Chairs Missing | ||||
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Studio album by Wire | ||||
Released | August 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1978 at Advision Studios, London, England, UK | |||
Genre | Post-punk, art punk, avant-pop | |||
Length | 42:27 | |||
Label | Harvest | |||
Producer | Mike Thorne | |||
Wire studio album chronology | ||||
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Singles from Chairs Missing | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Pitchfork | 10/10 |
Q | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 |
Uncut |
Chairs Missing is the second studio album by English rock band Wire. It was released in August 1978. The album peaked at number 48 in the Uk albums chart.
Although it features some of the minimalist punk rock of the band's debut Pink Flag, it features more developed song structure (taking some cues from 1970s prog-rock, psychedelia, and art rock), keyboard and synthesizer elements brought in by producer Mike Thorne, and a broader palette of emotional and intellectual subject matter. The title is said to be a British slang term for a mildly disturbed person, as in "that guy has a few chairs missing in his front room". The single "Outdoor Miner" was a minor hit, peaking at number 51 in the UK singles chart.
In 2004 the US record label Words-on-Music released A Houseguest's Wish, a CD tribute album to the band consisting solely of 19 different versions of the Chairs Missing track "Outdoor Miner".
In their retrospective review, Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album five stars out of five and wrote "The arty darkness of Chairs Missing, combined with the often icy-sounding synth/guitar arrangements, helps make the record a crucial landmark in the evolution of punk into post-punk and goth, as well as a testament to Wire's rapid development and inventiveness."BBC Music called the album a "glorious avant-pop coup" and (referring to the 2006 edition of the album) "the most satisfying of the three reissues [the others being Pink Flag and 154]."Pitchfork listed Chairs Missing as 33rd best album of the 1970s.NME listed the album as the 394th greatest album of all time.