Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols

Blast from the Past - 10 Punk Rock Albums Everyone Should Own!

Never has a band, not even The Clash, depicted the London punk rock scene as accurately (or for that matter as angrily) as The Sex Pistols.  Tons of guitar distortion, heavy drums, and Johnny Rotten's frothy delivery all combined make for one amazing album on Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols.  While two two most popular tracks seem to be "God Save the Queen" (which is not the British national anthem, although it really should be) and "Anarchy in the U.K." this album doesn't have a bad song on it.  "Seventeen" tells us what it's like to be a teenager in 1970's low class England and the band also pays homage to the U.S. with "New York" while "Bodies" speaks of times of war." This fast, angry, archaic, bold punk rock, well worth the $12.00 or so you will probably spend on the album.  It's available on iTunes for $9.99 (a steal considering all 17 tracks are individually priced at $1.29 each) but there's nothing like the actual album and the original vinyl is ever better if you can get it. This album changed things not just for the underground world of punk rock but for the entire rock and roll music scene in general.  This really is an album that everyone (and I mean everyone) needs to own.

By I.M. Wright

Green Day - Dookie

Blast From the Past - 10 Punk Rock Albums   Everyone Should Own!                                                                            

Three chords haven't sounded so sick since the last time we hard from The Ramones. West coast punk visionaries Green Day kocked around a little bit but when this punk-pop fusion burst on the scene in 1994, they were instantly rocketed to the top of the charts. They've released several albums and two rock operas since then, but nothing has come close to Dookie.  Lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong's faux British accent is perfect for so many songs on this album.  Songs like "Longview" painted a perfect picture of the slacker lifestyle that so many associate with punk rock while others such as sleeper hit "Basket Case" take us inside the mind of someone who feels like their going insane but can't find a way out.  There's also some romance though, as can be heard in tracks like "She" and "When I Come Around" as well as "In the End," although that talks about losing a girl rather than being in love. Don't get me wrong, Green Day is an amazing band and this album proves it.  They deserve the $10.00 you're about to pay for the album and it's totally worth it. You won't find a bad song on this album. Every track is unique.

Train - Save Me, San Fransisco

As I listen to Save Me San Francisco, I think "Is this really Train?". The style is very different from previous albums, and this is hardly surprising after being separated for a few years. The album has a much more clean, studio style. It's almost too clean-it lacks the homey, jamming feeling found on "For Me, It's You" and "Drops of Jupiter", and even "My Private Nation". The songs themselves aren't too bad, although by far the best tracks are "Hey Soul Sister" and "If It's Love".  Hey Soul Sister has an almost addicting beat and tune, and, in my opinion, the best lyrics on the album, although it honestly didn't take much. It has, however, wriggled it's way into my "favorites" playlist on my iPod. "Brick by Brick" also deserves a mention as one of the better tracks. The album as a whole has an interesting string influence, quite different from previous work. A few individual tracks also have more of a country influence. Worth buying for Train fans, though others might find the most value in purchasing only single tracks. 



By K. B.

The Clash - London Calling

Blast From the Past - 10 Punk Rock Albums Everyone Should Own!

This is punk rock music at it's best. It's been over thirty years since the historic release of this album and London Calling is every bit as good as it was in 1979.  All nineteen tracks are fantastic, as is the classic shot of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his instrument.  The title track, London Calling is simply one of the best punk songs every. Period.  So few people have heard the grossly underrated "The Guns of Brixton and Hateful" or the tunes reggae dub "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Revolution Rock."  The cover of Vince Taylor's "Brand New Cadillac" is great as well.   Joe Strummer proves he can sing reggae tunes with the same rastaman vibrations as Bob Marley or Jimmy Cliff and still show his usual punk flair on other tracks.  Rebel themed tune "I'm Not Down" paints a vivid picture of what punk rock used to stand for and the raw power of it all. Many people have said many different things about this album over the years, but almost everyone seems to agree on one thing; London Calling is a masterpiece by just about any definition.

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