| Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols | review #2 | 1977 |
| The Great Rock & Roll Swindle | 1979 |
| Flogging A Dead Horse (compilation) | 1980 |
| Filthy Lucre Live | 1996 |
It's normally kind of difficult to write a proper introduction on a band who only had one proper studio album, but in the Sex Pistols' case, there seems to be more to their legacy than that. It's well understandable that they were not the first punk band to exist (The Ramones and New York Dolls predated them, to give a couple examples, and even earlier bands like The Who certainly epitomized the attitude in places), but they are certainly the most publicized one. See, this is one of those bands that happens to be more famous for their general attitude around the time period and their general image than the actual music they created. See, in the wake of commercialized radio and 'pretentious' art rock in the early-mid 70's, it was almost necessary for an emphasis on simple, basic rock and roll with attitude. And there was probably no band that better represented that attitude, from their lyrics to their violent stage performances and shocking offstage behavior.
The problem is, though, the musical climate has changed considerably by the 21st century, and though their influence is still strongly felt amongst the modern rock scene, it's highly debatable how well their actual music holds up. Plus, the big thing is that the band simply didn't have much of an output to go on, since they broke up after just one album - a record that's good, but certainly does not thrill me like the better ones of the era. But that's for the review below, so hold on for that one. What I also find interesting about the band is that they almost seemed to be numerous contradictions within their history. They came from the punk mold, yet the actual music on Never Mind The Bollocks seems to be more in the vein of slightly more energetic midtempo hard rock with only the attitude as punk. Plus, they were actually a manufactured band by their manager (Malcolm McLaren), they actually reunited in the mid 90's for a live album (motivated by cash, of course), and then there's that novelty soundtrack The Great Rock & Roll Swindle. Enough said.
Regardless of whatever my complaints about the band may be (besides their inadequate sense of importance for such a limited output, their actual music could get really, really monotonous), they certainly did have a lot of virtues: Johnny Rotten was one interesting vocal personality, with his lyrical rants and snotty voice usually holding interest, plus guitarist Steve Jones certainly could play his instrument, with the occasional good riffs (and even solos here and there). Plus, their classic singles alone should earn them a respectable (though not immortal) place in rock history. But enough of that - I should save further opinions on the band for the next album review, for obvious reasons. At least until I get into a couple of their more important posthumous albums like Swindle and that reunion album of theirs.
--Nick Karn
Post your comments about Sex Pistols
(Philip Maddox's review)
Before I really get into this review, let me say that I'm not the world's biggest punk fan. I've got a couple of Dead Kennedys records, a couple of Clash albums, a couple of Ramones albums, and Never Mind The Bollocks (well, I've got a couple of latter day pop-punk records, but really, they have very little to do with actual punk). I also don't really care about who came first - yeah, yeah, the Ramones and the New York Dolls and the Stooges and a bunch more bands that are considered punk came out at either the exact same time or before the Pistols. I don't care about all the hype I'd heard about these guys - when I first heard this album, I'd never even heard of the band. My brother just said, "Hey, listen to this!", so I did. I don't even care about their relationship with groups like Pink Floyd and how much they hated them. Nope, all I really care about is how good the music is.
So, just how good is the music? It rules. No fooling. This is one of those albums that everyone hated when it came out, became famous for inventing punk (even though it didn't) and grew to be considered one of the best albums of all time, then was swallowed by the anti-hype that the Pistols truly were talentless thugs. I cannot be swayed however - this is still my all time favorite punk album (and yes, I've heard London Calling and Rocket To Russia and, well, yadda yadda yadda). Even ignoring the revolutionary and ararchistic tendancies of this album, the tunes are just fantastic.
"Holidays In The Sun" features an awesome descending riff that stands as one of my favorite riffs of all time. "God Save The Queen", the tune that got 'em deported, is a hilarious, relentlessly angry rocker with a fantastically catchy riff and a great chanting section at the end ("Nooooooooo future, Noooooooo future, Noooooooo future for you!"). "Anarchy In The U.K." just begs to be sung along with with its obnoxious vocals and varied riffs. Even the lesser known tunes here make me bounce up and down in frantic joy - "New York" is just a catchy, catchy tune with another strong riff, "EMI" is another hilarious rant about the record company that wouldn't risk having the Pistols on their label, and even "No Feelings" strikes me as great. Every single tune is very, very good. Even my least favorite tune here, "Sub-Mission" (a slow groove with lyrics about submarines), sticks in my head after hearing it.
