Oh So Pretty! (Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols)

Member Name: mo79

Product:	Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols
Date:	04/07/00 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hard rawkin', spiteful, cocky, political, infectious, moving and revolutionary (also digitally remastered)

Disadvantages: Not much longevity, some songs sound samey, and there's only really a handful of classics

After The Beatles, The Stones and The 60's; The Sex Pistols, The Clash and the 70's arrived; and boy was it exciting; we had truly confrontational arists popping up; making music for pleasure, for people, for escape and for change - and an F off to authority...Oh, and I was born in '79; just thought I'd throw that in.
As well as the beginning of the gloomy Thatcher years and Britain's stiff upper lip becoming increasingly stiffer than a man with a copy of Playboy, the snarl of gutternsnipe poets such as John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten - an Irishman, you know) backed by few chord aural vandals became visibly apparent; and it wasn't an indie thing, oh no, the Malcolm McLaren managed The Sex Pistols wanted to penetrate the mainstream and open up peoples minds, not to destroy them or to tell them what to do, which is what really was subtley being done by political decline; the dissapearance of communities, the start of isolation and the mechanization of humanity.
The Sex Pistols in hindsight may be just another meat and potatoes band now, but unlike Primal Scream and their recent political sloganeering charade, The Sex Pistols message had meaning and relevance for it's day. It told people that they didn't have to conform, that what they are is better than the next person.
Behind the politics though, The Sex Pistols were generally a fun loving band of intelligent louts (atleast Johnny was, and still is) with some extremely infectious heavy pop who struck a chord with the nations (and the US's) kids and spawned generations (still going) of kids wanting to join bands (and other art forms) just to have their own sense of identity and accomplishment.
Sadly though, The Pistols one and only album (don't bother with all the other dodgy releases) which ended with much prophecised self-destruction was a little hit and miss compared to their message. 'God Save The Queen', 'Anarchy In The UK' and 'Pretty Vac
ant' are without a doubt, punk's grandfather songs (let's not bring The Stooges into this...) but the others are mostly just a little bit too safe, although there's no denything that all but a few tracks on this album are great, not just the most well known ones. Glen Matlock was the man behind Sex Pistols tunes, while Sid Vicious was the man who invented the concept of the true rockstar, and sadly the tragic one aswell; and there are still not many frontman who have ever been as daring as Johnny Rotten (except maybe Ian Curtis of Joy Division; *shiver*)...If you like punk (and I don't mean boring boring Blink 182 *yawn*), then you must get this just to add some history to your collection if you haven't already; this album defined punk, and you won't hear better other songs than 'Liar', 'New York', 'Sub-Mission', the funny closer 'EMI Unlimited Edition', 'Problems', 'Bodies' and 'Holidays In The Sun' (which somewhat prophecised the collapse of the Berlin Wall). If you want some crisp distorted, angry pop, buy this! This is defining punk, at it's best. If you don't like them, then to quote one Mr Rotten "Piss Off!"

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