I began listening to punk music at the very start of 2022 with the Ramones. Besides the Sex Pistols and the Modern Lovers, however, I listened to most of these artists from December 2022 to present. Many early punk bands did not last for more than two albums, which is there was enough artists for me to make their own separate page. The picture below is of the Heartbreakers.
The Adverts: Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts (1978): B+
The Cortinas: True Romances (1978): B+
The Heartbreakers: L.A.M.F. (1977): A
The Heartbreakers: Live at Max's Kansas City (1979): B+
Johnny Thunders: So Alone (1978): B-
The Modern Lovers: The Modern Lovers (1976): B+
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation (1977): A
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Destiny Street (1982): B
Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977): A
The Stranglers: Rattus Norvegicus (1977): C
The Vibrators: Pure Mania (1977): A
X-Ray Spex: Germfree Adolescents (1978): A
The Adverts: Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts (1978):
The directness of such songs like "Bored Teenagers" is a double-edged sword. Of course, it's the mantra of every punk coming out of England and the Adverts aren’t going to stupidly dress up any of their lyrics, which would be to the songs' detriment, more than they need to. That they keep it simple is what elevates their talent for writing catchy rock'n'roll. On the other hand, that they don't have much more to say more than "we're just bored teenagers" says everything you need about their longevity compared to some of their contemporaries. B+
The Cortinas: True Romances (1978):
This English punk band's first few singles with the record company Step Forward in 1977 were well-received but by 1978 when they released this debut with CBS Records, reviewers lamented their increasing pop sound. Although their initial singles may be slightly better, they don't have significantly more energy or inspiration. Mostly, they're just horribly recorded. I'm nostalgic for horribly recorded punk music too but that takes away nothing from this album's catchy pop-punk. As with many other punk outfits from the U.K., the lyrical content isn't interesting, but what else is new? B+
The Heartbreakers: L.A.M.F. (1977):
After the breakup of the New York Dolls, guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan combined forces with the punk icon Richard Hell and became the Heartbreakers in 1975. When Hell unsuccessfully tried to take full leadership of the band, he quit before they even had secured a recording contract. To capitalize on the punk movement, the band moved to the U.K. but their drug addictions hurt their commercial appeal and their ability to see their talents through. Nevertheless, they finally signed and recorded their only album. Thunders and Nolan continue utilizing the Doll's 50s/60s rock foundation while little known guitarist Walter Lure more than holds his own, writing catchy pop songs that provide an effective counter-balance to Thunders's nasty New York snarl. In fact, I prefer both of them at the mic to David Johansen. And no, the mix is not that bad--with Found '77 Masters, the album is finally restored to its full power. A
The Heartbreakers: Live at Max's Kansas City (1979):
It was over a month after I first listened to L.A.M.F. before I realized how much I liked it. A month later, I realized just how much I liked Richard Hell, which officially put the Heartbreakers' live material on my to-do list. Streaming platforms don't have any early live Hell recordings but I found Live at Mother's on YouTube and thought it was pretty interesting--they do "Love Comes in Spurts" and "Blank Generation"--although not essential. Then, I moved onto this: the band's last hurray. Originally, they broke up after the failure of their studio album but soon reunited without Nolan in 1978 for "old time's sake" and to earn a buck (these drug addicts never were very well off). Drummer Ty Styx gives the songs a different flavor while the band seems to be having a blast--very crude comments throughout. If nothing else, it remains as an excellent example of the decadent behavior that this band (and the Dolls before them) frequently participated in. I would loved to have been there, mouth agape for all of it. B+
Johnny Thunders: So Alone (1978):
After the break up of the Heartbreakers, Thunders stayed in England where he soon recorded this debut studio album. Featuring ex-Heartbreakers as well as Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, So Alone features an ensemble cast of punk legends that sets up this album to be written across the stars but Thunders phones it in like never before. Featuring lazy singing as well as an uninspired band, Thunders ambles through familiar territory of previously recorded New York Dolls material, wimpy Heartbreakers outtakes, and early 60s rock'n'roll covers that don't have a backbone. If "You Can't Put Your Arm Around a Memory" is really the classic everyone seems to think it is, there's probably a better version somewhere else. Although Steve Jones and Paul Cook playing on the Sex Pistols diss track "London Boys" seems bound to inspire gossip and curiosity much like George Harrison playing on "How Do You Sleep?," it hardly makes an impression. Just like the rest of this album. B-
The Modern Lovers: The Modern Lovers (1976):
The Modern Lovers are famous because they cut this proto-punk album, half of which John Cale produced, in 1971 and 1972. Lead singer Jonathan Richman was an obsessive Velvet Underground fan and became one of the earliest of the 10,000 who both bought the Velvet’s debut and formed a band (as Brian Eno says). Despite this impeccable influence, Richman seems unremarkable. The Velvets were able to pull off artsy excursions because their combined IQ was off the charts; Richman is far from a genius, which is why "Pablo Picasso" sucks. Musically, however, this band is quite convincing and it's no surprise: using the raw rock and roll template of VU and adding an organist that recalls Ray Manzarek more than Cale, they've got their own distinct lane. But like the Stooges, they're only good for a few songs and later punk and proto-punk bands would show just how much more you can add by hacking off the artsy shit, unremarkable singers and all. B+
