— Sylvia "Bitter and Twisted, Moi?" Patterson
"Blistering guitar". "The Sex Pistols created some of the greatest pop in history ever". "This is their finest". "It will make your head fall off". (That one is already quoted above but it bears repeating) Sylvia Patterson is so taken by a re-release of this Top 10 hit from 1977 that she forgets the most vital piece of information: the Sex Pistols are hugely important.
The earliest days of Smash Hits coincides with the lingering after effects of punk. Though it has often been said that the Pistols broke up on the evening of January 14, 1978 at the end of a turbulent show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, it was only John Lydon who wisely chose to bring this chaotic clown show to a halt. The remaining core of Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Sid Vicious carried on recording singles that would keep the Sex Pistols as a relevant chart concern well after punk had gone past its shelf life.
Singles reviews of this Lydon-free Pistols aren't entirely dismal but they don't do a hold lot to make anyone want to reconsider this period. Cliff White considered "Silly Thing" to be "unsensastional but commendable, no-nonsense punkarama" but he was more than happy to coat down their cover of Eddie Cochran's "C'Mon Everybody" ("If I'm deeply suspicious of most Pistols 'product' that's precisely because I'm pro Punk") though even then he's willing to once again use the term 'commendable' to give props to Sid's performance. (Still, if 'commendable' is the best thing you can say about someone then it can't be all that brilliant, can it?) David Hepworth was on hand for the release of "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" [sic.] whose review concludes with a firm slam ("about as revolutionary as The Dooleys and not as well made"; it's notable that his proto-Single of the Fortnight went to fellow punks The Undertones) Finally, Deanna Pearson rips into their version of "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" ("THERE IS NO SONG TO LISTEN TO — don't be swindled again!") indicating that there would be "No Pistols, No Bee Gees, No Zeppelin in '80". The Sex Pistols continued to have hits but the critics weren't having it and they weren't influencing anyone anymore.
But this would eventually turn around once a whole new generation with no memory of late-stage Pistols began turning fourteen. Grunge didn't even stand in its way. The mid-nineties would see the rise of No Doubt who should have encouraged a second wave of interest in Two Tone ska. Gwen Stefani may have worshiped The Selecter but her fans clearly weren't as keen. By contrast, getting into Nirvana almost seemed like young people were then obliged to explore the Pistols, Ramones and Clash. While I bought London Calling, my best friend Ethan got Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. Influential? Sure though mainly so we could explore other bands; moving on from the Pistols didn't take long. The most shocking thing about hearing their one and only album for the first time was just how slow it all was.
With "Anarchy in the UK" and "God Save the Queen" being the Pistols' best remembered singles, "Pretty Vacant" has taken on the status as one for the more than casual fans. This is a little curious when you consider that Glen Matlock admitted the influence of ABBA's "S.O.S.", which ought to have rendered it a de facto persona non grata (or, more accurately, a singula non grata) in the eyes of devotees. That said, the Swedish foursome wasn't considered the enemy in the eyes of the punks which may have kept it safe.
Still, there is a question that must be asked about that ABBA influence: what ABBA influence? Though much has been made about the way Benny and Bjorn impacted Glen and Johnny, you'd never know it if you hadn't already told about it umpteen dozen times. Pop fans talk about how Matlock "stole" from "S.O.S." but more "informed" sources will claim that it's the guitar part borrows from it or the bass line is similar. But I don't hear it and not because I can't see how perfect pop could possibly be source material for punk rock. I just don't hear anything of ABBA in it. Given that it's not as good as I remember it being the last time I heard it (which I'm pretty sure was when I was twenty or twenty-one; Never Mind the Bollocks is one of those supposed "essential" albums that has remained inessential enough for me to have never purchased it), maybe it ought to have been more like ABBA.
But enough with dumping on the Sex Pistols. I'm sure plenty of people out there consider them to be "overrated" (though their later stuff sure as hell isn't) without me having to weigh in. For my part, I'm just well past the age in which I can listen to something like "Pretty Vacant" and enjoy it. It wasn't part of my youth so it doesn't conjure up nostalgia. I was much more of a Clash and Jam fan as a grumpy teen exploring old punk. I wouldn't have liked much of what Patterson had to review this fortnight (barring the record below) but I'm not so sure this would have blown me away either. But, hey, it influenced everybody! If you can't enjoy a song yourself, at least you can be happy that other people whom you may or may not care for did. What more could matter?
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Deacon Blue: "Your Town"
U2 went indie and so did INXS and I'm sure Then Jericho did or would have. The results varied for other eighties' dinosaurs but it worked fairly well for Deacon Blue. A half-hearted stab at a genre they either didn't care for or knew nothing about (or both) but Ricky Ross and co. brought in impressionist elements, hints of sophisti-pop from their debut album, a touch of stadium rock from their second and some Pet Shop Boys-esque dramatics so it hardly seems alternative at all. They started off the decade going in the direction of miserable blues and folk and roots rock so this change of pace is especially gratifying. One of their top flight singles right up there with "Dignity" and "Real Gone Kid" and a welcome return to Scots singing about miserable industrial towns which no other nationality does as well.
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