62: Sex Pistols release their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1975. The band was originally made up of vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock (later replaced by Sid Vicious). Even though the band was only together for three years, and produced just four singles and one studio album, they were a powerful musical force that people still talk about today. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols was recorded between March and June 1977 in London and was produced by Chris Thomas, of Roxy Music fame. He spent a lot of time on the orchestration of the album, layering sounds on top of each other for a complex feel. The album was released to troubled reviews and gathered criticism for the lyrics of the songs “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the UK”, as well as Jamie Reid’s cover art for the single of “God Save the Queen”. Public perception was that they were an attack at the ruling Monarch at the time Queen Elizabeth II. The cover art gave all sorts of issues as well, because of the supposedly obscene name forcing some record store owners to go to court for displaying it for sale. In 1987, Rolling Stone magazine named it the second-most important album of the previous 20 years, behind only The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This is in my top 2 albums of all time, behind “exile on main street.” The raw energy and anger on this disc is unmatched in my mind. I still listen to it all the time. 30 years later It still sounds fresh.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:03 pm