I would never call myself a Sex Pistols fan. They are the reason Punk became stupid. Every dumbass negative stereotype about punk comes from this band, and mainly because of the most useless member of the band. Sid Vicious isn't even the real bassist behind Never Mind The Bollocks, which is the only official studio album the band ever released. Guitarist Steve Jones is the one playing Guitar and Bass on all the tracks except for Bodies (Sid) and Anarchy In The U.K. (Glen Matlock).
Windsor, Ontario, has pretty much only had one stable used/new record store for as long as I can remember, Dr. Disc. Which is where I picked up this little Punk classic, used for ten bucks. I would never pay more than that for this very basic album. Once again I'm not a Pistols fan, and I'm a bit upset I had to pay that much. Now, I'm not going to go into the deep meaning or overly complicated explanations that have been given for all these songs. If you want all that smoke blown up your ass there's enough video material out there you can watch. I would suggest VH1's Classic Albums.
The album opens with Holidays In The Sun. I'll be honest, this is a wicked awesome track musically. I love the large thundering chords at the beginning, and how they fall into a more pulled back rapid fire riffing while Rotten screams out over top. I'll be honest, Rotten is one of the reasons I can't stand the Pistols. I don't care for his voice most of the time, and it's the only thing that brings this song down for me. However his delivery is cool.
You can tell Sid is playing bass on Bodies. It's very loose, barely played, and sounds totally sloppy. I swear bringing him into the band was the dumbest thing they ever did. For the most part I'm not that big of a fan of this song. I do understand why others are, though. It's a really good angry punk song, with it's "Fuck this / And Fuck that".
One thing I find really funny about this album is that only three out of twelve songs are under three minutes. No Feelings is the first one, clocking in at 2:51. Musically I dig this song, you can see how they were influenced but American Punk bands. Since Iggy and The Stooges, and the Ramones came out years before these British Punk rockers. For the most part I consider this song a filler, all be it a decent one.
Liar is a bit of a snoozer. However, I find it has some of the better lyrics on this album. "How I wanna know know know know / I wanna know why you never look me / In the face / Broke a confidence just to please / Your ego / Should've realised / You know what I know / You're in suspension / You're a liar / I know where you go everybody you know / I know everything that you do or say / So when you tell lies / I'll always be in your way / I'm nobody's fool / And I know all 'cos I know / What I know / You're in suspension / You're a liar you're a liar you're a liar / A lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie".
I knew Problems first as a cover by Megadeth. I didn't like it much, and I can say that I feel the exact same way about this one. The Megadeth cover was faithful beyond belief, but being faithful to a skip it track isn't all that impressive. Just not a fan of this one. The worst part for me is that this is the second longest track on the album, and only because it's so bloody repetitive.
Most people know the Sex Pistols for two songs, and the first one to appear on this album is God Save The Queen. I don't mind this original version, but I think the Motorhead cover is better. Then again everything is better with Lemme. However, I digress.
God Save The Queen is a true reflection of the mood and attitude of the working class in England in 1977 and prior. An attitude which still could be found for almost a decade after as well. "Oh God save history / God save your mad parade / Oh Lord God have mercy / All crimes are paid / When there's no future / How can there be sin / We're the flowers in the dustbin / We're the poison in your human machine / We're the future, your future / God save the queen / We mean it man / We love our queen / God saves / God save the queen / We mean it man / And there is no future / In England's dreaming / No future, no future, /No future for you / No future, no future, / No future for me".
Seventeen is the shortest song on the album at 2:03. Liar was the other track under three minutes. I feel that you can skip this one. It feels longer than it is, and on a Punk song that's horrible. The only cool part about this song is maybe the last minute, and that's stretching it.
Anarachy In The U.K. is seriously one of my favourite songs of all time. However, I think the Pistols version is fucking shitty. I karaoke the hell out of this bitch, and even get all British when I do it, because it just feels right. However, I can list off a few covers I like better than this original, starting with the obvious Megadeth and Motley Crue covers. And if you want to have some fun check out a cover by Glitz Machine. Totally screwed trippy. The problem with the Pistols version is it's too fucking mellow. Later Live versions are much better.
The longest song on the album is Sub-Mission at 4:13. This is a bitchin' tune. It's mellow and a bit laid back, but it's total Rock N' Roll. Steve Jones' guitar work isn't fancy in anyway, but he works this song amazingly. Also I know the lyrics read a bit cheesy, but I think they are some of the smarter ones on this album. "I'm on a submarine mission for you baby / I feel the way you were going / I picked you up on my tv screen / I feel your undercurrent flowing / Submission going down down / Dragging me down submission / I can't tell ya what I've found / You've got me pretty deep baby / I can't figure out your watery love / I gotta solve your mystery / You're sitting it out in heaven above / Submission going down down / Dragging me down submission / I can't tell you what I've found / For there's a mystery / Under the sea in the water / Come and share it / Submission going down down / Dragging me down submission / I can't tell ya what I've found / 'Cause it's a secret /Under the water in the sea / Octopus Rock / Got me pretty deep baby / I can't figure out your watery love /I gotta solve your mystery / You're sitting it out in heaven above / Submission going down down / Dragging me down submission / I can't tell ya what I've found / Submission Submission / Going down down under the sea / I wanna drown drown under the water / Going down down under the sea".
My favourite Sex Pistols track is Pretty Vacant. I love singing the chorus on this one, and cranking it up even more. I wasn't one of those kids that cranked their Punk to piss off their parents. Instead I crank this bitch to piss off todays children. You want to talk about pretty vacant. Also this song has the biggest snear you'll ever hear in Johnny Rotten's voice.
New York has a bit of a cool bad ass sound to the music, but for the most part I'm not a fan of this tune.
EMI finishes off the album. Every band has to have a song where they rage out in a way that only people tired of getting fucked by a system understand. My first exposure to a song of this type was Guns N' Roses Get In The Ring. I didn't know about EMI until years later. However, with lyrics like "And you thought that we were faking / That we were all just money making / You do not believe we're for real / Or you would lose your cheap appeal? / Don't judge a book just by the cover / Unless you cover just another / And blind acceptance is a sign / Of stupid fools who stand in line / Like / E.M.I E.M.I E.M.I". All that aside though, and this is still an okay song, but I would have closed the album with something else.
All in all this is really a decent album. Chris Thomas and Bill Price could have done a better job on the production, but that's my only real big complaint. I think it's the production that hurts this album for me. Well, that and the fact that I only really like half of the songs. Holiday In The Sun, God Save The Queen, Anarchy In the U.K., Sub-Mission and Pretty Vacant are the only tracks from the Sex Pistols I listen to, and two of those I generally listen to the covers before the originals. The Pistols have their place in history and it's kind of deserved because of this album, which really gets overlooked in the grand mythos of this band.
7/10 - content
5/10 - production
6/10 - personal bias
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