ESSENTIAL 70s PUNK/NEW WAVE ALBUMS

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 RECOMMENDED READING

Those who were around in the exciting early days of punk rock will need no introduction to these landmark albums, but for folk who came later the following list may be of interest.  Any such list will be the subject of argument, but I doubt that aficionados will disagree with my inclusions here - anyone with an interest in punk rock/new wave had these albums, which gave musical identity to the early punk/new wave era.   Some of the exclusions from the list may arouse indignation in UK punk fans, though.

Remember, when punk first emerged as a movement in 1975, the scene was very small, basically confined, as it was, to a small club in New York - the now legendary CBGBs.  In one of those strange instances of synchronicity, at the same time in the unlikely locale of Brisbane, The Saints had hit on a brand of fast, minimalist, super-charged rock that was the unwitting flipside to the poppier punk The Ramones were belting out.  Thus, improbably, punk rock took root in New York and the antipodes virtually simultaneously.   As the CBGBs bands released their first albums, they were snapped up by the small but avid following watching on through the eyes of tuned-in NME reporters like Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent.  Since the album output from the underground CBGBs scene was so low, each release was an event.

However, once The Ramones' debut album was released, the movement didn't take long to hop the Atlantic, and that's when the momentum became unstoppable; the press seized the opportunity waved in their snouts by canny band manager Malcolm McLaren to sensationalise The Sex Pistols, and suddenly the UK scene exploded.   The onslaught of publicity that followed fuelled the popular misconception that punk started in the UK.  The press daubed the whole movement anarchistic and radically politically leftist, taking their cue from the milieu of the British scene, fixing on the lyrics of The Sex Pistols' Anarchy In The UK and God Save The Queen, and oft-quoted self-appointed punk political spokesperson Joe Strummer, of The Clash.   The Brit identikit - black leather jackets, spiky gelled hair, pseudo bondage apparel, punk band badges, safety pin piercings and Nazi insignia - became the uniform of 70s punk in Perth, and doubtless the rest of Australia.  The Brit-punk bands, too - The Pistols, Jam, Damned, Clash etc - quickly  became the musical prototypes for many a new punk band within and without English shores. 

My view is that UK punk was, for the most part, musically inferior to the great and truly innovative American sounds that kicked off the movement.  Hence the paucity of Brit punk albums on my essentials list.  The list also recognises the enormous influence of the mighty pre-punk band, The Stooges, on the movement that became known as punk rock.  So here, ordered chronologically, are the albums that I believe were the foundation of the earliest phase of punk/new wave; at the very least, these albums are essential items in any 70s punk collection. 

Note:  Amazon often have very good deals on these albums, which can sell for as little as US$5 second-hand, and US$10+ new.   (Amazon USA is generally cheaper, but compare prices with Amazon UK).  You can order direct from Amazon via the links on this page, if you wish.                                                          

THE ESSENTIAL EARLY PUNK/NEW WAVE ALBUMS             

          CURRENCY CONVERTER                  

			BUY FROM AMAZON (USA)		BUY FROM AMAZON (UK)
The Stooges	The Stooges
The Stooges	Funhouse
The Stooges	Raw Power
The Modern Lovers	The Modern Lovers
Patti Smith	Horses
The Ramones	The Ramones
Television	Marquee Moon
The Saints	(I'm) Stranded
The Sex Pistols	Never Mind The Bollocks
OTHER RECOMMENDED EARLY PUNK/PRE-PUNK ALBUMS
			CURRENCY CONVERTER
			BUY FROM AMAZON (USA)		BUY FROM AMAZON (UK)
The Damned	Damned Damned Damned
The Dictators	Go Girl Crazy
The Flamin' Groovies	Shake Some Action
Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers	L.A.M.F.
MC5	Back In The USA
MC5	Kick Out The Jams
The New York Dolls	New York Dolls
The New York Dolls	Too Much Too Soon
The Ramones	Leave Home
The Stooges	Metallic KO
Patti Smith	Radio Ethiopia
The Velvet Underground	The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground	Loaded
The Velvet Underground	White Light/White Heat

As with the CDs, Amazon sometimes coughs up some real bargains with books like these, which can be hard to get locally, in any case.  Again, secondhand you can pick up some super-cheap buys (although unlike CDs, books can end up in pretty shabby condition - I prefer to buy new).                         

  CURRENCY CONVERTER            

		BUY FROM AMAZON (USA)	BUY FROM AMAZON (UK)
	The best book by far that I have read on the genesis of punk rock is Please Kill Me, by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.  This is the definitive book on punk, an oral history comprised entirely of interviews with the famous and infamous figures of punk, including Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Ron Ashton, Dee Dee Ramone, David Johansen, Patti Smith, Wayne Kramer, Debbie Harry, Nico...the list goes on and on.  In the words of William Burroughs: "This book tells it like it was.  It is the very first book to do so."   Utterly riveting.
	Celebrated ex-NME rock journalist Nick Kent's The Dark Stuff is a fascinating read.  While the writings that make up this collection are not specifically punk-focused, there are some excellent pieces on Iggy Pop, The New York Dolls, Lou Reed and Sid Vicious.   One of the very best.
	Who would dare to leave the late, great rock critic Lester Bangs out of a recommended rock reading list?  Not I.  Bangs cuts through the shit - and in rock and roll, there's a lot of it - and his writing goes off in technicolour, regardless of his subject.  Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung is a must-have.  Includes fascinating stuff on The Stooges, Lou Reed, The Clash, Richard Hell and Sham 69.

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