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  1.  
    Whether I like it or not, I certainly won't be parting with it ... I'd then be faced with an incomplete Wire collection!

    Strays will be more than welcome round these parts, however I had taken the title to mean that these were songs that hadn't appeared on any official commercial release ... only He Knows falls into that category, and even that was on a recent official boot, plus there was the recent session version ...

    By the way, there have in fact been a number of occasions when my happiness has been remarked upon ... well, one or two ... ! At the moment Husker Du, Wire (my own Mute-era comp and Send, mainly) and Carl Barat's solo album are keeping the sides of my mouth pointing upwards. Oh, yes, and a rekindling of Love too, but don't get me started on that Lost Love rip-off vinyl LP from Sundazed ...

    hp
  2.  
    Track-By-Track Guide To Red Barked Tree:
    http://thequietus.com/articles/05417-wire-red-barked-tree
  3.  
    Wow. Lifted directly from the press release. We're going to put that up on PinkFlag.com, but figured we'd leave it until people have actually heard the record, so they have some context.
  4.  
    Makes sense. But then it would have been better not to have it published in The Quietus so soon. Or was that unintended ?
  5.  
    I've no idea. I was specifically told to NOT publish that stuff on PF.com's press page for RBT until the album was out. Oh well.

    (This doesn't bother me unduly, but it's interesting that those guys are like "look at this great feature" when it's in fact copied and pasted from a press release! For all I know, though, they might well have asked to do this/been asked to/got permission.)
  6.  
    Intended for print at this stage or not, it's whet my appetite. It's interesting (to me) to read this kind of thing both before and after. And although I've heard a couple of tracks of the album I think from here on I'll scrupulously avoid hearing anything further until the disc itself arrives
  7.  
    Pretty surprised that "Up From Above" didn't make it on the album. I thought it may have been re-titled but it's not on here. I can see why they cut "Because", it was a good song, but it was very similar to "A Flat Tent"
  8.  
    "It was originally called 'Wizard of Was', which I rather liked.

    Me, too.
  9.  
    Okay, I'll admit that I downloaded an illegal copy because, well, I couldn't wait till the FLACs become available. Since hearing the live previews, I've been ridiculously stoked for the studio versions. Now, keeping in mind that I'm a huge fan of "Send"—my favourite Wire album outside the Harvest trio, maybe my favourite all around—RBT is very, very good. Not a bad song in the batch, plus a few that deserve much wider airplay. "Bad Worn Thing" is fantastic Wire pop—utterly infectious and cool, as good as any single in their catalogue. And "Moreover" is a classic noisy Wire song built on a simple repetition that could just go on and on, in the same vein as "Pink Flag" and "Drill". I think it's fair to say that they've mined the best parts of their personality and come up with something that should please every Wire fan. Thank you, gentlemen, for making this obsessive very happy.
  10.  
    there is nothing that Wire could do that would please "every" Wire fan...I'm sure that some will find something to complain about... ;)
  11.  
    "I'm sure that some will find something to complain about... ;) "

    Well you've had no takers in the three days since you posted your message, so I'll offer my services and be the sole dissenting voice (apparently) and declare that I don't care for Red Barked Tree at all. As I didn't enjoy Object 47 either, this could well be the point where I hang up my Wire collecting hat, so to speak. I still love Wire up to and including Send, but this latest style isn't for me.

    I could of course just keep buying Wire albums for several years in the hope of their releasing something more to my tastes, but I did this with The Fall for 11 years - ELEVEN YEARS - before finally caving and realising that I'd blown loads of cash and The Fall were/are never going to produce anything of worth again. These 'break-ups' with fave bands are sad, but there's so much music to listen to ... and much of my preferred listening is by defunct bands anyway. One adapts ...

