Classic Albums - The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The B*ll*cks Here's The Sex Pistols (Wide Screen) > Reviews > Great documentary about this influencial album.

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding

Advantages:	In depth look at the album .  Extra material for DVD .
Disadvantages:	Not long enough !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Part of the superb TV series "Classic Albums" this DVD focuses on the album Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols by The Sex Pistols. Extended interviews and features are included for this DVD, not shown in the TV broadcast.

This DVD is divided into distinct sections, these being -The Introductory section - Analysis of tracks - Bonus Interviews and Features.
All the menus (root and extras) are of a high standard, easy to use and fun to look at.

INTRODUCTORY SECTION
In the first part, music journalists (from Rolling Stone and Sounds magazines) discuss the initial impact of the group and of the NMTB album itself. All agreeing that it had a powerful sound and that the band were much better musicians than sometimes given credit for.

You then see all the band members (John Lydon (A.K.A. Johnny Rotten of course) - Vocals, Steve Jones - Guitar, Glen Matlock - Bass and Paul Cook - Drums), plus manager Malcolm McLaren and graphic artist Jamie Reid, discussing the origins of how the group came together and started rehearsing to build up some songs for a live set and ultimately, to record an album. You notice that John Lydon in particular has lost none of his conviction and fire, still coming across as articulate and intelligent. Also, you can see throughout the DVD, that all the personalities associated with the band, have calmed down a bit with age so all the comments are given in a relaxed and very good humoured fashion with a lot of hindsight.

ANALYSIS OF TRACKS
The development and recording of some of the album tracks are covered in turn, mixed with information about events which were happening around the band at the time, including TV and Film clips plus overlaid segments of audio clips of the group. This is all done in a very cohesive way which holds the viewers attention thoroughly, making you eager and interested to see what will happen next. The remainder of the tracks not examined in this section are featured in various ways in the Bonus section.

Track - Pretty Vacant. This segment starts by showing the viewer the original hand written notes for the song lyrics, with all amendments, scribbled out sections still visible. Glen Matlock then demonstrates on acoustic guitar the ideas he had for the chords, which he showed to Steve Jones who developed them into the finished guitar riffs. Special credit is given at this stage to musician/producer Chris Spedding who provided studio time and helped them in producing demo recordings.

Track - Submission. Discusses the development of the song, and how the meaning of the song changed from bondage themes, to a submarine mission as it was being written by Glen and John. Their signing to EMI records is also discussed by the band, Malcolm and the A&R man from EMI records.

Track - Anarchy In The UK. With a record deal secured (for the moment), the band discusses choices of producer to handle the recording of their songs starting with Anarchy…. First choice, Dave Goodman comments on his involvement with the track which never quite worked out, and led to established producer Chris Thomas getting the job along with producer/sound engineer Bill Price. Chris discusses his approach to the band in the studio and Bill demonstrates using the original tapes, how layers were constructed and built up to arrive at the final powerful Sex Pistols studio sound. This segment is a fascinating look at part of the recording process and Bill Price comments positively on Steve Jones' tightness as a guitarist and John Lydon's clear diction and delivery as a vocalist. Their infamous appearance on the Bill Grundy Today show is also covered well in this section.

Track - EMI Unlimited Edition. At this point the publicity (good and bad) garnered by the Grundy appearance is discussed by the band and the EMI A&R man. They shed light on subsequent dropping of the band by EMI, resulting in this song being written.

Track - Liar. The next major event to be looked at was the sacking/leaving of Glen Matlock and the playing off of one band member against the other by McLaren. This turn of events led to the arrival into the band of Sid Vicious.

Track - Holidays In The Sun. With the arrival of Sid (who couldn't really play) and the departure of the musically talented Matlock the band and the producers show how the album tracks were layered with Steve Jones doing all of the guitar and bass tracks. The multitrack tapes for Holidays In The Sun are used to demonstrate this technique by Bill Price.

Track - Bodies. Here John discusses the origins of this song and Steve Jones explains why it is his favourite Pistols song to play, some good insights here again into the development of the song. This gives a really good explanation of the point of the song, and how it is not just about shock value.

Track - God Save The Queen. The whole GSTQ song development, plus the controversy and various problems at the time of its release as a single, are covered brilliantly here, showing how easy it was to unintentionally stir up a lot of controversy in 1977.

Track - Problems. This controversy and the misrepresentation of the band at the time led to a lot of problems and violent reactions to the band. The band explains how this affected them and leads on to the controversy and court case surrounding the title of the album itself.

In the final part of this section of the lasting impression of the album and it's influence on other bands is looked at and reflected on, bringing the first part of this entertaining and informative DVD to an end.

BONUS INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES
This section of the DVD includes interviews and features not included in the TV programme, probably due to time restrictions. This part of the DVD is every bit as good as the main section, and is not just filler material.

Starts with ANARCHY BASSICS (deliberate mis-spell!). Here, Glen Matlock discusses the development of the song and its bass line, demonstrating it on his bass guitar. Bill price also goes back to the original tapes, explaining the recording techniques involved. Provides a great insight into the studio recording process.

EMI UNLIMITED EDITION In this chapter a great rare video clip of the band performing this song live is shown.

MORE STUDIO BOLLOCKS Chris Thomas and Bill Price are featured again here, showing more of the techniques involved in setting up the instruments and the studio equipment to record the album.

"NEW YORK" LIVE IN STOCKHOLM As the title says, the song New York played live in Stockholm in 1977. Brilliant sound and picture quality and a good performance.

BILL PRICE Bill himself discusses his impressions and thoughts on the band at the time of the recording. Plus, the band and Chris Thomas comment on Bill. A very interesting part of the DVD this.

JAMIE REID The band's graphic artist Jamie Reid is examined, and aspects of his design of the bands artwork are covered

SID John Lydon discuss Sids role in the band and the associated issues.

ROTTEN RAZORED Unpleasant events following the release of the track God Save The Queen are looked at by those affected i.e. John Lydon, Chris Thomas and Bill Price.

THE POLICE AND THE HEADMISTRESS Bill Price relates an amusing incident which happened at the studio during the mixing of the record and as he is throughout the DVD, shows himself to be a thoroughly personable chap!

"SEVENTEEN" LIVE IN STOCKHOLM Another great performance from the Stockholm gig.

HELLO FREDDIE Mainly about an amusing incident concerning John Lydon and Freddie Mercury of Queen. Funny stuff.

PLAY IN A DAY THE STEVE JONES WAY Very good section of the DVD, in which Steve Jones demonstrates some of his guitar techniques and riffs from the album, with a lot of personality and humour, great stuff.

CONCLUSIONS / THOUGHTS
I have watched this DVD a few times since I bought it, and can honestly say it's the best documentary I've ever seen on the band. I think this is due to the huge input the band themselves have and because everything is looked at in a relaxed, good humoured manner. Thoroughly recommended to all fans of rock music.