Pink Flag is the first studio album by the English band Wire. It was released in November 1977 by Harvest Records. Though the album failed to chart on its initial release, it has been widely acclaimed and is considered by critics and other commentators to have been highly influential on many other musicians since its release.
Critical reception
Reviewing in 1978 for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau called Pink Flag a "punk suite" and praised its "simultaneous rawness and detachment" and detected a rock-and-roll irony similar to but "much grimmer and more frightening" than the Ramones. In a retrospective review, Steve Huey of AllMusic opined that Pink Flag was "perhaps the most original debut album to come out of the first wave of British punk" and also "recognizable, yet simultaneously quite unlike anything that preceded it. Pink Flags enduring influence pops up in hardcore, post-punk, alternative rock, and even Britpop, and it still remains a fresh, invigorating listen today: a fascinating, highly inventive rethinking of punk rock and its freedom to make up your own rules." Trouser Press called the album "a brilliant 21-song suite" in which the band "manipulated classic rock song structure by condensing them into brief, intense explosions of attitude and energy, coming up with a collection of unforgettable tunes".
Legacy
Although the album was released to critical acclaim, it was not a big seller. It was listed at number 412 on Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012 and at number 378 in NME's list of the same name in 2013. Music journalistStuart Maconie described it as "extraordinary" by the standards of the time at which it was produced. Pitchfork ranked Pink Flagnumber 22 in its list "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s". The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album's wide-ranging influence is exemplified by the number of bands which have covered its songs. Hardcore punk and post-hardcore acts that have covered songs from Pink Flag include Henry Rollins, Minor Threat, and Firehose, while Minutemen attributed to Pink Flag their approach of recording and releasing briefer songs. American alternative rock band R.E.M. reworked "Strange" on their 1987 album Document. Britpop band Elastica also used a riff similar to that of "Three Girl Rhumba" for their song "Connection". Graham Coxon of Blur cited Pink Flag as an influence on his eighth studio album A+E.
Track listing
Credits adapted from the 2018 Special Edition. All music written by Colin Newman, except where noted. All lyrics written by Graham Lewis, except where noted. * The bonus tracks were removed from the 2006 remastered reissues, because, according to the band, they did not honour the "conceptual clarity of the original statements". The tracks were also left off both editions of Pink Flags 2018 remaster, but can be found on the 2018 deluxe reissue of Chairs Missing.
2018 Special Edition
The first disc of the Special Edition contains the twenty-one tracks from the original album.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 2018 Special Edition. Wire
Mike Thorne – production, piano on "Reuters", backing vocals on "Reuters" and "Mr. Suit", flute arrangement on "Strange", electric piano on "Options R"
