Customer Reviews
NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS HERES THE SEX PISTOLS 
2008-09-14
Too me probaly the greatest punk album thats ever been made now and than. The Sex Pistols were just one of those bands you dont come by too often and still dont come by bands like The Ramones and The Clash were punk too but The Sex Pistols took it a step further and were even arrested were playing the song, "God Save The Queen", in front of the queen of england. From the opening track, "Holidays in the Sun", to the ending track, "EMI", the album is non stop 3 minute fast punk songs and probaly the best song on the whole album, "Anarchy In The UK". Unfortunatly though this is the only studio Sex Pistols album that has ever been made partly due to the fact of tensions between the band and the death of the bands bass player Sid Vicious but The Sex Pistols were a band that werent meant too last that long and when they were around at there peak they were like no other punk band on the scene. Another album that you cant live without and get these songs today
Perhaps they were phonies, but we still listen to them 
2008-08-18
Only a few bands are as love/hate dividing as Sex Pistols. But more than 30 years later they are still discussed and listened to, so yeah, never mind the bollocks!
Yes, they came out of a mayor record label (today they are released by Virgin) and were intended to be commercial probably. But punk ain't that far removed from pop as some like to think. Ramones aimed at creating good, simple melodies without the phony pretensions that plagued music of the 70's, and Sex Pistols is just about the same.
There is hardly any politics in the album, which means it kinda stands the time easier. And today the tracks still packs an undeniable energy and a soul that is with no doubt purely British. This IS great rock.
PUNK 2008-08-15
This is my favorite punk album. This is the only album the pistols ever released, it was released back in 1977. That is over 31 years ago and is not just my opinion but in general considered the best punk album ever made. but they are certainly not the most talented punk band, but they recieved the most attention in the U.K
God Save the "People who think The Dead Kennedy's are better" 2008-08-11
I always get a kick when people are upset by the 1's a review gets, I also get a kick out of the people constantly spewingthe same non-sense from "Behind The Music" or what ever web article they read. Yes the Sex- Pistols were a manufactured group, However this is not entirely true, they weren't told to behave this way, they weren't given characters or roles to play. When McLaren saw this raw intent for self destruction he capitalized on it ,thats it. If you do any research on the guys you will find out he robbed them blind and wasn't until years later they got compensated. They acted wild and exhibited anti-social anarchist qualities because that who they were. And they could barely play there instruments, but that's what made them great, along with Glen Matlock's need to have a social relevance in his music. Bad Brains, Dead Kennedy's whatever what impact did they make outside of their local area, very little, so what a famous musican was a fan, thats all he was a fan, yet the world is so big and you strike out in the States. Its no excuse about limited air play, Dead Kennedy's and Bad Brains are the 2 fashion groups its cool like. Not very punk.
This is a great album from track to track. A classic its flawed which makes it perfect.
The record that changed it all 2008-07-10
I just listened to this record again after I went to a Sex Pistols concert on the 4th of July, 2008 in Slovakia, of all places. It is still a great record after more than 30 years, although hearing them in concert singing about the Berlin Wall ("Holidays in the Sun") and their spat with their former record label ("EMI") did sound a bit dated today.
I think a lot of reviewers have it right when they call this the "album that changed everything". But I don't think most of them go far enough, because they seem to limit it to punk. Without the Sex Pistols, we would not have had New Wave, which within a few years turned into the industry mainstream. The Police? Not there (so no Sting either!). U2? No way. Duran Duran? Nope. The B-52s? Don't kid yourself. Devo? Forget it. The musical reality that we now know as the 1980s could not have happened without the Sex Pistols. They really did change everything. This isn't just the "greatest punk album of all time", which it actually may or may not be. It's the album that set the stage on which the musical background of the entire Reagan era was played. (Let's ignore "Thriller" and Stevie Nicks for a moment -- great as their achievements may be...)
If you want to understand the evolution of pop and rock music into what we have today, at a minimum you have to understand Elvis, the Beatles and the Sex Pistols. Those are the guys that came along and changed everything. (Number 4 is arguably Grandmaster Flash, but let's ignore that as well for now...) Enough from me -- just get it. This is one of the basics.
Should've Known 2008-06-25
Recognizing that there's no such thing as bad publicity, manager-Svengali Malcolm McLaren molded the Pistols into the most confrontational, nihilistic band rock & roll had ever seen. Propelled by Johnny Rotten's maniacal vocals, Steve Jones's buzz-saw guitar, and (most importantly) bass player Glen Matlock's hook-filled compositional skills, the Pistols' early singles "Anarchy in the U.K." and "God Save the Queen" defined the raging style of British punk. By the time they recorded their lone 1977 album, Matlock had been bounced, replaced by the image-correct but utterly untalented (and ultimately group-dooming) Sid Vicious. Not a 10th as good as the singles, the album nontheless remains a bile-filled emblem of the times.
--Billy Altman
The Album That Changed The World 2008-06-23
Whenever anyone in the world talks about the Sex Pistols, they're easily recognisable. The name in itself is a trademark, something of a household name, the Sex Pistols can easily be named the most well known band in the world and this was through the creation of one album and one album only. There have been many albums since with the Sex Pistols name, but they're simply compilations with bootlegs of old recordings, but this album is the one and only official studio album by the Pistols. A lot of people would find it unbelievable that a band can achieve such level of fame through the release of one album, many would ask how this is possible and it's simply explained as "They were decades ahead of the rest."
