Commercial Zone (album)

Commercial Zone
Studio album by Public Image Ltd
Released 1984
Recorded May 1982 – May 1983
Studio Park South Studios, New York, United States
Genre Post-punk
Length 32:00
Label PiL Records Inc.
Producer
  • Public Image Ltd
  • Bob Miller

Commercial Zone is an album of studio recordings by Public Image Ltd., recorded in 1982 and 1983, and released in 1984 by PiL founding guitarist Keith Levene. Commercial Zone includes five songs that were later re-recorded for PiL's fourth official studio album, This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get (1984) – for this reason, Commercial Zone is often considered to be an earlier/alternative version of that album.

History

In May 1981 PiL moved from London to New York City, but in October 1981 their American record contract with Warner Brothers expired and was not renewed. In January 1982 the British music press reported that PiL had tried to record a new album in New York with producers Adam Kidron and Ken Lockie, but split instead – this was promptly denied by the band in a press release the following week.

In May 1982 drummer Martin Atkins rejoined the band and PiL started recording their new studio album for Virgin Records at Park South Studios in Manhattan, with sound engineer Bob Miller co-producing. On 29 August 1982 new bassist Pete Jones joined the band in the studio, the new line-up played its debut concert four weeks later (28 September 1982 in New York City). During the second half of 1982 the band planned to form their own record label (Public Enterprise Productions) and license its releases to Stiff Records USA for the American market, but these plans never materialised.

In early November 1982 PiL announced the imminent release of a new single "Blue Water" and a six-track mini album You Are Now Entering A Commercial Zone on their new label. This did not happen, with the band instead continuing to record a full-length album at Park South Studios.

By March 1983 a new track "This Is Not a Love Song" was earmarked as a new single by the band, but PiL broke up when first Pete Jones and then Keith Levene left the band. The single "This Is Not A Love Song" (with "Blue Water" as a 12" single B-side, both from the South Park sessions) was released in Japan by Nippon Columbia in June 1983. Virgin Records released it in the UK in September 1983, where it went to no.5 in the UK single charts.

The remaining members, John Lydon and drummer Martin Atkins hired session musicians to fulfill touring commitments and carried on under the PiL name.

In mid-1983, in PiL's absence, Keith Levene took the unfinished album tapes and did his own mix. He then flew over to London and presented them to Richard Branson as the finished new PiL album for Virgin Records, but John Lydon decided to completely abandon the tapes and re-record the whole album from scratch with session musicians. This new version of Commercial Zone became This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get in 1984.

Levene decided to put the album out himself on the American market and on 30 January 1984 registered the label PIL Records Inc. for this one-off release.[1]

The first limited pressing of 10,000 copies for which Levene paid $8,500 out of his own pocket[2] was self-distributed to record shops around New York City and heavily imported to the UK and European market. A second pressing (with the track listing changed around and a shorter mix of "Bad Night") followed in August 1984 in an edition of 30,000 copies, to compete directly with the official re-recorded album This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get. Virgin Records promptly took legal actions and stopped the distribution and any further re-pressings of Commercial Zone.

Line-up

Ken Lockie was a member of PiL during the initial recording sessions, playing keyboards, but was dropped from the line-up in September 1982. His contributions, if any, were erased or not used.

Track by track commentary by the band

"Love Song"/"This Is Not A Love Song":

"Mad Max"/"Bad Life":

"Solitaire":

"The Slab"/"The Order of Death":

"Lou Reed Part 1 & 2"/"Where Are You?":

"Blue Water":

"Miller High Life"/"Miller Hi-Life":

Related tracks

"This Is Not A Love Song" (single remix):

"The Slab" (full band version) / "Bad Night" (remixed long version) / "Bad Night" (early alternative version) / (untitled acoustic instrumental):[21]

Musical style

Commercial Zone is more accessible and commercial than PiL's previous records, with some laid-back Velvet Underground-style guitar on a few tracks. Tracks like "Mad Max" and "Solitaire" have funk elements, while especially the B-side of the record has a moody soundtrack atmosphere.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[22]

The second pressing of Commercial Zone was released around the same time as the official This Is What You Want... album and was generally more favourably reviewed in the music press.

