A sampler, featuring Sex Pistols, The Cramps, The Dickies, Wall of Voodoo, 999, The Adolescents, and Sham 69.
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The Punk Rock, Vol. 1.
Category: Bands
Three nonpareil artists, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, created a remarkable synergy and unstoppable kinetic energy that has yet to be surpassed to this day.
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The Devo.
Formed in Akron, this groundbreaking group achieved world domination upon their Warner debut album in 1978, which was instigated in part by David Bowie, and was produced by Brian Eno. Equal parts punk and new wave, Devo featured lyrics rife with sardonic humour, social satire, and general weirdness, based mainly on the concept of de-evolution, or human regression.
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The Who: A Force Majeure.
Some early titanic achievements by this legendary group. Ably demonstrated is this band’s fiercely combustible power and unstoppable propulsive energy. Moon, Townshend, Entwistle, Daltrey: rock gods, all.
Marc Bolan was the founder, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, and sole constant member of the English band T. Rex, a group renowned for sensuous grooves and cryptic lyrics chock-a-block with innuendo. When Bolan appeared on Top of the Pops with glitter makeup, the glam era was officially underway. The vocalist also had a memorable way with ballads, as the above performances demonstrate. Most of all, of course, he was The Groover.
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Gospel and Such.
“Very Great” moments in Gospel music, throughout history.
Brian Connolly, Steve Priest, Andy Scott, and Mick Tucker comprised the glam maestros known as {The} Sweet. SchrΓΆdringer’s definite article notwithstanding, these great men rose to achieve world domination in the 70s. Extraordinary catchiness paired with pure power escalated Sweet to the uppermost echelons. They also projected a sense of great fun, often sorely lacking in hard rock.
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Trick, Cheap.
Robin Zander, Tom Peterrson, Bun E. Carlos, and Rick Nielsen made copious amounts of aural nirvana, particularly in the late 70s, as Cheap Trick. The concerts in Budokan were recorded in 1978, but not released in the US until demand became so frenzied that Epic had little choice. Intended solely as a Japanese album, the LP jettisoned the band into the realms of world domination. This was preceded by Heaven Tonight, the band’s greatest studio achievement. Several pieces from this classic are captured here performed live at various venues. Cheap Trick’s highs were nothing short of vertiginous.
Robyn Hitchcock is one of the more prolific and gifted figures in a certain (eccentric) quadrant of music history. After leaving The Soft Boys, a Neo-psych outfit he founded, Hitchcock emerged as a most formidable solo figure. Heavily influenced by Dylan, and Syd Barrett, his compositions tend towards the obscure, the ineffable, the humorous, the surreal. He remains a vital figure to this day.
The Velvet Underground consisted, in their heyday, of vocalist/guitarist Lou Reed, keyboardist/bassist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and Moe Tucker on the drumkit. Doug Yule replaced Cale in 1969, and Teutonic songstress Nico appeared on the group’s debut record.
Often cited as Godfathers of Punk, this hugely influential New York band mixed art rock, minimalism, garage rock, and often quite taboo lyrical subject matter. Brian Eno commented on the group’s initial lack of sales, “Everyone who bought one of those 30,000 albums (referring to the “Banana Album”) ended up starting a band.”
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