Basically, if you decide to buy this today, go about it the same way you would about Sgt. Pepper - forget about the revolutions it caused and the bands it influenced, beacuse there were bands around that probably did it first. Pet Sounds and Freak Out! were around before Sgt. Pepper, The Ramones and Fun House were around before Bollocks. Just go in with as clear a pallate as you can and try to enjoy the music. I loved this album before I knew anything about it, so you can't accuse me of simply "buying into the hype". This is simply excellent, high quality, catchy 3-chord rock music that should provide a good time for anyone who decides to give it a listen. But then again, I find Sgt. Pepper to be overrated, so you never know, do you?
HIGH POINTS: Anarchy In The U.K., Pretty Vacant, God Save The Queen, Sub-Mission. LOW POINTS: EMI, New York.
As I might have implied in the introduction, this is probably one of the more overrated albums in rock history. Of course, it's title comes primarily from the band themselves being dubbed as legends, but there's really nothing much else to go on than this here record, so what else can I do but call it that? Anyway, Never Mind The Bollocks is often regarded as the pivotal chapter in the punk revolution, with its' pure nihilistic and biting attitude. While it does get too much undeserved credit for actually starting the genre, there are understandable reasons for it: as far as frontmen go, there aren't many that compare to Johnny Rotten in terms of personality - his decidedly snotty, almost animal-like at times, approach brings to life the subject matter of the lyrics (the otherwise just decent riff rocking abortion tune "Bodies" would never have the same impact without him - the 'bodiiiiiiiiies...' chorus and the 'fuck this and fuck that...' portion in particular are given a huge amount of conviction). Pure anger, rebellion, all that stuff, and on a few occasions, the songs are even backed up by very catchy melodies, which manage to drive home the point all the more effectively.
The real problem I have with this album, though, centers around its' approach musically. Sure, a lot of the songs follow the simplistic nature of punk rock, but in a way that makes things seem really monotonous. The barely competent rhythm section and simplified style, for one thing, actually makes the material sound plodding, almost like the songs are too much in the way of straightforward midtempo arena rock that isn't very energetic. This is probably the most frustrating on "Problems", which considering its' simplified approach, shouldn't be dragging on for over 4 minutes on repetitive melodies and riffs (slow songs like these shouldn't be going against the art rock attitude, you know). Others like "Liar" and "No Feelings" are also just too simplified for my liking - beneath the prominent attitude, there's really not much I can grab onto, as the melodies are only decent (though still memorable), and the music isn't terribly invigorating.
Fortunately, when the band does nail down their approach, they are able to produce something special. I'm looking at the most well known song here in particular, their most famous single "Anarchy In The U.K." - here, the anthemic nature of it reaches glorious heights, with a really defiant and inhuman attitude displayed in the lyrics, coupled with an equally captivating singalong melody and main riff. "Pretty Vacant" probably nails the 'arena' part of their sound the best, as it's also a teriffic singalong like "Anarchy", with a great echoey opening riff to go along with its' unforgettable chorus. "God Save The Queen" and "Holidays In The Sun", while less spectacular, are also quite good - the latter in particular for its' hilarious 'I'm gonna go over the Berlin Wall' section and main riff, and the former in delivering on its' opening lines 'God save the queen / her fascist regime' with real force. Can't beat that ending chant - 'nooooooo future.... nooooo future for you...'. Great stuff.
Surprisingly enough, there's also one more highlight in the one tune that deviates the most from their sound. "Sub-Mission" is another midtempo tune, but it also has a bit of a weird disco/funk vibe and lyrics that aren't exactly angry like the rest of the album. Quite interesting and melodic, too, which is more than I can say about the other three songs - "Seventeen", while decent, is really a forgettable filler tune that just passes by, and the two closing tracks here are almost total disasters: "New York" and "EMI" certainly do have the anger and intent, but pretty much forget to add memorable melody and substance, just rambling on generically (and irritatingly, in the latter record company rant's case, with the ultra-repetitve chorus). Unfortunately, the weaker tracks prevent the album from a higher grade, but this is still a very good record in spite of the many obvious weaknesses it has, even if it is by no means a timeless classic.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
COMMENTS
Does anyone on this site know what "nihilist" means? I see it dropped in a lot of articles for no apparent reason. John Lydon is far from nihilistic; his songs deal with optimism and the possibility and hope for positive change...change for a reason. Also, why is Glen Matlock not mentioned anywhere in the Sex Pistols' section? And...when did the Sex Pistols get deported over "God Save the Queen"????? The song was banned from a lot of radio, not given credit for hitting number one, the Pistols were banned from a lot of clubs, and the band had trouble getting US visas (probably some from other countries, too) but I've never, ever read about them being deported. Please correct me if I somehow missed this somewhere, but this really seems a gross inaccuracy.
PS - Tell Nick Karn that for equating slow songs with "art rock" he should forfeit his right to listen to music. If John Lydon hated "art rock" so much then why was he such a fan of Lou Reed, John Cale, Captain Beefheart, Roxy Music, and Can?????? I suggest in the future you don't base your reviews on other people's, but on the actual music and at least a passing knowledge of the band's history.
