This album is technically a reissue but things are rarely that simple in the world of Wire. The original release was an illegal /bootleg sneakily put out in the early 80s by the self explanatorily named ‘amnesia records’.
It comprises selections from demos recorded by the group for their widely acclaimed second and third albums: ‘Chairs Missing’ and ‘154’. The low quality of the recordings has, over the years, been an irritant to a band who pride themselves on high production standards.To belatedly right this wrong, all the tracks have now been properly remastered.
Wire were never purely punk nor seriously psychedelic but elements of both genres provided springboard for a sound that was entirely their own. Any commercial or mainstream potential was always more by accident than design. Simon Reynolds once neatly summarised their sound as “monochromatic minimalism” and there’s plenty to back up this description in the 18 tracks, all but four of which clock in at under three minutes. Their punchy brevity is epitomised by the fast and furious energy of Options R.
There are demos of classics such as French Film (Blurred), Used To and Being Sucked In Again from Chairs Missing while tracks like Once Is Enough,On Returning and Two People In A Room bear little relation to the artier ‘official’ versions that appeared on 1979’s '154'.
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Many tracks never made it to studio albums. These include the four-minute ‘epic’ Ignorance No Plea (I should have known better) and Love Ain't Polite.
The track which gives the album its title is Stepping Off Too Quick, a song that previously appeared on a Record Store Day vinyl only release.
Wire have reformed three times but by common consensus their major works came before they disbanded for the first time in 1980. In this sense, this ‘new’ collection is invaluable for providing a raw, no frills insight into the working process of the group at their creative peak.
Official Wire website
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