Perfect Hits 1975-1981

Generation X | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 1991)
• Original Release Date: November 5, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000008FZ2
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,362 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dancing with Myself

2. Your Generation

3. Ready, Steady, Go

4. Untouchables

5. Day by Day

6. Wild Youth

7. Wild Dub

8. One Hundred Punks

9. King Rocker

10. Kiss Me Deadly

11. Gimme Some Truth

12. New Order

13. English Dream

14. Triumph

15. Youth Youth Youth

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Thanks to relentless MTV exposure, Billy Idol became a virtual one-man parody of himself--and the tattered, all-too-quickly recycled remains of mid-'80s new wave--in near record time. And before it became one of the '90s most overused cultural labels, Generation X was the name of Idol's short-lived ('78 to '81) entrée into London's oft-sordid punk wars, often to the chagrin of U.K. critics who found their antics a trifle posed. But Idol and guitarist Tony James didn't let concerns about authenticity get in the way of some lively age-baiting (thumbing their noses at the Who on "Your Generation"), faux anthems to "the movement" ("100 Punks"), or the perils of individualism--or was it onanism? (an early version of Idol's later hit "Dancin' with Myself"). And if proceedings sometimes went spectacularly awry (their painful "punk" take on John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth"), Gen X often got by--as do many third-generation punks--on nothing more than loopy bubble-punk exuberance. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Generation X Fans Buy This!!!!!, October 27, 2001

By 

"heydjatwork" (Fort McPherson, N.T. Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perfect Hits 1975-1981 (Audio CD)

For fans of British punk, this is a "must have." I would class this one as good as if not better than Never Mind The Bollocks. It's a raw sound which is rare to find on remastered recordings. Billy Idol fans will get a taste of the origin of his rash rock. Songs cover six years and three albums which gives a variety of Generation X sound from John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth" to "Ready, Steady Go" and "Untouchables." A great buy. No regrets.

HeyDJ

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back when Idol was cool, September 18, 2002

By 

osh o'brien (new york new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perfect Hits 1975-1981 (Audio CD)

This was when billy idol was cool. the songs are great, there is good variety, some ballads, some straight ahead rockers. This is the proto-type for modern pop punk, only much much better.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Billy Idol As Young Elvis, March 24, 2002

By 

B. Lynch "the_onewhoknows" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perfect Hits 1975-1981 (Audio CD)

Billy Idol, with his striking "blond hunk" good-looks, and clever musical chops, became an overnight sensation in the UK in the late 1970's. Idol's pop sensibilities, combined with the punk look, limited the Generation-X appeal in the US initially. Like they young Elvis Presley of 1955-1956, with his buns and crotch bursting out of snug leather, Bill Idol and Generation-X looked dangerous, and sounded great.

The songs here have not aged much at all. They still sound contemporaty. In fact, one wishes that the music industry would get rid of all those lame boy bands and sign more rock groups like Gen-X.

Gen-X was short lived (like Elvis Presley's first Band), but like the initial Elvis band, their influence has been far greater than sales would suggest. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that this band, not the later coining of the term by some author, was the real origin of the "GENERATION-X" label. Quite an influence!

There's not a bad song here. The only improvement I'd suggest is upgrading the artwork on the liner & sleeve (Gen X had very HOT publicity photos).

Billy Idol became a big MTV star, but except for his intial solo reseases (DON'T STOP and BILLY IDOL and some songs on the VITAL IDOL compilation), he never re-created the sexual energy suggested by the Generation-X. Messy personal problems got in the way of his music, and seemed to cause it to all lose its edge as the 1980's wore on. In the end, Idol becema almost a parody of himself it seemed.

Naturally, the critic hated it all (they NEVER get anything right, and they never have, it seems--they all hated Elvis too at first). The bands that the critics all touted quickly sank into oblivion.

Great CD for listening, and as a document from the early Punk era.