by Paul H. "rmj84" USA Reviewed on August 23rd, 2004
I don't hate this record; in fact, it's good, great even. But it's definitely not the best punk record ever. I mean, really, there are numerous punk records which blow this one away: London Calling, Pink Flag, Damned Damned Damned, Entertainment!, the first Ramones record, the first Clash record, Hex Enduction Hour, Singles Going Steady, Raw Power, etc. It gets on my nerves that numerous lists proclaim this to be the greatest punk record ever. Sure, it was probably the most notorious. Sure, it was very influential. But does that make it the best? Not a chance. The songs are all rather good; they're purposely nihlistic and obnoxious. John Lydon's vocals are gloriously snotty; Steve Jones' guitar reaches some great dirty heights. The production, however, is much too polished. It worked for something like London Calling by The Clash, but here, the songs just aren't strong enough to justify the smooth edges. Sure, "Holiday In The Sun," "God Save The Queen," "Problems," and "Anarchy In The UK" burst out of their polished confines, but everything else here would have benefitted from a rougher mix.
Some other debated points: The Sex Pistols were somewhere between a real band and a marketing gimmick. I don't think it's the black-and-white issue it's made out to be, and the documentary The Filth & The Fury sheds some light onto this. Their attempts to get in people's hair were rather brilliantly obnoxious, but I doubt the Pistols would have wanted the title of "greatest punk band" ever. I mean, Lydon's post-Pistols outfit Public Image Ltd. made some better music (see Metal Box). And Sid Vicious couldn't really play. He was there for image more or less. And on top of that, he wasn't really that good of a person. Why he's worshipped by numerous young punks is beyond me. Glen Matlock wrote the beyond superb "Ghosts Of Princes In Towers." Sid drunkenly covered "My Way." Never Mind The Bollocks... is still a great record, I won't deny it that. But the best? Not at all. This is more like a watered-down Raw Power by The Stooges, but a good imitation still.
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