Pitchfork

Fuck bonus tracks! Bonus tracks are lame! According to Wire, cuts tacked onto the end of reissues are "inappropriate" and "muddy the conceptual clarity of the original statements."

So when the pioneering punk band's classic first three albums are reissued on CD courtesy of the band's own Pink Flag label, don't expect any outtakes, B-sides, or Arthur Baker extended dance remixes-- just 1977's Pink Flag, 1978's Chairs Missing, and 1979's 154 in their original sonic glory, each one remastered and lovingly packaged with extensive liner notes and historical photos.

The reissue campaign, which the band calls "the first ever 'proper' CD release" of the influential trilogy, will hit American record stores April 25, and each album will be sold individually. However, Wire superduper fans will also have the opportunity to purchase all three together, along with two live discs, as part of the box set WIRE: 1977 > 1979. (Yes, that's a "greater than" sign. Does that mean the band admits that Pink Flag is better than 154?)

The box won't be available in stores; it can be purchased exclusively through the Pink Flag webstore at PostEverything.com. The live albums, self-explanatorily titled Live at the Roxy, London - April 1st & 2nd 1977, and Live at CBGB Theatre, New York - July 18th 1978, may be available individually in stores at some point in the future, but don't hold your breath.

Here are the tracklists for all five discs, although we know you have those first three tattooed on your lower back already:

Pink Flag:

01 Reuters
02 Field Day for the Sundays
03 Three Girl Rhumba
04 Ex-Lion Tamer
05 Lowdown
06 Start to Move
07 Brazil
08 It's So Obvious
09 Surgeon's Girl
10 Pink Flag
11 The Commercial
12 Straight Line
13 106 Beats That
14 Mr Suit
15 Strange
16 Fragile
17 Mannequin
18 Different to Me
19 Champs
20 Feeling Called Love
21 12XU

Chairs Missing:

01 Practice Makes Perfect
02 French Film Blurred
03 Another the Letter
04 Men 2nd
05 Marooned
06 Sand in My Joints
07 Being Sucked in Again
08 Heartbeat
09 Mercy
10 Outdoor Miner
11 I Am the Fly
12 I Feel Mysterious Today
13 From the Nursery
14 Used To
15 Too Late

154:

01 I Should Have Known Better
02 Two People in a Room
03 The 15th
04 The Other Window
05 Single K.O.
06 A Touching Display
07 On Returning
08 A Mutual Friend
09 Blessed State
10 Once is Enough
11 Map Ref. 41°N 93°W
12 Indirect Enquiries
13 40 Versions

Live at the Roxy, London - April 1st & 2nd 1977:

April 1st:

01 The Commercial
02 Mary Is a Dyke
03 Too True
04 Just Don't Care
05 Strange
06 Brazil
07 It's So Obvious
08 Three Girl Rhumba
09 TV
10 Straight Line
11 Lowdown
12 Feeling Called Love
13 NYC
14 After Midnight
15 12XU
16 Mr Suit
17 Glad All Over

April 2:

18 The Commercial
19 Mary Is a Dyke
20 Too True
21 Just Don't Care
22 Strange
23 Brazil
24 It's So Obvious
25 Three Girl Rhumba
26 TV
27 Straight Line
28 Lowdown
29 Feeling Called Love
30 NYC
31 After Midnight
32 12XU
33 Glad All Over
34 Mr. Suit

Live at CBGB Theatre, New York - July 18th 1978:

01 Men 2nd
02 Reuters
03 106 Beats That
04 From the Nursery
05 Dot Dash
06 Another the Letter
07 Practice Makes Perfect
08 Marooned
09 I Am the Fly
10 Lowdown
11 Mercy
12 Outro

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