Customer Reviews

Germfree Adolescents

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Just visit www.amazon.co.uk and order it from there for less...you can also pick up The Slits' records cheaper there as well.

The only thing missing from Germfree Adolescents was the classic Oh Bondage Up Yours, and now you can get that too on the same CD!!! A great group, and a belated thanx to the sax player for answering my fan mail back in 1979.

Punk, in its classic Brit manifestation, doesn't get any better than this. Powerhouse guitars and strong hooks galore, of course. But what makes this album a masterpiece is Polly Styrene's lyrics -- there's more telling commentary on the dehumanizing aspects of modern civilization in any randomly selected verse of hers than in the entire oeuvre of Roger Waters (and ten times as much humor). And she sings like a human howitzer. The influential critic Greil Marcus once listed this as the greatest record of all time, period; that's not an unreasonable opinion. So buy it!

How do I describe this? On one hand, it's classic punk/pop. You know, 2:40 songs, fast, loud, catchy...everything you'd expect. But, on the other hand, it's like nothing I've ever heard before. I don't know if it's the saxophone (X-Ray Spex opt for sax solos in lieu of guitar solos) or Poly Styrene's vocals. Probably a little of both, although I'm leaning towards the vocals. Poly Styrene sings it like she means it! One wonders if she was physically and mentally exhausted at the end of each track. (Of course, she DID end up in a mental hospital...) To sum it up, this is one great record! Before its release on CD, I would see used copies of this LP (then out-of-print) selling for $80. So, what does THAT mean? That means it's a must have!

A couple of notes... The songs presented are in a different order from the LP and there are four songs included that weren't on the original...'Highly Inflammable', 'Age', 'I Am A Cliche', and 'Oh Bondage Up Yours'. You'll notice that 'Highly Inflammable' and 'Age' sound different from the rest of the album. ('Highly Inflammable' actually sounds a lot like Blondie.) 'I Am A Cliche' and 'Oh Bondage Up Yours' sound more like the rest of the album, although 'I Am A Cliche' is a below-average song. However, 'Oh Bondage Up Yours' is a classic, as well as this band's most popular song. It's a gigantic plus that it's finally included here.

High pitched, screeching female vocals plus amateurish sax playing plus paranoid, anti-technology lyrics. On paper, it sounds like an absolute mess. In fact, it joins Singles Going Steady and the Undertones as one of the catchiest and most lovable punk albums ever. Every song is a little masterpiece, with a memorable hook and some truly zany lyrics. The pace is amazingly fast, but the title track, the one song that slows it down a bit, merits special mention. The dub reggae sound clearly influenced the Slits and Liliput and the lyrics are truly hilarious. The rest sounds like Debbie Harry and Clarence Clemons on massive doses of speed. Ear candy of the highest order.

X-Ray Spex were clearly a band who broke many musical genres. YES the screaching vocals and violent guitar riffs predominate, but listen for the the dub-infused basselines and doo-wop harmony's of I Cant do Anything...this is music that was created by a hybrid band,a mixed-race female singer from Brixton, a predominately black area of South London, and of course there was the Aussie guitarist. This music is reggae, dub, motown, as well as hardcore punk, it is music that sums up London in the late 70's, when Bob Marley wrote a song dedecated to punks and Polystyrene attanded the Anti-nazi league in East London. This is one good buy

This Caroline re-issue of "Germfree" mixes up the track order from the original release and completely destroys the song pacing. For best results: 7, 2, 9, 8, 11, 4, 3, 5, 10, 6, 14, 1

Caroline also added 4 tracks: 'Highly Inflammable', 'Age', 'I Am A Cliche', and X-Ray's first single 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!'

"Germfree" is a blast from beginning to end (in the proper order), and deserves to be recognized as much as "never mind the bollocks" and the Clash's and the Ramones self-titled debuts. In fact, "Germfree" IS the perfect early punk album; not nearly as influential or well-known as the above mentioned records - but Christ, it should have been. Blame it on the 14-year delay of a proper re-issue; "Germfree" was originally a hard to find import-only item until 1992.

For trivia freaks:
Paul Dean (the bass player) formed the band Loverboy after X-Ray broke up.

i rank, 'germfree adolescents,' along with minor threat's, 'complete discography,' patti smith's, 'horses,' and the clash's debut album as one of the best punk records ever. that said, it is also true that this is possibly THE most unconventional punk album of all time. lead singer poly styrene's screechy vocals are complimented by lora logic's wailing saxophone. it's a stunning combination. 'germfree adolescent's' is a blistering 45-minutes or so, and is very consistently loud (with the exception of the dub-reggae of the title track). the band utilizes the uncontrollable power of punk rock and jazz throughout. prime examples of this are, 'art-i-ficial,' 'the day the world turned day-glo,' 'identity,' and the positively marvellous, 'oh bondage, up yours!' in true punk style, x-ray spex broke up shortly after the release of this album, and it remains the only testament to their deranged genius, not counting an excellent live album from the roxy. i reccomend this album to fans of any musical style.END

A delightful collection of classics from this early Britpunk band that displays their versatility in captivating witty songs mainly built on Poly Styrene's high-pitched wail and the sexy sax of Laura Logic. All the excitement of the times is captured in the fast numbers like Day The World Turned Day-Glo, Identity, Warrior In Woolworths, I'm A Poseur, Highly Inflammable and the inimitable Oh Bondage, while my favourite is the slow song Germfree Adolescents with its flowing melody and Poly showing that she can sing ballads too. Clever lyrics, strong hooks and a totally unique sound make this a collector's item.

To this day it still astounds me that lead vocalist Poly Styrene was something like 15 when this album was released in the UK punk rock heyday of 1977. With all the accolades of the last 3 decades heaped on the punk rock pioneers (both NY and UK), the X-Ray Specs firmly and uniquely held their own with the likes of The Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, The Ramones, and so many other blokes who were perhaps ten years Poly's senior. From this perspective it might even arguably be said that the X-Ray Specs and their debut (and only) album, "Germfree Adolescents" were even more important than the aforementioned "pioneers". Screeching from behind her braces in such classics as "The Day the World Turned Day-Glo" and my personal favorite "Oh Bondage, Up Yours", miss Styrene and company channeled teen angst and youthful anger in a way that none of those other guys ever could. While The Pistols and The Clash are no doubt extremely important bands, their penchant for social/political vitriol (though totally right on target and necessary) tended to miss the finer points of simply being a disenfranchised youth; which is what punk rock (and rock and roll in general) is really all about. Another reviewer made a distinction between "punk rock" and "punk". It's like the difference between "rock and roll" and "rock". The X-Ray specs were certainly "punk rock", not to mention incredibly original and lots of fun. This disc is a must have for any collection.