Consumer Guide Album

Public Image Ltd.: This Is What You Want . . . This Is What You Get [Elektra, 1984]
The howls of outrage greeting this album come from smart optimists who just realized they'd been had. In fact it's no more cynical than The Flowers of Romance, and since it does maintain a groove as well as glinting sardonically on occasion, it's also more fun to listen to. But that's not to say it's fun to listen to. Where Second Edition throbs and The Flowers of Romance thuds, this shrieks, with some of history's ugliest and most useless horn parts--including the one that ruins "This Is Not a Love Song"--leading the way. C+