Best wishes,
Chris DeCrocker
Mah. I WANT to like this album--it's certainly better than the Ramones' debut and I have STILL have yet to be blown away by a punk release of any kind. Unfortunately, it contains "Seventeen", "New York", and "Liar", crappy, un-catchy songs if I ever heard them. Too bad--cause at least half of the OTHER tracks on here are classics.
Yup, I'm talking about "Pretty Vacant", "Holiday in the Sun", "God Save the Queen", and "Anarchy in the UK", the four big singles. I'm also talking about "Problems", which deserves every second of its four-and-a-half-minute length, "Submission", which is no less than an actual, honest-to-goodness classic rock tune with some competent soloing in the middle (gasp! the horror!), and "Bodies", the most angry, abrasive tune on the album with a very un-politically-correct message. C'mon--when was the last time you heard a lefty rant against abortion? And he does it all in a very effective, brutal imitation of the culprits: "F*** it all to f***er, f***ing brat!/She don't want a baby who looks like that!!!" Yikes.
Unfortunately, all this material, in typical, "unpretentious" punk fashion, sounds like it was all thrown into a hat and drawn out at random in order to figure out the sequencing. Idiots. Stop doing that! Learn how to sequence, you punk morons!! That includes you, Bad Religion!!!
Good album, but not quite perfect. An 8.5.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Black Arabs, (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone. LOW POINTS: None.
One heck of an entertaining joke, that's what this album is. This is actually more of a Malcolm McLaren project than a Sex Pistols album, as he basically put together a bunch of Pistols rarities, including a number of 50's cover versions (some of them sung by Paul Cook and even Sid Vicious after Johnny Rotten's departure) and interspersed them with absolutely absurd comic songs that includes such unthinkable things as Pistols hits appearing in disco medleys and orchestral arrangements, and silly overblown vaudeville numbers. Not to mention that on some tracks the band actually plays on, they are made to look like some kind of sick joke. I mean, they're covering The Monkees? Johnny Rotten's totally forgetting the words to "Johnny B. Goode" and just blabbering out random crap about how 'it's fucking awful' for 6 minutes? That's basically just a little of what you'll get here on this double length album.
Not that it's actually better than Bollocks, of course, as the entire point of this soundtrack is not to showcase Pistols classics or revolutionize rock music or anything like that, but create an intentional damage to the band's reputation. And a lot of the time, it works well for what it is. For one thing, the disco medley of Pistols hits on the track "Black Arabs", done by an authentic-sounding disco act of the same name, absolutely rules - great funky rhythms, synths, a slick production and an entertainingly exaggerated vocal delivery. It's the best thing on here, if you ask me (yes, I'm serious). Plus, stuff like the French version of "Anarchy In The U.K." (complete with accordion and violin!) and Sid Vicious' absolutely hilariously awful delivery on "My Way" (so bad, it's damn near classic!) are a total trip to listen to, and in its' orchestral version with McLaren spoken delivery, I can even see melodic potential in "E.M.I." now!
While providing comic relief in making fun of the band, though, this also has some pretty darn convincing performances by them - though the idea of them covering The Monkees' "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" might seem ridiculous, the way the energy and snotty vocal delivery is, it almost sounds like a lost outtake from Bollocks, which is extremely ironic, if you get what I mean. There's also another raw and maybe even more ripping-at-your-face take of "Anarchy In The U.K." and the sick concentration camp tune "Belsen Was A Gas" (a two minute blast of aggression and pure shock value), plus a decent singalong take of The Who's "Substitute". And the second half of the album has a bunch of well-done 50's covers ("Somethin' Else" and the hilarious Vicious-styled take on "Rock Around The Clock" being the best of them) and fun originals such as the fine arena rock of "Silly Thing" and the group-sung title track, to name a couple.
In a certain sense, this is an absolutely brilliant idea Malcolm McLaren had going on here - certainly not in the greatness of the material (not to mention the fact that it goes a bit over the top in kitsch at times), but the very concept of the whole thing. It amptly demonstrates another previously unheard side of the Pistols' history in exposing them as a joke, and it's great fun as well. In fact, so much fun that dumb overblown stuff like the sappy ballad "You Need Hands", the pure vaudeville singalong of "Friggin' In The Riggin'", and another ridiculous Vicious workout in "Who Killed Bambi" that I would normally hate almost work quite well in this context in ending the album. Actually, I almost wanted to give this the same 7.5 rating as Bollocks at one point, but I chickened out, just because the album hardly goes beyond good entertainment at all. Still a necessary listen in many ways, however. You may be shocked at some of what you hear if you're a hardcore supporter of the band and haven't yet heard this.
Post your comments / reviews for this album