Sex Pistols thread

[Ovi]

What is essential from these guys other than their sole studio album? Do you feel Never Mind The Bollocks deserves all the acclaim it got over the years? A great album no doubt, but I feel they could've improved and come up with something more consistent the second (or third) time around. But I feel the same about the Ramones' debut, I've never understood why so many prefer it over what followed.

[The Demon]

Aside from Bollocks all the demos with Glen are essential.  You can find them on numerous releases, though some have been remixed by the original producer while others run at wrong speeds.  Check out www.sex-pistols.net for a great sessionography.  I'd also recommend Glen's memoir as the best account of the band, if you haven't read it.

It is too bad their releases (Bollocks box) are ridiculously overpriced now, and they've become one of "those" bands.

[Orange Crate Art]

The Sex Pistols were an exciting band that made an excellent beefy hard rock (you can call it punk rock if you like) album. Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is a classic. Original bassist Glen Matlock wrote a lot of the material. After Glen quit (or was fired) he was replaced with the not-so-great Sid Vicious and then their music went down the tubes (Sid could barely hold his instrument, never mind play the thing). Thank goodness Steve Jones recorded most of the bass tracks.

Even though the Pistols made only one official studio album, there are tons of shitty live albums/cd's floating around with misleading titles like "Best Of The Sex Pistols" and "Power Of The Pistols"...all of which sound like terrible bootlegs (and the ones featuring Sid are the worst of the bunch). Try not to purchase those.

Other than the obvious Never Mind The Bollocks, I recommend the soundtrack album titled "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle" which features some studio tracks not available on Bollocks and an alternate version of Anarchy In The U.K. which sounds angrier than the Bollocks version. Also I recommend the Dave Goodman Demos that were recorded prior to Never Mind The Bollocks (all tracks feature Glen Matlock on bass).

I'm a Sex Pistols fan and I love Never Mind The Bollocks. It's a shame, however, that they sacked Matlock (who was very talented) and replaced him with that idiot Sid Vicious. Malcolm McLaren had a lot to do with destroying them too. He was a terrible man.

[Lowbacca]

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk makes it look as if the Sex Pistols single-handedly destroyed what original (NY) punk rock had stood for. Just putting it out there since I've recently finished the book.





While I've always admired their LP for what it is (historically and 'musically') it never clicked with me as much as the MC5, Stooges, Ramones, etc.

[Aum Bop Diddit]

Yeah, the Pistols made close to a masterpiece in "Nevermind..." then imploded, exploded, degraded, etc.  There are about a half dozen tracks -- "Holiday in the Sun," "Anarchy in the UK,", "Bodies," "Pretty Vacant," "God Save the Queen" (pick your favorite of the remainder as the 6th) -- that are just atom bombs of tracks.  I used to come home from a very stressful job and only this album blared through the headphones (respect my neighbors) could cure me.

The other essential  "Pistols" track for me would be the Sid Vicious take on "My Way," backed by Paul Cook  and Steve Jones. 

[Alex]

I always preferred the Clash.

[Orange Crate Art]

I always preferred The Damned.

[Moon Dawg]

  The Sex Pistols were a singles band, and they are all on BOLLOCKS. An essential album, but everything one needs by The Sex Pistols. The band's shelf life was brief, but the reverberations linger still.