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation (1977):
Hell has a keen idea of rock'n'roll. Although he worships the Velvets, Dylan, and the New York Dolls, he knows not be too ambitious. Hell does have poetic aspirations, true, but he doesn't let that get in the way of making rock'n'roll, which (in his words) is all about instincts and first takes. And if his strange vocal delivery brings extra attention to those lyrics, so be it. He's got his finger on the pulse of young people and he uses that to write some of the earliest anthems of the punk movement. Everyone from Patti Smith to the Ramones to the Sex Pistols owe him for his early brand of punk's aesthetics. Plus, it's great to hear some early Robert Quine and Marky Ramone. A
Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Destiny Street (1982):
It took Hell and the Voidoids five years to release their sophomore LP, which by then only featured Hell and Quine from the original band. The new band plays faster, a lot like a standard punk band. Although the production is shoddy, the mixing is iffy even on the 2021 remix, and the track-list is a step down from their debut's, the meatier punk band better as well as Hell's vocals makes the product a more conventionally punk. Although the songwriting is fairly hit or miss, there's two great songwriting efforts: "The Kid with the Replaceable Hand" and the title track. Where the songwriting doesn’t impress, however, there’s plenty of space for Robert Quine to shine and my oh my does he. B+
Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977):
Reviewing the Modern Lovers, I noted that "later punk and proto-punk bands would show just how much more you can add by hacking off the artsy shit, unremarkable singers and all." Such is embodied by the Sex Pistols. On and off the mike, Rotten (or his character) is an ego manic and an elementary school brat who takes too much credit for the music he's been a part of and inflates the deeper meanings of his songs to absurd proportions--are we really supposed to believe that "Bodies" was meant to explore both sides of the abortion debate? I don't like him and you shouldn't either but it's precisely the dumpster fire at the front of the stage that makes it so hard to take your eyes off this band. Alas, any attempt to kick Rotten to the curb would take more than it gives and thus, Rotten is... essential to this punk classic. His temper tantrum singing is wildly untamed, horrifically intense, and whenever he acts too tough (which is almost every song), I just laugh my ass off. Equally important are his lyrics, which paint the U.K. as a bloody mess for young adults. Although the Pistols don't exactly bring resolution or optimism or focus or intelligence to their political/social discourse, they're worthy successors to the MC5. And similar to the Detroit band, their energy-infused propaganda is backed by boisterous and surprisingly skillful rock'n'roll with jagged guitar tones and furious drum beats that follow Rotten’s sleaze to a tee. In the end, Never Mind the Bollocks provides the proper soundscape for what their idea of anarchy might look like: it's scary, but not intimidating. A
The Stranglers: Rattus Norvegicus (1977):
The Stranglers were an established band by the time punk rock became a full-fledged movement in Britain. Although they soon became associated with punk through touring with many of the new movement, they had hardly align with the aesthetics of the cultural phenomenon. Musically, they swim in their technical abilities and at the heart of their band is an organist--how very unhip. The two lead vocalists Hugh Cornwell and Jean-Jacques Burnel do sing with a lot of aggression but that's not because they share anything in common with Johnny Rotten or Joe Strummer. The Stranglers' aggression comes mostly from arrogance and a disgusting world view, which plays out in songs of plodding perversion, misogyny, and self-indulgent sagas about sleeping with rats. C
The Vibrators: Pure Mania (1977):
The Vibrators sometimes get shit within the UK punk community because these pub-rockers were already in their late twenties/early thirties when they heard the Sex Pistols and hopped aboard the bandwagon. But hopeless imitators they are not. They don't prescribe to punk as a political movement; they simply play the style and, like many rock'n'roll giants before, they write lyrics about sex. In fact, that even musically they haven't entirely shed their pub-rock days makes them a lot closer stylistically to proto-punk. Complain still you might about "Whips and Furs" and "I Need a Slave," but have some respect: this is the best record the Stooges never made. A
X-Ray Spex: Germfree Adolescents (1978):
Although their guitar-bass-drums trio hold down a conventional hard rock backing, front-woman Poly Styrene and a saxophonist make X-Ray Spex one of the most unique groups of England's punk scene. Styrene sports braces and comes from a different crowd, but she found brotherhood in the scene as a fellow outsider. On paper, she was never born for the mike but there's something incredibly captivating about her strange approach. She sings with all the unhinged energy she can and undoubtedly pulls off some of the most intense lead vocals of the punk era. Saxophonist Lora Logic was only fifteen when Spex's first single was released and soon left the group to focus on her education. She does not feature on their debut but she did write all the saxophone parts, which work brilliantly to compliment Styrene's unsettling authenticity. While Styrene and the frequent horn parts tamper with punk's simple path to success, each melody is as memorable as the last and maybe we need to rethink our generalizations about punk music. As they so beautifully show us, punk rock is not about stripping rock'n'roll to its most basic elements: it's a haven for misfits like Styrene to express themselves in the only way they can. A
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