them though.

Make sure you don't miss 'Commercial Suicide,' from '86. Very different but possibly even better.

― Soundslike, Friday, April 3, 2020 11:33 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

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