The Anthology [Import]

X-Ray Spex | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Sanctuary Records / Castle Music UK
• ASIN: B00005QIU3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #498,277 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Oh Bondage! Up Yours!

2. I Am a Cliché

3. The Day the World Turned Day-Glo

4. I Am a Poseur

5. Identity

6. Let's Submerge

7. Germ Free Adolescents

8. Age

9. Obsessed With You

10. Generic Engineering

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Oh Bondage! Up Yours! [Live]

2. Identity [Live]

3. Let's Submerge [Live]

4. Plastic Bag [Live]

5. I Live off You [Live]

6. I Am a Cliché [Live]

7. I Can't Do Anything [Live]

8. Oh Bondage! Up Yours! [Live]

9. Cigarettes [Live]

10. Junk Food Junkie [Live]

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Disc one is their 1978 release Germ Free Adolescents with 10 added bonus demo tracks. Disc two is their 1991 release Live At The Roxy. The double slimline jewelcase is housed in a slipcase. 2001.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uproarious and underrated, May 5, 2004

By 

Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anthology (Audio CD)

Howling guitars and screeching sax (or is it the other way around?), layered with Poly's shrieking little girl meets hyena frenzy voice, X-Ray Spex has undeservedly been pushed out of the spotlight of punk's history. This is an injustice. The band was no mere flash in the pan with "O Bondage, Up Yours". They actually accumulated a decent output of equally uproarious tunes.

The only thing that really prevented the band from achieving greater recognition was that they dissolved so quickly because of Poly's condition. In retrospect, many of the songs hauntingly predicted her oncoming mental deterioration. But that's an aside. What's important is the music, and this CD is an invaluable piece in the punk puzzle. No, the production isn't top-notch--not by a longshot. Still, I would recommend this CD to anyone who has never heard of this outrageous band or who only knows the one or two cuts that achieved any popularity.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best album of all time... not an exaggeration., February 5, 2004

By 

Chelsea Johnson (Gilbert, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anthology (Audio CD)

Nothing I could write could do this album justice. Am I going overboard? I think not. (Well, perhaps... it is midnight, I have had three cups of coffee today, am putting off a Philosphy paper and have spent the last hour looking at David Hasselhoff reviews. Okay... no. I worship Poly Styrene...) Anyway, everything said and done, I would pay $1,000 for this CD and give it ten stars. The first CD is essential, but the second "Live at the Roxy" CD is just fun to listen to. If you don't buy any other CD this year, buy this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Part of your basic music education, June 28, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Anthology (Audio CD)

X-Ray Spex made music that any serious rock'n'roll fan simply must hear. The songs on the first CD in this collection rank up there with the best "punk" (whatever that means these days) music of all time, and sound as fresh and exciting today as anything ever recorded before or since. If you thought "Never Mind The Bollocks" was good, or if you are one who never really understood why people go on about the Sex Pistols and early punk music, you need the revelation this album will bring.

The first CD contains all the songs on the original "Germ Free Adolescents" album plus some important extras. The second CD is dead weight for the most part. It seems to contain the entire "Live at The Roxy" album in all its mediocrity, and three relatively tame songs from the reunion album.

Given Polystyrene's tirades against crass consumerism, the bundling of this extra CD is really quite ironic. An anthology for a one album band! Yeah, right! Since it's hard to find the original "Germ Free Adolescents" album these days, don't think twice about the crass consumerism behind this anthology and just buy it while you still can! Yama Yama Yama Yama Yama Yama.....