Decided to do something different this time with an album which I've been re-visiting. Not just any album though - one of my Top 3 albums ever.
It's hard to overstate the impact the Sex Pistols had on changing the face of popular music in the UK (and probably elsewhere). No Pistols - no Nirvana. no Foo Fighters, no Arctic Monkeys, no Idles, no numerous snivelling indie guitar bands that have followed. The Pistols set the future template by pressing 'reset' on the whole fat and overblown rock music industry in the 1970's where success was measured by the length of both the drum solo and the lead singers hair.
The Pistols made this one album before they imploded amongst death, squalor and recriminations and I for one am glad it ended then. They leave a perfect one album legacy. Forget the outtakes, bootlegs, live recordings and fairy tale rubbish subsequently recorded by the rotting corpse of the band - that's just corporate vultures wringing as much money they can out of the Pistols 'brand'. Forget the non-music antics, the swearing on TV, the circus that they became.
Instead let's focus on the one proper album they made. It has certainly lost none of it's edginess and power. It still captures the UK in 1977 but it still remains relevant and immediate. It still smacks you in the face, sonically and lyrically.
What makes it so good? Well it's the combination of Steve Jones's multi-layered power chords and his licks that sit in between the lines (Jones has been a criminally under-rated guitarist); Paul Cook's rocksteady and crashing beat and drum fills, and his unusually clever and frequent use of the ride cymbal; John Lydon's (nee Rotten) snarling, spitting vocals along with his nihilistic lyrics. And last but not least original bassist Glen Matlock's eye for a melody and a hook (the band effectively ceased musically when Matlock was sacked by McLaren for being 'too musical'; McLaren wanted a cartoon punk in the band and got one with Sid Vicious who couldn't even play the bass - the bass parts on 'Never Mind The Bollocks' are played by guitarist Steve Jones).
The production is a total wall of sound but never muddied, listening on headphones you get to hear these constituent parts in all their individual and combined glory.
The iconic album cover by artist Jamie Reid has been much copied but never bettered, it suited the contents perfectly.
The hype and 'notoriety' surrounding the Sex Pistols has unfortunately meant that most people's focus has not been on the music. It's worth revisiting this album which captured the punk zeitgeist in 40 minutes of perfect music and words.
Here's the music:
