''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 (band), Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury ...

, lead singer of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, 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 d ...

. It was released in October 1980, through record label Beggars Banquet. "''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'', ''Matter'' and '' Modern Drummer'' ...

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''." In his retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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

Pink Flag ''Pink Flag'' is the debut album by the British post-punk band Wire. It was released in November 1977 through Harvest Records. The album was critically acclaimed on release, and has since been highly influential; today it is regarded as a landmar ...

'', '' Chairs Missing'' and '' 154''". Jason A. Parkes of '' Head Heritage'' 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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' 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 rotat ...

on the albums '' It'll End in Tears'' 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 – synthesizer, keyboards, production * Robert Gotobed – drums * Charles Bullen – clarinet on "Troisieme" Technical * A. Newman – album cover * Harvey Goldberg –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* 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