''A–Z'' is the debut studio album by

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire ...

, lead singer of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

. It was released in October 1980, through record label

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first ...

. "''A-Z'' was planned as the fourth Wire album, but EMI ire's labelcancelled studio time in the wake of failed negotiations with the band."

Critical reception

''A–Z'' has been well received.

Jim Derogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for 15 ...

and Wilson Neate, writing in ''Trouser Press'', called Newman's solo work "the most rewarding" of any Wire member's projects outside the main band. Discussing ''A-Z'' and ''Not To'', they wrote, "Both albums are inventive and full of hooks, and they continue the cinematic style of '' Chairs Missing'' and ''

154 Year 154 ( CLIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Lateranus (or, less frequently, year 907 ''Ab urbe cond ...

''." In his retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, Andy Kellman wrote, "''A–Z'' truly deserves to be held in the same regard as ''

Pink Flag ''Pink Flag'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Wire. It was released in November 1977 by Harvest Records. The album gained Wire a cult following within independent and post-punk music upon its initial release, later growing to be hi ...

'', '' Chairs Missing'' and ''

''". Jason A. Parkes of ''

Head Heritage Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

'' wrote that it was "probably the best album eleasedbetween the first and second phases of Wire". Richard Cook of the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' was less positive, calling the album, along with Newman's subsequent work '' Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish'', "erratic and needlessly fussy affairs that creak under pretensions to alchemy when studio pottering is nearer the mark."

Legacy

"Not Me" and "Alone" were covered by

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotati ...

on the albums ''

It'll End in Tears ''It'll End in Tears'' is the first album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The album was released on 1 October ...

'' and '' Filigree & Shadow'', respectively. "S-S-S-Star Eyes" was covered by

P-Model P-Model (also typeset as P-MODEL and P. Model) was a Japanese electronic rock band started in 1979 by members of the defunct progressive rock band Mandrake. The band has experienced many lineup revisions over the years but frontman Susumu Hir ...

and released as a supplementary cassette to an issue of the band's fan club newsletter. "Alone" was used in the 1991 film '' The Silence of the Lambs''.

Track listing

Personnel

* Colin Newman – guitar, vocals, album cover * Desmond Simmons – bass guitar, guitar *

Mike Thorne Mike Thorne (born 25 January 1948) is an English record producer, arranger, composer, engineer, and musician. He started playing the piano at the age of 10. After studying physics at Hertford College, Oxford, in the late 1960s he worked as a ta ...

– synthesizer, keyboards, production * Robert Gotobed – drums * Charles Bullen – clarinet on "Troisieme" Technical * A. Newman – album cover * Harvey Goldberg –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Dennis Weinreich – engineering * Steve Parker – engineering * Malti Kidia – sleeve layout and typography * Jack Skinner – cutting

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:A-Z 1980 debut albums Post-punk albums by English artists Colin Newman albums Beggars Banquet Records albums Albums produced by Mike Thorne