My Amazon Reviews: Sex Pistols "Never Mind The Bollocks"

When Johnny Met Malcolm  
5 Out of 5 Stars

I was a young man in school when an issue of Rolling Stone landed in my hands with the intriguing cover story "Rock is Sick and Living In London." It chronicled the rising punk rock movement in England and prominently featured The Sex Pistols. I was already into the Ramones, so finding a copy of "Never Mind The Bollocks" was high on my new "to do" list. I went out and found a copy and was utterly blown away. It was loud, angry and had attitude to burn. All my friends into southern rock? They could eat my shorts after I heard "Anarchy In The UK."

While Malcolm McLaren was the provocateur who put these four men together (the legend goes that he put Johnny Rotten in the band after auditioning to Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" in front of a jukebox), there's no way to deny the ferocity that The Sex Pistols made as a band. (As reference. McLaren's other discoveries were an early version of Adam and The Ants and Bow Wow Wow, hardly the stuff of legend.) It's Rotten's demonic "right! Nowwwwwwww" that opens the album and it's his snarling laughter that comes off as something the then 19 year old was not faking. Add the infamous antics that the band became famous for and soon the band were running wild through Europe.

When listening to "Never Mind The Bollocks" over thirty years later, it shows some wear. However, the ballistic singles "Anarchy In The UK," "God Save The Queen," "Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays In The Sun" have lost none of their brutal impact. McLaren and the band used every opportunity to rub the staid noses (and ears) of prim and proper music with exploitative music and imagery, with Rotten's anti-singing and charisma being the lead instrument. Guitarist Paul Jones was a secret weapon, as he was cracking guitar hooks that were simple but devastating, supporting the manufactured mayhem with musicianship that was often obscured by the antics.

McLaren may have been the Svengali (so long, R.I.P. you scoundrel), and The Sex Pistols and band jimmied together for maximum impact, but the chemistry and timing were perfect. "Never Mind The Bollocks" stands toe to toe with such breakthroughs as the MC5, The Stooges, The New York Dolls and The Ramones as bands that redefined rock and roll attitude. The one and only album they ever did defines a moment and a legacy for all involved.