Amazon.com By the time of their sophomore effort, Wire had notched plenty of live gigs off the incredible strength of their debut Pink Flag. Where its predecessor had been awash in herky jerks and jagged guitars, Chairs was rife with what must've seemed like downright longform musical essays. The dirge-like "Mercy," after all, clocks in at an unheard-of five minutes and 46 seconds, and the synth-surrounded "Another the Letter" is the only song that spans just over a minute, sirening and getting nervy and portending 1979's third Wire outing, 154. It's a silly phrase given the stature of Wire's debut, but compared to Pink Flag (see how silly it is to compare things to Pink Flag?), what's here is diffuse. It's also brilliant: claustrophobic and rich in post-punk detail, furious and floating, anthemic ("Sand in My Joints") and pop-laden ("Outdoor Miner"). And now it's back, in a gatefold digipak, remastered and rich in color. --Andrew Bartlett