The Black Session - Paris, 10 May, 2011

The Black Session was recorded in Radio France’s Paris studio with a rather intimate audience, following a four-month tour that elevated the band’s already-formidable sting to a welt-raising weapon. Wire’s continued ability to deliver live shows that nearly overshadow its recorded work is pretty remarkable, and it truly does put many younger bands to shame on the stage. (Three of four original members are in the current lineup.) The mix of old and new here is gratifying, with half the tracks reminding us just how close to Wire perfection 2011’s Red Barked Tree is. Colin Newman’s precise, slice-and-dice guitar work on “Smash” and especially on “Moreover” is as thrilling and dangerous as anything the band did back in 1977. Wire represents its mid-period work handsomely with the languid “Kidney Bingos” and the taut “Drill,” and longtime fans will enjoy the slightly more upbeat “Map Ref. 41°N 93°W” and the still-menacing “Two People in a Room” (both from 1979’s 154). Wire wraps up in true punk fashion with a noisy, 10-minute blast of “Pink Flag” (from its seminal debut of the same name). Almost as good as being there.