Ten Years
ago he was burying Led Zepplin; now he's praising it. Such are the artistic
swings from Johnny Rotten (ne Lydon), professional iconoclast. No that
everyone and his brother is making records that recall the Sex Pistols'
raw sound, Rottens last two albums have been impeccable efforts that
draw heavily on metal and disco.
Rotten probably
realises that he isn't so shocking anymore, so he goes for some good
old-fashioned artistry. The result is a loud, provocative and meticulously
crafted record -- avant-garde in designers suits. Happy? is not slick,
but it's damn close -- "Rules and Regulations" even has female
backup singers on the chorus. The album's hypnotic bass and drum grooves
are overlaid with crunching guitars, and you can dance right through
it. The careening neo-Van Halen squeals and other exotic guitar effects
are provided by New Wave veterans Lu Edmonds (The Damned, Shriekback)
and John McGeoch (Visage, Siouxise and the Banshees), two new PiL members.
Rotten is always
railing against something, as in the harrowing "Save Me,"
"Hard Times" and "The Body" -- harangues from the
depth's of hell that offer such warnings as "The slogan will take
you like lemmings to the cliff." "Seattle" is Rotten's
"Once in a Lifetime," a two-chord wonder with a playful hip-hop
beat, big blocky chords and singsong lyrics about twentieth-century
identity crises. On "Open and Revolting," Uncle Johnny admonishes
the kids to stay open-minded: "There are no easy answers/To elongated
questions/So try to keep an eye out/And be open to suggestions."
The sound is
densely layered; if you doubt it, slap on the headphones and listen
to the album's magnum opus, "Fat Chance Hotel," which seems
to be about Rotten's getting sun sickness on vacation somewhere in the
Southwest. With sampled Mexican trumpets, subliminal mandolin and catchy
guitar refrain straight out of Neil Young, the song almost makes you
see the mirages shimmering off endless highways.
On albums like
Metal Box and Flowers, PIL delved into disco and third world sounds
before they became fashionable; while the band isn't breaking much new
ground here, Happy? is a refined, evocative piece of work. Johnny Rotten
may still be Prince Charmless, but he's also a visionary who's best
work may well be before him. |