Sex Pistols
Kiss This

THE REVIEW

With one of the shortest careers in the history of rock, the Sex Pistols have forcefully established themselves, rightly earning a place in it. With just one album behind them and much posthumous material, often mere photocopies of what was already circulating, which nevertheless helped considerably to enhance their myth. The punk with which the group is rightly associated was (or has been) not only a musical genre but characterized much of what revolved around it, transforming into a cultural phenomenon and catapulting itself into an inevitable drift. An irrepressible enthusiasm marked the beginnings of a phenomenon that played an important role in growth and was initially appreciated, but which the greed of the big record industry helped to dissolve.

KISS THIS (Virgin, 1992) has the advantage of being the most complete product ever published after the dissolution of the band. And this not only because it contains the entire studio set of NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, but also for the presence of b-sides of singles that today are treasures for collectors. Among the immortal "Anarchy in the U.K." and "Holidays in the Sun" there is rightly space for the cheekiness of "Did You No Wrong" and "No Fun" respectively coupled on the singles "God Save the Queen" and "Vacant", while in the fervor of "Satellite" one can perceive lyrics as incendiary as damnably rhymed. Tracks with a simple but striking structure always blended with sharp melodies and never shamelessly commercial. Sex Pistols, initially pioneers far from unattainable, armed simply with three chords (when things went well) and a direct attitude that found its ideal outlet in the incendiary live-act. Perhaps the most notable cover is a rejuvenated version of "Don't Give Me No Lip Child" (Dave Berry) as much as the rawness of "Bodies" - signed by the four anarchists par excellence - allows you to headbang without restraints, while the historic vocal performances of Sid Vicious and Steve Jones are respectively available on "My Way" and "Silly Thing" which follow each other skillfully completing the picture.

An album that I obviously do not recommend to those who already have everything from the Pistols, but that I feel like suggesting to those who - intrigued by what many mistakenly defined as a subgenre of rock'n'roll - want to get an overview of one of those musical revolutions that to this day continues to allow us to affirm that punk (rock) is not dead!