If I’m going to have to self-isolate, at least I can rock out!
I purchased this item on May 24, 2005, per the Amazon-borg. There isn’t a song on here that I skip. I usually don’t listen to the whole thing in one sitting, as it is over five hours, but dipping in and out of the 1970s is good enough for me.
Wikipedia entry repeats this factoid:
Notably absent from the compilation are the Sex Pistols, whose singer John Lydon refused Rhino Entertainment permission to include any of the band’s tracks, allegedly because Rhino chose not to release the 2002 Sex Pistols boxed set in the United States
The Pistols are mentioned several times in the liner notes however. So add in your favorite Sex Pistols songs in the mix, turn up the volume, and you’ll be ok.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic:
Like all the great rock revolutions, punk was fueled by singles. Sure, there were a lot of tremendous albums, but all the artists that cut great LPs also had great 7″s — and in the case of Television and Patti Smith, they had independent singles released prior to their first albums that never appeared on their debuts. Since rock criticism tends to be album-driven, singles tend to get slightly overlooked, and since punk is a rock critic’s favorite, some revisionist historians paint the era as fueled by albums, not singles. Rhino’s excellent four-disc No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion corrects that error by focusing on the singles, winding up with a one-stop introduction and summary of the era that is as good as Loud, Fast & Out of Control, their similar set on early rock & roll. The compilers have bent the rules of punk slightly, deciding to include proto-punkers like New York Dolls, the Stooges, the Dictators, and Jonathan Richman, and then to not present the cuts in a strictly chronological order.
This benefits the album, since these artists are in the same spirit of the bands they inspired, and the sequencing plays like a great mixtape. Rhino has also evenly balanced the set between American and British punk, including both early hardcore punkers the Dead Kennedys and British pub rock renegades like Nick Lowe and Ian Dury in equal measure. Though there’s a bit of difference between “California Über Alles” and “Heart of the City,” they deserve to be paired on this set because they both were genuinely independent, exciting 45s that crackled with energy and captured the spirit of punk, albeit in different ways. And that’s what makes No Thanks! work so well — it illustrates how diverse punk and new wave were in the late ’70s, but it places a premium on adventure and excitement, which means even artier bands like Pere Ubu and Suicide come across as pure rock & roll.
(click here to continue reading No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic.)
Eric Carr, Pitchfork:
Fortunately, Rhino’s overwhelmingly comprehensive four-disc love letter to the heart and soul of punk music isn’t particularly conventional. While punk remained a mostly well-kept (and easily documented) secret prior to the Sex Pistols’ spectacular collapse, the aftermath of the punk explosion was a shambles. That the Pistols are conspicuously absent on No Thanks! might be the doing of a petulant Lydon (presumably irked that Rhino pulled a stateside release of a Sex Pistols box a few years back), but fitting nonetheless. Fine. Fuck ’em. Of all the admirable successes of No Thanks!, the finest is surely the deliberateness with which it unearths so many of the also-rans long-since buried in the Pistols’ wake. With barely a track to spare for The Clash, The Ramones, or The Fall, they’re barely an afterthought here. No Thanks! isn’t about “essential”; it’s “scope,” pure magnitude. Deadbeats and dilettantes, glammed progenitors and goth poseurs, the revered and the reviled. This isn’t just “punk,” this is everything that was boiling beneath the surface, the whole of the late-70s underground brought to light.
The Motors will never, ever be spoken of in the same regard as Richard Hell. Or The Damned. Or even Generation X (Billy Idol was the Diamond Dave of punk rock, after all). Ditto for the Glen Matlock’s Rich Kids, 999, The Vibrators, Subway Sect, and half of the other bands that grace this stage, and that’s the collection’s charm; every Englishman or Yankee to ever hold a guitar, let alone learn to play one (how else can you explain The Adverts?) gets at least an act, maybe two. The diversity contained here is staggering, but the disparity of sound is nullified by the unity of motivations; whether out of sincerity or fashionability, everyone’s got a grudge to bear. No matter what form it takes, the underlying theme is simple dissatisfaction; no one was playing because he or she was happy (except maybe Devo– who knows what they wanted?). Something, anything, needed to change, but all any of these people were empowered to do was play music. Punk was fundamentally unfocused rage, a loaded gun aimed at any institution– politics, clothing, loneliness, provinciality, music itself– too societally entrenched to get out of the way. The tactics aren’t always smart, and rarely pretty, but the execution is brilliant, and Rhino has released the ultimate document.
