Yes, ~I know this review has been done before. I know I did it myself, at some point. But I’m going to do it again, and this time I’ll put all my review-writing knowledge into it. So here goes.
The stories are legend : from ten-minute, one-song concerts to firing a bass player because he (quote/unquote) «played too well», the Sex Pistols have had their share of bizarre music history moments. But all the flash and the controversy seem to hide the most important part of it all: the music.
Forget the nonsense about the Pistols not being able to play. Apart from Sid, every one of them was a decent musician. The thing was, they didn’t really WANT to play well. Those noisy three-chord songs were enough for them. They wanted to shock the public consciousness, and what better way to do it than to release a seemingly crappy album? Hence «Nevermind The Bollocks…».
Released in 1977, the Pistols’ only official release is what you could call «punk in a box». In fact, if there ever was a college subject on punk (I wish…), this would probably be the handbook. Almost every single track on here is a bona-fide punk classic. No, scratch that – a
music classic. Take
God Save The Queen , for example. Take
Anarchy In The UK . The list goes on. The Pistols have made an undeniable impact on the music scene, furthered by their premature disbanding in 1978.
However, with all the controversy long gone, their musical legacy lives on. Ask any punk kid these days about this album, and chances are, they’ll have heard of it. It is a classic, and its songs last to this day.
There are twelve songs on this album, the first of which is
Holidays In The Sun . This song has one of the best, most famous intros in punk-rock, but the fact is it then becomes kind of blah. Not that it is by any means a bad song, it’s just not the greatest on the album. Still, there’s some pretty decent singing and a good solo to boot, making this a
(4,5/5)
Bodies is next, and hugely underrated. Featuring probably the best lyrics on this CD, this story about a teenage mother’s abortion drives by at a devastating pace, leaving a trail of destruction behind it, The bridge is particularly brilliant, with Rotten spewing out a string of profanity that, while formulaic today, was unheard-of in 1977. All in all, an excellent song and one that should be given more credit.
(5/5)
No Feelings is the third track, and once again, it’s utter genius. The chorus is instantly recognisable and perversely appealing (who wouldn’t like to say that out loud?) and the riffage is catchy and contagious. Plus, there’s an excellent solo to top it all off. One of my personal favourites on the album and one every punk fan should look into.
(5/5)
Liar keeps up the string of excellent songs on the album. Once again the lyrics are brilliant and make us want to shout them out in somebody’s face. The solo is simple, but excellent, and the chorus, albeit slightly stupid (what the heck does «you’re in suspension» mean?) is catchy enough to stick in your head for days. In short, we have another winner.
(5/5)
To talk about the next song is fairly moot. Probably the best social-criticism song ever,
God Save The Queen is delightfully disrespectful and dead catchy. Everybody and their mothers knows the lyrics to this song, so I won’t talk about them. The music is as simple as it is chaotic, and the video has the strange particularity of featuring Sid actually playing the bassline…correctly! When all is said and done, there’s only one rating for this song –
(5/5)
Somebody on this site spoke ill of
Problems , bjut for me, this is one of the top three songs on the album. Once again, the lyrics make us want to go and slag somebody off («The problem is you!!») and the music is based on yet another simplistic, catchy punk riff. Anopther one to shout out loud on the street, then ignore the accusing looks
(5/5)
Seventeen is one of the two weakest tracks on the album. The pace is faster than on any other song, but the chorus is much less interesting, The lyrics do, however, contain a few gems («when you’re mommy dies, she will not return!», «I’m a lazy sod/ I’m a lazy Sid») and overall, the music goes by quite pleasantly. It’s just not as much of a classic as the others
(4/5)
The next song can be summed up in two words : overplayed.
Anarchy in The UK is a good song, but I guarantee that by the tenth replay, you’ll be sick to your stomach of it.. Everyobdy knows this song, in either this form or the Megadeth cover, so talking about it is pointless. Suffice it to say that the lyrics are, once again, quite good, but as I said it quickly becomes tiredsome.
(4,5/5)
Sub-mission is one of the shortest songs on the album, and probably the most fun one of all [/b]. The title came up when manager Malcolm MacLatren asked that the Pistols write a song about submission. The band came up with «I’m on a submarine mission for you, baby!» Simply hilarious. The musical base is simple, but the solo is nothing short of awesome. All in all, another top-notch song
(5/5)
Pretty Vacant is one of the Pistols’ top three greatest hits, and it deserves to. It once again boasts excellent lyrics («you’ll always find us/out to lunch!») and it’s an acidic take on futility and vapidness. The music is standard Pistols, simple, raucous and catchy with a pretty good solo, and, once again, this song deserves full marks.
(5/5)
The next song is the weakest on the album,
New York is an uninspired homage to the New York Dolls, with ripped-off lyrics included. As this is just an uninteresting, throwaway filler song, I won’t talk too much about it, except to say this : skip it.
(2/5) .
Fortunately, the album closes in style.
EMI is a great song, with lyrics once again pking fun at the Pistols’ «one night stand» at EMI (check out the subtitle
Unlimited Edition ). The lyrics are utter genius, probably the best on the album, but the music is a bit too samey and dejá-vu. Still, an excellent, infectious way to close up the album.
(4,5/5 )
All in all, a must-have for any and all punk fans out there. If you consider yourself as one, then I have only three words for you.: gat it. NOW.
