The Flowers Of Romance (studio album)
by Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd. bestography
The Flowers Of Romance is ranked 2nd best out of 18 albums by Public Image Ltd. on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Public Image Ltd. is Metal Box which is ranked number 814 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,115.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Upcoming concerts
Listen to The Flowers Of Romance on YouTube
The Flowers Of Romance track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Flowers Of Romance rankings
arthurbittencourt
DriftingOrpheus
neilgee
cestuneblague
idiotican
Norman Bates
Wasinski
Patman360
Hayden
greatson
covecoveThe Flowers Of Romance collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 44 members
The Flowers Of Romance ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 131 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 5 days ago |  imacgill | 2,527 | 79/100 |
| ! | 10/22/2025 22:53 |  EyeKanFly | 8,092 | 65/100 |
| ! | 08/20/2025 00:46 | Ilovesuicide | 322 | 68/100 |
| ! | 03/19/2025 07:47 | mash | 1,384 | 88/100 |
| ! | 12/27/2024 22:57 | Proto | 3,725 | 33/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 16% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.1/100, a mean average of 73.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.2.
The Flowers Of Romance favourites
Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 23 members
The Flowers Of Romance comments
Showing all 7 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
Jboy56 02/18/2024 08:47 | #302056
Not music
best tracks: under the house, banging the door
Jhlffc 07/12/2015 20:08 | #145612
Not bad
Not as good as Metal Box/Second Edition, but a good release to Public Image Ltd's discography. I like Four Enclosed Walls quite a lot.
timtooky 03/28/2014 15:59 | #107901
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
I'm reviewing this album because honestly I kind of hate it and want to add a dissenting opinion to all the praise it has gotten.
I think most people are of the opinion that PIL were at the top of their game on Metal Box and I can understand that. Personally I think that Album with Bill Laswell is the best thing Lydon's ever done, and that First Issue was as good a manifesto as this band ever gave. Other people have said though that The Flowers of Romance is their best album and I don't understand this opinion at all. I think I read Jah Wobble as having said once that, looking back, he thought PIL didn't live up to their potential. Basically, I'd say that The Flowers of Romance encapsulates the wasted potential of this band.
What the hell is this album about? You've got two smart guys with good taste in music and what do they create when left to their own devices? A collection of unlistenable, anaemic, metallic-sounding songs with bad lyrics. The only listenable songs on this album are "Banging the Door" and "Home is Where the Heart is". Yes I know that the percussive element in this music shows the influence of african/middle-eastern music and german bands that are more interesting than PIL. I don't care. This album gives me a goddamn headache.
Lydon definitely has a unique vision but he needs other people around to create the actual music. Levene was already beginning to show signs of being washed up and mentally disorganized. Yes it is moderately interesting. Is it good? No.
By the time of 'Flowers Of Romance', Lydon had added Martin Atkins on drums at the expense of Jah Wobble on bass. Thus, unlike 'Metal Box' the former rather than the latter play a prominent role. There is an overriding "ethnic" Arabian atmosphere in the sound of the instrumentation, while the backdrop is one of funk syncopation set against Lydon's dark lyrics and chilling voice. The overall effect is a kind of Freudian study that is at the same time nihilistic and harrowing. Key track: Banging The Door.
Your feedback for The Flowers Of Romance
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
