Public Image Ltd. “album” released 30 years ago on this date, January 27th, 1986 (though another date listed is Feb. 3rd). PiL’s fifth studio album, it also had the title of “cassette” and “compact disc” (and much later, “mp3″) if you bought it on those media.

John Lydon excels at fury – his signature hard spitting vocal punctuation at the end of each phrase driving his rage home – and album is certainly no exception. “Rise” is the highlight track, both beautiful and terrible describing apartheid-era South Africa and the torture endured by its people, and in one lyrical line sums up Lydon’s artistic essence: Anger is an energy.