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Album Details
- Artist: Generation X
- Album: Generation X
- Label: Chrysalis
- Year of Release: 1978
- Original Release: 2002
- ME Rating: Indie Classic
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2009-11-25
RecommendIt's late at night and I'm reminiscing with some old classics that I used to listen to in years long gone. I'll admit that I wasn't an original Generation X fan. My love for them came after I fell in love with Billy Idol's Rebel Yell. I was 12 when that album came out but it really left an impression, so logically I headed back to Billy's self titled solo debut and loved it more than Rebel Yell. So I kept going and found that Idol used to be in a punk band in the '70s called Generation X. This was the first cassette I found at the local record store (in fact I think I had to special order it and wait for 4 weeks. THE HORROR!) Again, blown away.
If you know Billy Idol and think that he was just Mr. White Wedding etc you need to do yourself a favor and head back and check the self-titled debut album. While Generation X wasn't as wildly known as some of their contemporaries, the probably had much more solid punk anthems ready to go. From tracks like "One Hundred Punks" and my ultimate favorite, "Ready Steady Go" you can't go wrong on this album. "Youth Youth Youth" is a cry for every punk to relate to. Every single track is worth listening to. I can't believe there hasn't been a killer cover of "Kiss Me Deadly". It's looking for a worthy group to take it on.
You'll find many other Generation X compilations out there and if you really want to get the full meal deal then head down that path. But as for a solid album full of punk rock, 70s style, you need look no further than Generation X.
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on 2012-02-05 CharlesMartel Said:
My views on Generation X are heavily coloured by the fact that I know (or rather knew) William Broad. Who he? William Broad is the real name of Billy Idol. He probably doesn't remember me, but I remember him. He wasn't the frontman of Generation X for the rebellion, or the music, let alone the money. He was in it for one thing - and it doesn't go " miaow ". But that aside, you have to give some credit to Generation X for, at one time, they were one of the leading lights of the punk movement, and in "Your Generation" had written one of the definitive anthems of the early punks.
This album both sealed their position and in my view sealed their fate. It took them a while to get a recording contract and issue an album and by the time they did, punk had begun to move forward. The punks derided Generation X as not punk enough while the charts generally rejected it as not polished enough and too rough round the edges. In falling between two stools, the band's early reputation faltered and it wasn't long before William Broad left for America to plough new furrows (pun intended).
This is punk with singalong anthems - " Ready Steady Go" and above all " One Hundred Punks" were designed to get anyone pogo-ing and chanting. But Generation X were not afraid of moving into uncharted waters for punk. The six minute plus track " Youth Youth Youth" even features a guitar solo, which was a rarity at the time. However, for all its plusses, Generation X is something of a let down. The band had lost something of the energy they had when they issued the single " Your Generation" and had not translated to album format well.
At times it all sounds too forced. The band could play, but seemed to want not to do so deliberately at times as if they were making some sort of musical statement. Sometimes it degenerates into mere noise and loses the melody. That is when it is at its worst and I have long suspected that Generation X were changed by some record company executive into something more acceptable to the mainstream by the time this album was ready. As a result, Generation X is more a pop record than a punk record. On the outside it looks punk, but those ripped t-shirts are carefully crafted and the safety pins are strategically placed.
Rating: 6/10
