On the Shelf 210: X
Jun. 4th, 2020 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23What a great and underrated band X is. We tend to marginalize punk bands, but they were something special- like every American influence blended together- Chuck Berry, Elvis, Gene and Eddie, Hank, Loretta, the Doors, the Ramones.
No doubt, that energetic band who did “Los Angeles” is loved dearly. Which is better, the debut or the follow-up “Wild Gift”. Impossible to decide (and they had been packaged together in the CD age). Some might make the case, the third “Under the Big Black Sun” is then, even better- a valid enough argument. ( I guess I am a “Wild Gift” guy depending on the day).
The latter days of X don't get fond treatment these days, but for a time, they were considered among the greatest rock recordings ever. For a time, “See How We Are” was considered a classic, and now, it and “Ain't Love Grand” are casualties of ambition and 80s production.
Then, somewhere between fiery punk and reflective acclaim is “More Fun in the New World” The mid-point, and damn near perfect album.
I got into X in the 90s, when they tried a comeback. They had only been gone for 6 years, but it seemed like an eternity. “Hey Zeus!” is not a great album. We can probably stop there. Nothing could replicate X. John Doe's work is fairly acclaimed, but nothing really stands out. “Meet John Doe”, the 1990 debut is good enough, and 2016's The Westerner finds a sympathetic ear in producer Howe Gelb.
So Alphabetland is a bit of a revelation in that is as it as good as it is. This isn't “Wild Gift”, but it at least feels like the same band who gave us “Wild Gift”. That makes it well worth it. Come to read on it, many of these songs are from the early days, which may explain why it succeeds.
“Cyrano De Berger's Back” is a perfect example of what we love about X. From the “Los Angeles” days, it's done well in a mature “New World” style, and is easy to append to the band's best songs.
“Delta 88 Nightmare” is 97 seconds of the band replicating their “Decline of Western Civilization” days. “Water and Wine” is a bit more thought out, but recalls those glory days with Exene taking lead and John chiming in.
Those are the highest points, but it does hang well. I am tempted to compare it to the recent Damned reunion and question if this will be a disc that will get revisited. Still, there's plenty of depth -check out “I Gotta Fever” and “Good bye year Goodbye”, and really no filler. Exene does go spoken word at the final two minutes with “All the Time in the World”, but it's the kind of a song X might have added as a coda in the good old days.
A quick reaction would be this won't hang will all those great X albums, but it is a great listen and will be one of the better records of this year, so perhaps I am being hasty. I also feel compelled to mention that some people are less enamoured of Exene's worldview these days. She is the rare musician who defends, even embraced Donald Trump. I have talked about this in the past, but a friend made the point that there was a certain 'don't trust anyone' logos in the punk scene, and perhaps she is not too far removed from that.
No doubt, that energetic band who did “Los Angeles” is loved dearly. Which is better, the debut or the follow-up “Wild Gift”. Impossible to decide (and they had been packaged together in the CD age). Some might make the case, the third “Under the Big Black Sun” is then, even better- a valid enough argument. ( I guess I am a “Wild Gift” guy depending on the day).
The latter days of X don't get fond treatment these days, but for a time, they were considered among the greatest rock recordings ever. For a time, “See How We Are” was considered a classic, and now, it and “Ain't Love Grand” are casualties of ambition and 80s production.
Then, somewhere between fiery punk and reflective acclaim is “More Fun in the New World” The mid-point, and damn near perfect album.
I got into X in the 90s, when they tried a comeback. They had only been gone for 6 years, but it seemed like an eternity. “Hey Zeus!” is not a great album. We can probably stop there. Nothing could replicate X. John Doe's work is fairly acclaimed, but nothing really stands out. “Meet John Doe”, the 1990 debut is good enough, and 2016's The Westerner finds a sympathetic ear in producer Howe Gelb.
So Alphabetland is a bit of a revelation in that is as it as good as it is. This isn't “Wild Gift”, but it at least feels like the same band who gave us “Wild Gift”. That makes it well worth it. Come to read on it, many of these songs are from the early days, which may explain why it succeeds.
“Cyrano De Berger's Back” is a perfect example of what we love about X. From the “Los Angeles” days, it's done well in a mature “New World” style, and is easy to append to the band's best songs.
“Delta 88 Nightmare” is 97 seconds of the band replicating their “Decline of Western Civilization” days. “Water and Wine” is a bit more thought out, but recalls those glory days with Exene taking lead and John chiming in.
Those are the highest points, but it does hang well. I am tempted to compare it to the recent Damned reunion and question if this will be a disc that will get revisited. Still, there's plenty of depth -check out “I Gotta Fever” and “Good bye year Goodbye”, and really no filler. Exene does go spoken word at the final two minutes with “All the Time in the World”, but it's the kind of a song X might have added as a coda in the good old days.
A quick reaction would be this won't hang will all those great X albums, but it is a great listen and will be one of the better records of this year, so perhaps I am being hasty. I also feel compelled to mention that some people are less enamoured of Exene's worldview these days. She is the rare musician who defends, even embraced Donald Trump. I have talked about this in the past, but a friend made the point that there was a certain 'don't trust anyone' logos in the punk scene, and perhaps she is not too far removed from that.
