You’ve got to give some credit to Public Image leader John Lydon, who is best remembered (in more ways than one) as the Sex Pistols‘ “Johnny Rotten.” While that outfit didn’t exactly sell like the Bee Gees, it did impress lots of British record buyers and American critics, and by following in the path of the Pistols, Lydon could presumably have built himself a sizable nest egg.

Instead, he has apparently chosen to thumb his nose at the big time. Dropping his salable monicker in favor of his real name, he has come up with Second Edition, a two-LP collection that stands about as much chance of climbing the charts as did Lou Reed’s infamous Metal Machine Music. The set, which recalls the most self-indulgent and abstruse 1960s psychedelia, features a preponderance of obscure chanted lyrics and dissonant sounds. The only nod to commerciality is the jacket’s UPC symbol. Clearly, it takes more guts than intelligence to make an album like this—or to play it.

The album is available here.