Search - Generation X :: Generation X

What happened to track one?

Christopher T. Sutor | New Castle, DE United States | 02/17/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big fan of this album. I've owned it on vinyl, on cassette, and I used to have the original CD release. Now, I own this version, and I'm not at all happy with it.



Take for a start, that the track listing is shuffled from the original running order. Ok, not that big a deal, I admit. But this shuffle appears to have been done, to hide the larger problems with this disc:



Four of the "bonus tracks" are not bonus tracks. They're tracks off the original album, and I have no idea what pinhead labeled them this way.



Three of the tracks on the CD, which are NOT listed as bonus tracks, actually ARE bonus tracks, as they do not appear on the original release.



Further, a bonus track which was available on the cassette release, the studio version of "save my life" isn't provided.



And finally, my biggest gripe: Track one is completely missing - "Gimmee Some Truth" that song that opened the album, appears nowhere on this CD.



After looking around for a replacement track, I've discovered that the only version of this song currently available, is the one on their Anthology box set, which is a diferent take, with different instrumentation, different lyrics, and a really annoying timing error in the first few seconds,which makes it sound like someone's turning the speed control on the record down as the song intro plays.



So, great band, great album, and completely cocked-up CD. After the muddy slowness of the original CD release, I was really looking forward to finally getting a decent copy of this album for my collection.



I'm still waiting.



What happened?"

Remastering Issues and No "Gimme some Truth"

G.C. | Potomac, MD USA | 10/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The first issue one may notice with this release is that the track listing is different from the album released in the USA in the late 1970's. The USA release actually was a compilation of most of the UK vinyl tracks (minus "Listen" and "Too Personal") with a couple of singles ("Your Generation" and "Wild Youth") and one B-side (the disposable "Wild Dub") tacked on. This is identical to what transpired with the first Clash album - and to address it Epic has reissued both versions on CD. All of the original UK tracks are included on the CD reissue. My problem with this CD is two-fold. First, the studio version of "Gimme Some Truth" which was the first track on the original vinyl release in the USA is inexplicably left off of the CD. I happen to think the Generation X version is better than John Lennon's original from his 'Imagine' LP. One might note that the CD reissue of 'Valley of the Dolls' lists "Gimme Some Truth" as a bonus track but this an inferior version recorded live at the BBC, which poses a huge dilemma in that there is no accessible way to obtain a remastered studio version. For this reason, I have kept my vinyl copy. Second, while I believe remastered CD's are a benefit 90% of the time, I believe the remastering here goes overboard. The intial CD's from Generation X did lack punch but at least the instruments and vocals were balanced. On the CD reissue, the lead guitar is cranked too high. On repeated listens I have noticed that the problem many seems to be on the first eleven tracks which represent the original UK vinyl release. "Your Generation", "Wild Youth" and the tracks from 'Valley of the Dolls' do not seem to suffer from this fate. I just think the sound person was a little too enthusiastic here (if you want to listen to some great remastering check out the phenominal job that SonyBMG did with the British reissues from glam-rockers Sweet - these are amazing). If the lead guitar was toned down slightly and "Gimme Some Truth" added as a bonus this would rate five stars."

One of punk's best!

Stu Nietzsche | Cana, VA USA | 09/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Generation X's debut is what punk was all about - complete with a fun factor that for the most part was missing from British punk at the time(with the exception of the Damned or the Adicts). Jerry Only of the Misfits said that Gen X was his favorite band, and that Billy Idol should be punched in the face for breaking them up! Their influence on the early Misfits is evident, and their influence on punk in general should not be ignored. If you want a good testament of '70's British punk (and good punk in general) then look no further. Extra noteworthy tracks included!"