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Great Punk Albums

#170
Man, this thread warms my heart. To see so many great mentions.

I gotta give a big #1 to Minutemen, Husker Du, Germs, Fear, The Cramps (!!!--though no bass player on their early stuff), Wire (Pink Flag is so fargin' great) Die Kreuzen, Bad Brains, Meat Puppets, DKs & Black Flag (o' course), Flipper, The Stranglers, The Damned, The Clash, Anti-Flag, Misfits (my personal fave is Walk Among Us) and on and on.

There have been some bands mentioned like Birthday Party that are outstanding (Tracy Pew was a big influence on me) but that kind of stretched out on the punk rock highway and moved boundaries.

A couple of other later bands that deserve to be name-dropped are Jesus Lizard (David Wm. Sims, their bass player--and before that the bass player for Scratch Acid is a killer riffmeister) Big Black...

I'm gonna mention Mission of Burma's "vs." album. Someone else brought them up for a different album, but that one is one of my all-time faves.

Two bands that didn't get mentioned as far as I noticed:

The Fall. Their bass player from about 1977 through 1998 was Steve Hanley. Really one of my favorites. Some of his basslines will stick in yer head forever. They have a huuuuge discography though.

also

Killdozer. Not strictly punk, but definitely of that scene. Their music was usually quite slow and filled with humor. Their bass player--Michael Gerald--was also their singer. I highly advise you to check them out.

I'll give an Honorable Mention to an Australian band--Hunters & Collectors. Their album The Jaws of Life was one of those that I had to learn every bass line off of. Great, sinewy, greasy, funky, punky, dark, soulful, unique album, and their best, IMO.

Oh, and just about anything Jah Wobble plays on.
 
#174
pjmuck said:
166 suggestions so far and not a single one for, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols?!

Never mind the bloody bullocks in this thread! :spit:
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1. the Sex Pistols are just awful
2. He said the bass playing had to be solid, not nonexistent. A band is better judged by playing live than on album, and a quote from Lemmy Kilmister, who tried to teach Sid bass , sums it all up, “He had no aptitude for the bass, whatsoever. I’m not the greatest bass player, I know that, but he didn’t play it, he hit it. He might as well have been playing ****ing air guitar with a broom. Steve [Jones] played bass on the records, or Glen Matlock. Sid Vicious held an honorary position in the Sex Pistols. He played his own face. That sneer, that was his instrument.”
 
#176
Rykashu said:
1. the Sex Pistols are just awful
2. He said the bass playing had to be solid, not nonexistent. A band is better judged by playing live than on album, and a quote from Lemmy Kilmister, who tried to teach Sid bass , sums it all up, “He had no aptitude for the bass, whatsoever. I’m not the greatest bass player, I know that, but he didn’t play it, he hit it. He might as well have been playing ****ing air guitar with a broom. Steve [Jones] played bass on the records, or Glen Matlock. Sid Vicious held an honorary position in the Sex Pistols. He played his own face. That sneer, that was his instrument.”
Click to expand...


1. Your opinion, not mine. They captured and defined the original punk aesthetic better than anyone at the time, IMO, and I can see where this thread can easily turn into a debate between old school and new school punk fans. Punk's original aesthetic and message had NOTHING to do virtuosity, let alone musical knowledge or capability. The movement stemmed from disenchanted lower class youth with little to no musical ability responding to the social/political climate of the time as well the likes of pretentious fusion and progressive rock bands like Yes (Though I DO love Yes too. ;^)) Regardless, the original poster asked for great punk albums, not great bands. The bass is NOT non-existent on "Never Mind", it is simple, solid, and supportive. It is not only a GREAT punk album but arguably THE most influential punk album (and band) ever made. This is not even debatable. No Sex Pistols (or Ramones) = NO PUNK!
2. You contradicted your own comments. Glen Matlock and Steve Jones played on the majority of "Never Mind the Bullocks", NOT Sid Vicious. Regardless, nobody's even 100% certain what Sid played on (or didn't). The bass playing is rock solid, and Matlock is a very capable bassist. If people are going to mention The Clash/Paul Simonon and The Ramones/Dee Dee Ramone then Matlock deserves to be mentioned too. Certainly Dee Dee rarely pounded out anything beyond tonic 1/16th notes.

When all is said and done, my personal vote for greatest punk album ever made was the Dead Kennedys', "Fresh Fruit", but a thread that makes NO mention of The Sex Pistols', "Never Mind" is just ridiculous.
 

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