On this page you will find music by some of the best of the punk and post punk bands. Most of the featured music is available to buy on CD. Just follow the link to amazon.co.uk .
The
Sex Pistols debut LP and an essential part of any collection. This album contains
all the Pistols early set and the singles Anarchy in the UK , God Save the
Queen , Pretty Vacant and Holidays in the Sun. Never Mind the Bollocks was
released in November 1977, and is really the summation of the Pistols career
with the early vital songs such as 'Seventeen' ,'Problems' and 'No Feelings'
in contrast to the later vacuous 'Bodies' and 'EMI'. The combination of Johnny
Rotten's inflammatory lyrics and snarling delivery with Glenn Matlock's catchy
sense of melody make this the definitive punk album. Typically, the title
was subject to a court case and was not displayed on open view in many shops
even after it was cleared of indecency.
Track
list
The
first LP by the Clash, released in April 1977, is probably the most important
release from the punk era. Unlike 'Never Mind The Bollocks' it was recorded
at the peak of punk's creative power and captures the Clash at their early
best. The genuine frustration and barely restrained anger are not diluted
at all by the raw production leaving 14 tracks which stand up as well now
as in 1977. Always described as the most political of the punk groups songs
like 'Career Opportunities', and 'London's Burning' deal with the alienation
and boredom of city life. The inspired choice of 'Police and Thieves', a Junior
Murvin track shows the strong affinity for Reggae amongst the early scene
.
Track
list
Read
Mark Perry's review from Sniffin Glue #9
No
More Heroes was the second studio album from the Stranglers. Release later
in 1977 a lot of the tracks were recorded on the earlier Rattus sessions but
not used. It captures the Stranglers playing a tighter and more aggressive
set than previously which won them a big following on the punk ( and college
) circuit. Again the band were not afraid to make their own music and won
an audience to them rather than leap onto the late 1977 punk gravy train.
Depending how you see the Stranglers , there is plenty of evidence to support
the view that they were mysogenistic cock rockers but also that they were
capable of a tremendous depth of dark irony in their lyrics. This release
also contains three bonus tracks which were single releases of 5 minutes and
b-sides which never made it onto an album. Track
list
This compilation of 100 tracks from 1976 to 1979 manages to contain a huge variety of talent (and lack of it) which was released on 45rpm singles. This was, if anything truly the medium of punk rock, bands produced small quantities of 7" singles and then split. On this compilation are not only well known tracks from big names like the Clash and the Pistols but also obscure rarities from the Leyton Buzzards, Rudi, the Table and many more. The tracks are accompanied by a very well presented booklet giving background and information on other releases available. A lot of the post punk stuff sounds dated and frankly wasn't so good at the time of its release. Despite this, many of the tracks on these 5 CD's are unobtainable elswhere. For a thorough grounding in the early punk scene look no further than this boxed set!
Sadly
this is now discontinued but look out for a second hand copy (or mail me if
you just want an odd track to listen to)
Track list
Crossing
the Red Sea with the Adverts was a much awaited release by the group who had
come to promenance early in 1977 and charted with hit single Gary Gilmores
Eyes . Initially the strongest tracks on the album were all released as singles
and go to make up what can only be described as a work of genius. T.V.Smith's
lyrics for Bored Teenagers and One Chord Wonders show the true energy of punk
as a fresh force with endless possibilities while the later song Safety in
Numbers captures the sense of disappointment as the music became more limited
and formulaic.
On
this particular rerelease of the album are a whole array of additional tracks
including A and B sides of singles and some live ones which contain virtually
everything the band recorded in their early days Tracklist
If you are curious
about the Fall and need a clue where to begin , then this is the one for you.
The Fall were another band created in the summer of 1976 after seeing the
Sex Pistols play the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Right from the
start the Fall weren't afraid to stand out from the crowd and took punk as
a springboard to explore the themes of day to day life with its alienation
and boredom . On this edition are also included the two singles which shot
them to indie stardom, How I Wrote Elastic Man and Totally Wired. If you want
to know what Manchester was like at the turn of the 80's then its all here!
Tracklist
Another slightly earlier album worth seeking out is Live at the Witch Trials which in this rerelease contains a second disc with some live stuff and early Peel session material
Another album
from a band which took everything punk had to offer and took it to a new level.
Joy Division again were in attendance at the first couple of Sex Pistols gigs
in Manchester and inspired to form first Warsaw who became Joy Division. Playing
their way through( often violent) nights at the Electric Circus, the Squat
and Rafters, the group became associated with promoter Tony Wilson who ran
the Factory club nights and later put out their work on the label of the same
name.Live the group still retained a more rough punk sound but in the studio
they worked with Martin Hannett, the legendary producer and created what can
only be described as a truly brilliant piece of work.
This is a dark and haunting album made all the more poignant by singer Ian
Curtis's suicide less than a year after its release. It deals in the currency
of despair, alienation and is in many ways a very personal piece about inner
city life at the end of the 70's