Regular readers will recall that, when Clinton Heylin’s immense discourse on the development of punk landed at RC Towers, it was with a massive impact. It was as exhaustively, lovingly, nakedly written and delivered a book on punk as there could be. And, so, here’s the soundtrack.
There’s not much to be said, because there’s not a lot that can go wrong when you bring together four CDs ranging from Jonathan Richman, New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders (Disc One); through The Saints, Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks (Two); X-Ray Spex, The Only Ones and The Rezillos (Three); to Subway Sect, The Fall and The Ruts (Four).
There are two problems, though. Firstly, it ends in 1978 and, therefore, needs a Part Two (which could get pricey). Secondly, anyone with an interest in the era will probably already own most of the music herein. That said, one of the things we did while reading the book itself was dig out dusty old 7”s, crackly compilations and demos to soundtrack the finest punk read since England’s Dreaming. This box set at least provides an easier option, complete with the odd tricky-tofind classic. Obvious stuff, of course, but with or without its associated book, it’s damn-near essential too.
