What the World Needs Now...
| What the World Needs Now... | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 September 2015[1] | |||
| Studio | Wincraft Studios, England[2] | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 55:07 | |||
| Label | PiL Official Ltd | |||
| Public Image Ltd chronology | ||||
| ||||
What the World Needs Now... is the tenth studio album by British rock band Public Image Ltd. It was released on September 4, 2015.
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| Classic Rock | [5] |
| Drowned in Sound | 4/10[6] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| NME | 7/10[8] |
| The Observer | [9] |
| Pitchfork | 6.8/10[10] |
| Q | [11] |
| Spin | 7/10[12] |
| Uncut | 7/10[13] |
What the World Needs Now... received mostly favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72 based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Double Trouble" | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Know Now" | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Bettie Page" | 3:21 |
| 4. | "C'est la Vie" | 6:08 |
| 5. | "Spice of Choice" | 5:43 |
| 6. | "The One" | 3:42 |
| 7. | "Big Blue Sky" | 8:14 |
| 8. | "Whole Life Time" | 3:46 |
| 9. | "I'm Not Satisfied" | 5:43 |
| 10. | "Corporate" | 5:23 |
| 11. | "Shoom" | 6:30 |
Personnel
Personnel adapted from What the World Needs Now liner notes.[14]
- Public Image Ltd.
- John Lydon – vocals, production, cover art
- Lu Edmonds – guitar, saz, piano, cümbüs, production
- Scott Firth – bass guitar, keyboards, strings, percussion, production
- Bruce Smith – drums, percussion, programming, production
- Other personnel
- John "Rambo" Stevens – production, layout
- James Towler – production, engineering, mixing
- Tom Colwill – assistant engineering
- John Dent – mastering
- Tomohiro Noritsume – booklet photography
Charts
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] | 192 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] | 104 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] | 23 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 29 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] | 3 |
References
- ^ Soto, Alfred (18 May 2015). "Public Image Ltd. Announce New Album, Tour". SPIN. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (18 May 2015). "Public Image Ltd. Ready New LP 'What the World Needs Now...'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ a b "What the World Needs Now by Public Image Ltd". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Public Image Ltd. - What the World Needs Now..." AllMusic. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Hasted, Nick (4 September 2015). "PiL: What The World Needs Now..." Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ^ Doherty, Jack (3 September 2015). "Public Image Ltd: What the World Needs Now..." Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ Mojo magazine. October 2015, p.89
- ^ Pattison, Louis (26 August 2015). "Public Image Ltd – 'What The World Needs Now…'". NME. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Mackay, Emily (6 September 2015). "PiL: What the World Needs Now review – exhilarating, foul-mouthed fun". The Observer. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Masters, Marc (15 September 2015). "Public Image Ltd.: What the World Needs Now..." Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ Q magazine. October 2015, p.113
- ^ Weiss, Dan (4 September 2015). "Review: Public Image Ltd. Accidentally Make an Enjoyable Record With 'What the World Needs Now…'". Spin. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Uncut magazine. October 2015, p.81
- ^ "PiL – What the World Needs Now... (2015, Digipak, CD)". Discogs.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Public Image Limited – What The World Needs Now..." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Public Image Limited – What The World Needs Now..." (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.