Track listing

  1. "Mad Max"
  2. "Love Song"
  3. "Bad Night"
  4. "Solitaire"
  5. "The Slab"
  6. "Lou Reed Part 1"
  7. "Lou Reed Part 2"
  8. "Blue Water"
  9. "Miller Hi-Life"

On the second pressing "Solitaire" was re-titled as "Young Brits". The track sequence on the first side was changed to:

  1. "Love Song"
  2. "Mad Max"
  3. "Young Brits"
  4. "Bad Night"

The version of "Love Song" that appears on Commercial Zone appeared on the 12" version of the single listed as "remix". "Blue Water" also appeared as the b-side to the 1983 single "This Is Not A Love Song." The second pressing of Commercial Zone includes a shorter version of "Bad Night" than that on the first pressing. "The Slab" (renamed "The Order of Death" when re-recorded for This is What You Want...), appears on Commercial Zone as stripped-down acoustic version.

For This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get the following songs were re-recorded:

Charts

USA

UK

Rest of the world

References

  1. PIL Records, Inc. (registered on 30 January 1984 as a domestic business corporation by Keith Levene [1 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003], dissolved due to inactivity on 26 September 1990)
  2. John Gentile: Interviews: Keith Levene (P.I.L., The Clash). In: Punknews.org, 9 May 2014.
  3. Charles Walston: “Johnny Sheds His Rotten Image” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4 December 1982)
  4. Neil Spencer: “Public Image Limited” (Volume Three, May 1992)
  5. 1 2 3 John Lydon liner notes (Public Image Ltd.: “Plastic Box” compilation, Virgin Records, 1999)
  6. 1 2 Scott Murphy: “Pete Jones Interview” (The Filth And The Fury fanzine, June 2000)
  7. Kathi Gelona: John Lydon Interview (The Current, Washington DC, October 1984)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Michaela Statow: Pete Jones Interview (Mondoelectra.com/Fodderstompf website, 2000, now defunct)
  9. Pete Jones: “Johnny Tales #3” (Petejones.Mcmail.com website 1999, now defunct)
  10. 1 2 3 Scott Murphy: “Bob Miller Interview” (Fodderstompf.com website, August 2006)
  11. 1 2 Julie Panebianco: “The Keith Levene Guide to Being Rotten” (New Musical Express, 12 November 1983)
  12. 1 2 Jason Gross: “Keith Levene Interview By Jason Gross, Part 4 of 4” (Perfect Sound Forever website, September 2001)
  13. Elma Gibble: “The Great PIL-PEP Rally” (BravEar fanzine, December 1982)
  14. Cary Darling: “Music Monitor” (Billboard, 20 November 1982)
  15. Scott Murphy: “John Lydon Interview” (Fodderstompf.com website, January 2004)
  16. Scott Murphy: “Martin Atkins Interview” (Fodderstompf.com website, December 2001)
  17. The single was first released by Nippon Columbia in Japan in June 1983 to coincide with PIL's Japanese tour. It contained both mixes, with Levene's mix titled “This Is Not A Love Song (Re-Remixed Version)”
  18. Ben Myers: “John Lydon – The Sex Pistols, PIL & Anti-Celebrity” (Independent Music Press, 2004, page 131)
  19. Scott Murphy: “Keith Levene Interview” (Fodderstompf.com website, November 2003)
  20. Peter Clifton: “Johnny Rotten Interview” (The Punk Rock Movie – Widescreen Special Edition DVD, EMI 2006)
  21. released on “Never Mind The Public Image Here's Public Image Limited” Japanese CD bootleg (November 2006)
  22. Allmusic review
  23. 1 2 Billboard.com website
  24. Theofficialcharts.com website
  25. 1 2 3 Chartsurfer.de website (German language)
  26. Dutchcharts.nl website
  27. Charts.org.nz website
  28. Lescharts.com website

External links

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