BBC Live-One Hundred Punks - Generation X

Coming as part of 2003's Generation X revival, BBC Live -- One Hundred Punks captures the sweet snarl and yowl of these great punk progenitors across two live concerts recorded for the BBC. Thankfully blessed with great sound across both sets, here cobbled together into one extended performance, the songs on Punks faithfully retain the band's raw and raunchy live sound without the piss-poor soundboard deterioration that so often plagues live sets from the era. Hurrah for the BBC!That said, the songs -- all 16 of 'em -- on Punks are split nicely down the middle, between the band's sizzling late-'70s heyday, and the early-'80s slide that marked the evolution of Generation X into the Billy Idol solo sideshow. Blistering across eight tracks recorded in 1978, Punks thunders through the brightest highlights from the band's first two albums, including "Your Generation," "Kiss Me Deadly," and "Youth, Youth, Youth," as well as their signature cover of Johnny Kidd's classic "Shakin' All Over." That leaves, by default, a rather lackluster second half, recorded in 1981, when the band were staring at a fast-approaching death knell. From the Idol-identified "Dancin' With Myself," and on to "Heaven's Inside" and "Poison," the difference between the earlier energies, and the "ambition" that replaced them is palpable. However, the band don't disappoint, giving the audience a rare cover of David Bowie's "Andy Warhol," and wrapping up the set with two seminal, '78-era singles -- "Ready Steady Go" and "King Rocker" -- to remind us just where, and how, they flung themselves into the fray. Although the earlier material is by far the better, and the latter set falters at times because of that, Punks is still a rare record of a band that has too often been overshadowed by what followed. Live and loud, with brattiness to spare, in top form, as they are here across several memorable tracks, Generation X were truly one of the best. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide