Overlap, overlap, overlap.....that is the main issue here, but if you can get past that OR program it your own lazy self to suit your needs, "No Thanks! The 70's Punk Rebellion" contains a lot of essential shit, great songs MANY of which also on "101 Punk and New Wave Anthems", but many DO NOT, again, a fine, listenable singles collection, including a lot of stuff that a novice who took his first hit from the bong of "101" will find this a tasty next buzz.....sorry about the overlap, it's an ongoing issue with comps (these more so than the 60's psych because there is so much LESS avaialble material from this genre)......
Four Discs here let's investigate. Well, Disc 1 leads off with the Ramones "Blitzkreig Bop" which is an obvious choice and appeared on the other set, BUT in defense of the programming it is quite hard to omit. Followed up with "White Riot", the very first encounter we've had with the Clash on any of these sets ("Black people got a lotta problems, but they don't mind throwing a brick, white people go to school, where they teach you how to be thick....").....Nick Lowe hasn't been on any of these yet, either, and the Buzzcocks track that appears here is earler (and great) "Boredom", not something off "Singles Going Steady" for a change. Then, one after another they come! The Damned "Neat Neat Neat". The Jam's "In the City", Pere Ubu. Modern Lovers fabulous "Roadrunner". Television's amazing non-LP single "Little Johnny Jewel". Iggy & the Stooges "Search and Destroy" (OK, I wouldn't have put it here, but why pick nits?). Mink DeVille's stupendous "Let Me Dream if I Want to". The New York Dolls "Personality Crisis" (an amazing song that doesn't REALLY fit the theme either, I'd relegate the Dolls, Stooges, MC5, etc to a seperate set, but I am going a little too scholarly on you now.) We get a lot of overlap with the "101" set from Richard Hell & the Voidoids, The Stranglers, and a couple more, but the Runaways "Cherry Bomb", The Dictators nutty "Two Tub Man", and Generation X's "Your Generation" make up for that with interest.....also we get a fairly rare single: Patti Smith's take on that rarely covered, virtually unknown chestnut, "Hey Joe"....and that is the FIRST DISC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The first FOUR tracks on disc 3 are repeaters/overlappers, before we get to Suicide's awesome "Rocket USA",Devo's "Mongoloid", Joy Division's "Warsaw" The Germ's "Lexicon Devil".....good stuff all. Again, (roughly) count 8 overlappers (of 27, not all THAT bad)....because the non-overlap material is all so good. Some more: The Pretenders amazing "The Wait", "Wasted" from Black Flag, Fear's "I Love Livin' in the City", The Boomtown Rats great "She's So Modern", X's excellent "We're Desperate", and the Dickies fab "You Drive Me Ape You Big Gorilla"......again, this is ESSENTIAL STUFF if you're a novice (ie "kid"), and if the overlap is annoying to you, program it yourself, I would imagine that filtering out the tunes on the "101" set (also those on "History" or "Punk Generation") you'd have right around three discs of "fresh" material you'd want to have.
I guess I could reprogram all these so you wouldn't have to, but I don't think that's right....I think I need to leave them as they were INTENDED to be listened to, and if the overlap is an annoyance for anyone, certainly they have the technology to make these sets whatever they want them to be.
DISC 1-01 THE RAMONES-Blitzkreig Bop/02 THE CLASH-White Riot/03 NICK LOWE-Heart of the City/04 BUZZCOCKS-Boredom/05 THE SAINTS-I'm Stranded/06 THE DAMNED-Neat Neat Neat/07 THE JAM-In the City/08 PERE UBU-Modern Solution/09 MODERN LOVERS-Roadrunner/10 TELEVISION-Little Johnny Jewel/11 THE ADVERTS-One Chord Wonders/12 HEARTBREAKERS-Born T(o)o L(o)ose/13 IGGY & THE STOOGES-Search and Destroy/14 MINK DEVILLE-Let Me Dream If I Want To (Amphetamine Blues)/15 X RAY SPEX-Oh Bondage Up Yours/16 WIRE- 1 2 X U/17 RICHARD HELL & THE VOIDOIDS-Blank Generation/18 THE STRNGLERS (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)/19 THE RUNAWAYS-Cherry Bomb/20 NEW YORK DOLLS-Personality Crisis/21 EDDIE & THE HOT RODS-Teenage Depression/22 THE DICTATORS-Two Tub Man/23 PATTI SMITH-Hey Joe/24 GENERATION X-Your Generation
DISC 03-01 GENERATION X-Ready Steady Go/02 UNDERTONES-Teenage Kicks/03 IAN DURY& THE BLOCKHEADS-Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/04 BUZZCOCKS-Ever Fallen In Love/05 SUICIDE-Rocket USA/06 DEVO-Mongoloid/07 999-Homicide/08 THE DILS-Mr. Big/09 JOY DIVISION-Warsaw/10 THE MEKONS-Where Were You?/11 THE GERMS-Lexicon Devil/12 HE REZILLOS-(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures/13 THE PRETENDERS-The Wait/14 THE WEIRDOS-We Got the Neutron Bomb/15 MODERN LOVERS-Pablo Picasso/16 ALTERNATIVE TV-Action Time Vision/17 TOM ROBINSON BAND-2-4-6-8 Motorway/18 THE AVENGERS-We Are the One/19 SHAM 69-Borstal Breakout/20 BLACK FLAG-Wasted/21 THE RAMONES-Sheena Is a Punk Rocker/22 FEAR-I Love Livin In the City/23 BOOMTOWN RATS-She's So Modern/24 RICH KIDS-Ghosts of Princes In the Towers/25 X-We're Desperate/26 THE DICKIES-You Drive Me Ape You Big Gorilla/27 THE MOTORS-Dancing the Night Away
A little self indulgent on my part, granted, but again, this is MY TURF! I close my eyes an me and
two of my buds are in the front seat of my 69 Pontiac (The back seat was taken up by huge house-speakers) pounding Michelobs and toking on "mexican" (you pot smokers today have no idea how great you have THAT, another story there but the weed of the 1970's was by my estimate, about 30% (MAYBE) as effective as that of today), dropping 'ludes and cranking the volume max to "Alternative Ulster" or "We're Desperate".......the early 80's had their issues (all era's do) but the Reagan years are the years in which I became a "man" (so to speak) and the sound track of that era will always, simply stated, fucking RULE!
