10. Television, “Marquee Moon”
Such is Television’s punk cred that they actually helped build the stage at CBGB in 1974, becoming the first band of their kind to perform regularly at the seedy New York club.
When they finally recorded their debut album two years later, they had lost bassist Richard Hell, who left to form the Voidoids. But they still had an outstanding collection of songs that finally wanted to be captured in the studio.
The complex twin-guitar sound that Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd established on “Marquee Moon” hardly resembled the music of their CBGB colleagues, the Ramones. However, he was equally innovative and influential. U2’s The Edge cites Verlaine as one of his biggest influences. Television certainly could have achieved great things if they hadn’t broken up just a year after the release of Marquee Moon.
9. Rancid, “…And Out Come the Wolves”
Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman cut their teeth in the late 1980s Bay Area ska-punk band Operation Ivy. When the group broke up in 1989, they formed Rancid. Their first two records caused a stir, although not high sales. But by 1995, every label was looking for the next Green Day, and major record companies were desperately trying to sign them.
Rancid ultimately decided to stay with their indie label Epitaph. They named their third album “…And Out Come the Wolves” after the experience of being hunted like prey by corporate labels. Even at Epitaph, “…And Out Come the Wolves” found a large audience. MTV and rock radio played the songs. Rancid became heroes for young people for whom Green Day sounded a bit too poppy and popular.
Rancid continue to tour and release albums. But they never quite managed to release an album as beloved as “…And Out Come the Wolves.”
8. Dead Kennedys, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”
The punk movement began in New York in the mid-1970s, but by 1980 punk bands were popping up all over America. San Francisco had a particularly vibrant scene, led by the hardcore group Dead Kennedys. They wrote breathtakingly fast songs with shocking titles like “I Kill Children”, “Too Drunk To Fuck” and their immortal classic “Holiday In Cambodia”.
It was music guaranteed to shock and enrage your parents, and the wild concerts made Ramones gigs seem tame in comparison. Like many punk bands, they made their biggest statement with their first album.
There isn’t a weak song on 1980’s Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, and it set a very high bar that they would struggle to surpass as their career progressed. The group disbanded six years later, and when they reformed in 2001, frontman Jello Biafra was no longer with them.
7. The Dead Boys, “Young Loud and Snotty”
The Dead Boys emerged from the small but highly influential Cleveland punk scene of the late 1970s, but they didn’t really receive attention until they moved to New York in 1977 and played regularly at CBGB. Many of the core members had previously been in the proto-punk group Rocket From the Tombs, but with charismatic frontman Stiv Bators they played to larger audiences and caught the attention of Sire Records.
The label released their debut “Young Loud and Snotty” in the fall of 1977, which begins with the punk anthem “Sonic Reducer.” That one song, originally from Rocket From the Tombs, made them legends forever, but the rest of the album is just as impressive. Unfortunately, the volatile group wasn’t destined to last, and they split up after just one more album the following year. Bators died in 1990 when he was hit by a taxi in Paris.
6. The Ramones, “Rocket to Russia”
The Ramones may have established their sound, as well as punk as we know it, with their 1976 debut, but many fans believe they didn’t perfect it until their third album late the following year. It’s the final LP with the original four members, and the tracklist reads like a greatest hits album.
“Rockaway Beach,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” “Cretin Hop,” “Teenage Lobotomy,” and “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.” There isn’t a weak moment among the 14 songs, even though it only reached No. 49 on the Billboard 200. Surprisingly, this was a huge success for the band, as their first two albums didn’t get past number 111. The tragedy of the Ramones is that they were not fully appreciated until after they ended.
5. Iggy and the Stooges, “Raw Power”
The Ramones were still unknown teenagers in Forest Hills, Queens, when the Stooges laid the foundation for punk with their first two albums, “The Stooges” in 1969 and “Fun House” a year later in 1970. They are two of the greatest albums in rock history, but hardly anyone bought them and the band seemed doomed to insignificance.
David Bowie was one of the few who truly understood them, and as soon as he became famous, he made it his mission to bring the group back from the dead. He brought Iggy Pop and guitarist James Williamson to London and was eventually joined by Stooges drummer Scott Asheton and his brother Ron Asheton, who switched from guitar to bass. Within weeks, Bowie helped them shape “Raw Power.”
Despite Bowie’s involvement at the height of his fame, the album flopped and the group disbanded soon after. It took many years for Raw Power to be fully appreciated, but it is now considered one of the best albums of the 1970s, regardless of genre.
4. The Clash, “The Clash”
The Ramones may not have made much of an impact in America after their first albums, but in England the crowds went into a frenzy over them, and within weeks of their first British shows, punk bands were springing up across the country. One of the most promising was The Clash, put together by Bernie Rhodes, an early associate of the Sex Pistols.
The four members barely knew each other when they got together. But they quickly developed a close bond, and singer Joe Strummer and guitarist Mick Jones proved to be an exceptional songwriting team.
They co-wrote nearly every song on their 1977 self-titled debut, including classics like “White Riot,” “I’m so Bored With the USA” and “Career Opportunities.” The critics in England loved it, but the American label didn’t understand it and didn’t release it in stores until two years later.
3. The Ramones, “The Ramones”
No one involved in the making of the Ramones’ first album had any idea that history was being made. The label gave them a budget of just $7,000 and insisted that it be recorded within a few days. “The sound engineers couldn’t understand what we were doing,” Tommy Ramone told Rolling Stone shortly before his death in 2014. “I’m sure the engineer thought he was just recording the same song over and over again.”
In fact, they had written 14 extremely different songs, such as “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Judy Is a Punk,” and “Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World.” The latter shocked many at the label with lyrics like: “I’m a Nazi darling/ Y’know I fight for fatherland,” but they released it anyway. It peaked at number 111, but Sire knew they had something special and stuck with the Ramones. If they had dropped them, music history could have been completely different.
2. The Clash, “London Calling”
The Clash had only been in existence for three years when they began working on London Calling, but they were already feeling constrained by the narrow confines of traditional punk. The four members had learned to love rockabilly, reggae, ska and R&B, and they wanted to incorporate it all into their new work.
Together with producer Guy Stevens, they developed 19 songs that differed greatly from their previous small catalog. “It was a point in time where everyone felt very comfortable being in the studio and recording,” bassist Paul Simonon told Rolling Stone in 2013. “Guy Stevens was really important and he helped create a very positive atmosphere, even if he was a little crazy. But he was like a conductor. He brought out the best in everyone.”
The group’s divergent musical tastes would soon cause major problems, but in this brief moment they resulted in genius and timeless songs that only get better with age.
1. The Sex Pistols, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols”
The Sex Pistols’ short career has been marked by so many tragedies, scandals, public outrages, media storms and even deaths that their actual music is often overlooked. That’s a shame, because their only album, 1977’s Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, is absolutely brilliant.
Bassist Glen Matlock had already been fired by the time recording began and his replacement Sid Vicious couldn’t play a note, so guitarist Steve Jones did double duty and took over all bass parts. Matlock still co-wrote many songs. Together with drummer Paul Cook, Jones developed riff after riff and provided Johnny Rotten with great material that he could develop into songs. “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the UK” are the most played today.
But tracks like “Bodies”, “Problems” and “Holidays in the Sun” are just as perfect. Johnny Rotten was wise to turn down all offers to record new material with the Sex Pistols. It would be impossible to top this.