(click here to continue reading Various Artists: No Thanks!: The 70s Punk Rebellion Album Review | Pitchfork.)
- Pop, Iggy– Lust For Life
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Adverts– Gary Gilmore’s Eyes
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Ultravox– Saturday Night In The City Of The Dead
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Buzzcocks, The– What Do I Get?
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Blondie– X Offender
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Boomtown Rats, The– Lookin’ After No. 1
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Penetration– Don’t Dictate
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Fall– Bingo Master
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Patti Smith– Free Money
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Jam– The Modern World
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Heartbreakers– Chinese Rocks
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Damned, The– New Rose
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Subway Sect– Ambition
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Television– See No Evil
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Stiff Little Fingers– Suspect Device
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Wire– Mannequin
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Vibrators– Baby Baby
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Richard Hell & The Voidoids– Love Comes In Spurts
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Boys– First Time
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Dead Boys– Sonic Reducer
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Magazine– Shot By Both Sides
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Elvis Costello– Mystery Dance
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - New York Dolls– Trash
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - X-Ray Spex– The Day The World Turned Day-Glo
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Eddie & The Hot Rods– Do Anything You Wanna Do
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion
disc 1
- Ramones, The– Blitzkrieg Bop
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Clash, The– White Riot
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Lowe, Nick– Heart of the City
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Buzzcocks, The– Boredom (Featuring Howard Devoto)
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Saints, The– (I’m) Stranded
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Damned, The– Neat Neat Neat
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Jam– In the City
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Pere Ubu– Final Solution
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Modern Lovers– Roadrunner
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Television– Little Johnny Jewel
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Adverts, The– One Chord Wonders
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Heartbreakers– Born to Lose
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Iggy & The Stooges– Search and Destroy
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Mink Deville– Let Me Dream If I Want to (Amphetamine Blues)
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - X-Ray Spex– Oh Bondage Up Yours!
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Wire– I 2 X U
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Richard Hell & The Voidoids– Blank Generation
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Stranglers– (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Runaways, The– Cherry Bomb
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - New York Dolls– Personality Crisis
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Eddie & The Hot Rods– Teenage Depression
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Dictators, The– Two Tub Man
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Smith, Patti– Hey Joe (Version)
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Generation X– Your Generation
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion
side 4
- Siouxsie & the Banshees– Hong Kong Garden
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Blondie– Hanging on the Telephone
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Rezillos– Top of the Pops
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - X– Adult Books
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Members– The Sound of the Suburbs
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Dead Kennedys– California Über Alles
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Soft Boys– (I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Elvis Costello & The Attractions– Radio, Radio
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Slits– Typical Girls
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Cramps, The– Human Fly
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Talking Heads– Psycho Killer
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Ruts– Babylon’s Burning
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Sham 69– If the Kids Are United
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Stiff Little Fingers– Alternative Ulster
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Cure, The– Boys Don’t Cry
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Pop Group– She Is Beyond Good and Evil
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Jackson, Joe– Is She Really Going Out with Him?
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Undertones– Get Over You
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Gang Of Four– Love Like Anthrax
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Stranglers– Peaches
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Skids– Into the Valley
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Thunders, Johnny– You Can’t Put Your Arms Round a Memory
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Joy Division– Love Will Tear Us Apart
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion
Disc 3
- Generation X– Ready Steady Go
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Undertones– Teenage Kicks
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Ian Dury– Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Suicide– Rocket U.S.A.
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Devo– Mongoloid
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - 999– Homicide
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Dils– Mr. Big
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Joy Division– Warsaw
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Mekons– Where Were You?
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Germs– Lexicon Devil
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Rezillos– (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Pretenders, The– The Wait
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Weirdos– We Got The Neutron Bomb
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Modern Lovers– Pablo Picasso
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Alternative TV– Action Time Vision
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Tom Robinson Band– 2-4-6-8 Motorway
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Avengers– We Are The One
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Sham 69– Borstal Breakout
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Black Flag– Wasted
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Ramones– Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Fear– I Love Livin In The City
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Boomtown Rats, The– She’s So Modern
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - Rich Kids– Ghosts of Princes in Towers
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - X– We’re Desperate
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Dickies– You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion - The Motors– Dancing The Night Away
No Thanks! The ’70s Punk Rebellion