Public Image Ltd.- Second Edition (Vinyl, 1979, Warner Bros. 2WX 3288, 2LP)

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Public Image Ltd.- Second Edition (Vinyl, 1979, Warner Bros. 2WX 3288, 2LP).
The second album by Public Image Ltd, released in late 1979.
The original UK version was called Metal Box.  Metal Box was released as three 12" 45 rpm records in round metal canister similar to what 16mm film would come in.  While this was a cool idea it proved wildly impractical -- getting the records out of the can wasn't easy and the records would often end up damaged in the process of repeated removal.
For the US release Warner Bros. wasn't about to invest in fancy packaging for a band with limited commercial appeal in the States, so the record was titled Second Edition in the US and released as a traditional set of two 33 rpm records.
Second Edition has a gatefold jacket.  The front cover and inside the gatefold are pictures of the band members, distorted in fun house mirror style.  The back cover has the lyrics and credits.  There are plain white inner sleeves.  Somewhat oddly, the record is released by Warner Bros. but has Island Records labels.  The labels also include a small version of the PIL logo.
The record was highly acclaimed critically and is considered a post-punk classic.  Second Edition walks a fine line between accessibility and experimentation and largely succeeds.  Make no mistake -- the accessibility I refer to doesn't mean the record is in any way something you'd ever hear on mainstream radio -- it means that the music is not deliberately off-putting, as much of what I call "No Wave" of this period seemed to be.
It's not anything one would call "rock," in any sense of that word that I think is meaningful.  There are what we have come to think of rock instruments -- electric guitar, bass, drums -- but they come together here, with Lydon's voice, by turns haunting, whining, threatening -- to make something very different and oddly compelling.
The record plays very well -- hardly a crackle.  The recording seems a little . . . muted, lacking the prominent bashing drum sound of Flowers of Romance.  But the tone fits the music.  The jacket is generally in good shape,  There is a defect on the front cover, middle (see photo) -- it's not a gouge or a stain -- it could be a defect in the printing.  There is some wear-through, a little crunch on one corner, a small one where the opening is, and edge, spine, and corner wear commensurate with a 40+ year-old record.