WIRE The Ideal Copy

One of the most underated albums of the 80's. Even today I was met with resistance by a diehard Wire fan stating that anything after 154 is crap and too arty. I have to say I completely disagree. The Ideal Copy was released in April of 1987 and holds strong in 2010. I have to admit at the time it was released in 1987 the direction seemed a little done in the sense that Bands like New Order had already made the transition from punk to dance music several years before and were taking it to the main stream. Wire of course was on a different pursuit. They were experimenting with sound and the times have finally caught with these art rock innovators.The Ideal Copy never sounded so good. The direction that Wire went with The Ideal Copy would not be understood by us earthlings until the world was run by computers.
The Ideal Copy is the fourth studio album album by the English rock group Wire. It was the first full-length recording following the band's hiatus of 1980–1985. (The band had recorded and released the Snakedrill EP in 1986 after reuniting). Mute Records released the album.
Wire had used electronic instruments on the albums Chairs Missing and 154, but following their hiatus, Wire more openly embraced the use of sequencers, synthesizers, and drum machines. This prompted music critics to compare The Ideal Copy to groups such as New Order.One critic, Kirk Fillmore, further compared the electric bass's sound on the single "Ahead" to that of New Order's Peter Hook, though bassist Graham Lewis had played in such a style on previous Wire albums.Indeed, journalist Richard Grabel pointed out that "New Order and any number of other synths-and-guitars bands took cues from late-70s Wire," suggesting that "things [had] come full circle."
This record has another special distinction; it was the first musical recording to be commercially released on DAT format.(source:wikipedia)