The Pistols were responsible for igniting the punk rock movement but they were also responsible for igniting a revolution in the youth of Britain. With songs such as Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen ignited a fire under the fascistic establishment and told them "We know what you're trying to do, and it isn't gonna happen." In 1977 music of this nature had never been heard before which is the main reason for it inspiring such a strong youth movement which undoubtedly got the band in a lot of trouble. You only have to compare them to the bands of today who call themselves "Punk" bands and you can clearly hear the influence from the Pistols. Green Day are a band that have been labelled as a band who've stolen the "Punk" label to use it for their own benefit by capitalising on a revolutionsing genre. Johnny Rotten has condemned the use of the word Punk when referring to Green Days sound.
Johnny Rotten was right to condemn that as the Pistols literally went up to the face of the establishment and gave them the middle finger, whilst todays young "Punk" bands use Anti-establishment in a calculated way to simply earn money and recognition. Ever music fan should own this album, it's a part of history and if you take a look at modern history of Britain you can see that our country would be a very different place if it wasn't for the movement created by the Sex Pistols, this isn't just music it's a revolution.
The World's End... 2007-12-31
Shame upon those unfortunate gobsters whose only appreciation for this album has led them to reckless self absorbed navular gazing. As a confessed teenage punk in Britain in the Seventies John Lydon and Mr Ritchie were my prophets of doom, snarling and sickly scintillating, and NMTB was my DIY manual to anything and everything I wanted, even though I didn't know what that exactly was; I just knew I had a desire to be something, somebody, somewhere... and through the mists of the Dole I survived as an artist (of sorts), a writer and a culinary chef... and to be equally fair to the heavenly powers that be, I have had more than my equal share of fame.
But this is not all about me... I only wanted to indicate in a suitably appropriate fashion the impact that this music can have on the mind of one in active thought, seeking, embracing and prepared to fight their way out of poverty and depression, social injustice and economic oppression... NMTB inspires a revolt against conformity, it is provocative, it is the voice of anger, bristling with rage, boiling over yet also finely disciplined and prepared to last the course.
Many of the tracks have become classics; Anarchy in the UK (the only true anthem of dissent; listen up Wat Tyler!), God Save the Queen (even John Peel was prevented from playing that on air!) EMI (the music industry - still too true), Pretty Vacant (a very good reason not to answer the telephone other than to tell your dictatorial boss where the next full stop is), and all the rest.
And so to sum it all up; raw, undiluted, primal, undigestable, provocative and cursive... sometimes its hard to bare the anguish of an imposed desolation, a society that doesn't seem to care too much but these tracks stand as a testimony; the ultimate proof that with the right attitude anybody can accomplish their dream.
Forget all the other fakes, choose the real thing and be it!
Punk rock fury 2007-12-28
For some people, this is the quintessential punk album, and it's hard to disagree with them: This is a filthy, cruel, nihilistic, loud, furious, and seemingly amoral album, full of brutally simple music and snarled vocals, with righteously pissed-off lyrics and a sense of primal immediacy underlying the whole thing. Sure, it's also surrounded by controversy (whether or not the music was performed by the Pistols themselves or a bunch of uncredited studio hacks, whether the album was a calculated attempt at commercial success or a genuine statement of rebellion, etc.), but when the music is this good, who really gives a damn?
Thirty years after its original release, this thing is still an absolute monster, a frothing-at-the-mouth declaration of war against social mores, conventional wisdom, and the status quo (whatever it happens to be at the moment). It's rebellion for its own sake, the distilled essence of youthful rage and cultural dissatisfaction. "God Save The Queen" and "Anarchy In The U.K." are absolute masterpieces- they document the decline of Western civilization with a gleeful snarl, with Johnny Rotten's skin-curdling bellow spewing cathartic venom at everybody and everything, venting his frustration at a world that's carelessly ripping itself apart. Outside of those two classics, we've got the chaotic "Holidays In The Sun," and the acidically catchy "No Feelings." "Bodies" (which was, ironically, named one of the greatest conservative rock songs of all time thanks to its perceived anti-abortion message) isn't moralistic- it's hard to imagine that the label "pro-life" (or, in fact, pro-anything) could apply to the Sex Pistols. It's actually a somewhat true story about a girl who'd been hanging around with the band at the time, and who had described (in agonizing detail) the illicit abortions she'd had to Johnny. Multiple members of the band have attested that the song was intended to convey a pro-choice message by denouncing the society that had forced the song's protagonist to seek an illegal (and potentially life-threatening) alternative to a medically safe abortion. It also rocks really hard.
A punk rock classic, then. Enjoy.
The real Punk master piece 2007-11-27
I mainly listen to prog rock, metal, fusion and 80s pop/rock bands and I mostly tend to dislike the whole "punk gave progressive rock a lesson" thing, but this album is beyond all this silly discussion. It is a ferocious rock album, with superb yet simple guitar riffs and a bizarre but incredible John Lydon . I don't usually rationalize much while listening to it I just get into pogo and have fun. That is what Punk was to me: for a few moments forget to be so serious about music theory and enjoy.
