PUBLIC IMAGE LTD

The Public image is Rotten (Songs From The Heart) Virgin 7/10 Lydon at his antagonistic finest holds together this disparate box of Pil classics and rarities

John Lydon’s other band celebrate their 40th anniversary with this mixed bag, packaged a bit like a chocolate box and containing a book, poster and prints plus five CDs (or six LPs) taken from across their career. It leads off with the singles, before a second CD serves up some great B-sides, a couple of rarities – the clanging, robotic “Pied Piper” from 1980 and 1990’s “Criminal” – and some glorious Peel Sessions (particularly the orgasmic “Chant” from 1979), plus later pretty good Mark Goodier sessions. The third CD features interesting but inessential 12in mixes, while CD4 contains a variable selection of unreleased tracks and alternative mixes, including early versions of “Annalisa” and “Albatross”, the unreleased “Vampire” from 1981, a cover of “Kashmir” and an unreleased Bill Laswell instrumental. Last comes a decent live show from NYC in 1989, recorded by Virgin for a proposed live album but never released. There are diamonds throughout the sprawling set, which also manages to sound cohesive thanks to Lydon’s binding, blaring vocals and the atmosphere of managed, jagged chaos. Extras: 8/10. Two DVDs of promos, TV spots and live shows in 1988 and 2013, plus a 72-page book, poster and prints.