    However, congrats are of course in order for all those who like RBT.
  12.  
    I'm steadfastly hanging on until the 20th.
  13.  
    http://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/wire-announce-new-album-their-colors-series-red-barked-tree-due-january

    I noticed this, and - as far as I know - it's the only mention of a "colors series". Is this just something the writer made up, or is there an actual color series going on? Will, I dunno, Yellow Traffic Light or something be next?

    As for Red Barked Trees, I'm looking forward to it. (Pre-ordered, yes.) I "discovered" Wire with The Ideal Copy, then found a copy of Chairs Missing (not a common import CD to find for me in the US at the time), and was not expecting the difference. I didn't expect the greater techno elements starting in IBTABA and on to The First Letter. I didn't expect the raw sound of R&B 1/2 and Send, and I didn't expect the shift in sound of R&B 3 and Object 47.

    It sounds from the press and discussion like Red Barked Trees is going to be another shift, and maybe it won't be quite what I'm expecting, but I have yet to hear an effort from Wire that I haven't ultimately enjoyed. I can't imagine any situation where I listen to a Wire album and throw my hands up and say, "Well, that's it for Wire".
  14.  
    Colours series ?? What the fuck sort of lazy journalism is that ? Honest to god. And his pathetic point about 'no guests', and describing Wire as 'Britain's first "real" punk band' (whatever that means) and as a bunch of 40-somethings... well, he doesn't have a fucking clue does he ?
  15.  
    i reckon he's just seen the 'legal bootleg' series covers and made somat up!
  16.  
    PINK Flag and RED Barked Tree. Clearly, this is Wire's 'colors' series! Er.

    As for the no guests thing, that's been repeated a lot, presumably because people are ripping things out of context from the press release.
  17.  
    Well, let's see, the Mute era had A Vivid Riot Of Red.

    Wow, there really is a pattern here! How could I have missed that?
  18.  
    "It sounds from the press and discussion like Red Barked Trees is going to be another shift"

    I wish it were a shift, but it isn't ... it's just a continuation of Object 47 with a couple of token noisier tracks, much of it sounding like rejects from A Bell Is A Cup. Having said that, Adapt, Smash and ...er ... another one (!!!) are the better tracks.

    I would have loved a shift, but there is nothing new here. That isn't the problem, though: for me, the songs are devoid of surprises and, once you've heard the first 30 seconds or so, you've heard the song. I like a number of bands whose music exercises its power through repetition, and then again I love many great pop songs. Red Barked Trees has neither: just (for me) very bland and uninvolving 80s-style indie-wet-pop that Wire took to great heights with songs like The Offer. None of these songs are in that league, and there are certainly no killer middle-eights in the vein of The 15th or Ahead, and no subtle power as in great surging tunes like German Shepherds.

    Clearly many here like the album, which is great but this isn't what I personally need right now. I have The Offer, A Bell Is A Cup etc and that's what I'll listen to when I want great Wire indie-pop. And Chairs Missing and 154 for ethereal and often creepy 'soundscapes' for want of a better word. And great pop, too, of course!

    Having said all this, I'll probably listen to it again in a few months and proclaim it a masterpiece ... it wouldn't be the first time ... !

    Happy listening

    hp
  19.  
    "it's just a continuation of Object 47 with a couple of token noisier tracks, much of it sounding like rejects from A Bell Is A Cup"

    You must have a different album/different ears to me. How many times have you listened through the album, out of interest?
  20.  
    "How many times have you listened through the album, out of interest?"

    Just two or three. I also try to play odd tracks at random in attempts to come at it from a different angle, but there's just nothing that grabs me. No discernible power, beauty, atmosphere. Sorry!

    Don't misunderstand me, I love Wire and have done for about 25 years. I've spent a small fortune on every concievable group release (and some solo). Some of their shows have been amongst the most exciting and powerful I have ever witnessed. I just don't get anything from RBT or Object 47. I will make further attempts, certainly, and will be only too happy to change my mind, but I think that would be more likely if I actually hated the album: I've found that hate turns to love much more often than indifference!