Great Lost Albums
X
More Fun In The New World (Elektra, 1983)
The freshest forgotten albums of yesteryear. Not the usual fawned over suspects but albums that ‘net-trawlers and second hand record shop aficionados may come across and should snap up now.
This month Guy Oddy harks back to an American classic…
Many grandiose claims have been made of X, since their glory days in the early 1980s. There have even been suggestions that in Exene Cervenka and John Doe (who were also married for the first half of the 1980s), X possessed the greatest punk rock song-writing duo after Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. This, however, is to miss the whole essence of the band. X was, and remains, a band that plays roots music, despite the frequent presence of loud electric guitars. The actual sound is as much country, as much folk, and as much rockabilly, as punk. The lyricism has more in common with Charles Bukowski than John Lydon, and their influences are as much Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie as Iggy and the Stooges. In fact, X were making raucous Americana, long before the purists had imposed a blueprint on the genre, and many from the American alternative scene of the 1980s and 1990s, from the Butthole Surfers, Jane’s Addiction and Henry Rollins to folk singer Phranc, have acknowledged their influence. They even appeared in Bret Easton Ellis’ book ‘Less Than Zero’, such was their cultural cache.
X formed in Los Angeles in 1977, where they soon achieved a considerable local following, due to their live shows and debut single, ‘Adult Books’/‘We’re Desperate’. The original and best-loved, line-up of the band comprised Exene Cervenka (vocals), John Doe (bass and vocals), Billy Zoom (guitar) and DJ Bonebrake (drums). Their first album, ‘Los Angeles’, was produced by Ray Manzarek of the Doors, who also contributed keyboards to a number of tunes. The disc proved to be a minor commercial success but very much a critical hit, in both the underground press and the mainstream media. The follow-up, 1981’s ‘Wild Gift’, was again produced by Ray Manzarek and broadened X’s profile further when it was feted by such publications as Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Village Voice. In 1982, X made a slight stylistic departure on ‘Under the Big Black Sun’, by placing more emphasis on a country sound, while still retaining a fast and loud feel. This rootsy vibe was explored further in X’s fourth album, ‘More Fun In The New World’, which was also their last with Manzarek’s input.
‘More Fun In The New World’ proved to be the pinnacle of X’s recorded output. The song-writing, the singing, the playing and the whole atmosphere were at such a peak that this album should be viewed as the definitive X. The anthemic opener, ‘The New World’, set out the band’s stall from the off, with a view from the bottom of the heap, through the eyes of America’s dispossessed. X also achieved new rough’n’rocking heights with the vicious ‘Devil Doll’, ‘Painting The Town Blue’, ‘I See Red’ and the best cover of Jerry Lee Lewis’ ‘Breathless’ to make it to vinyl.
More mellow fare, like the spectacular ‘I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts’, covered similar territory, perfectly capturing the paranoid feeling prevalent in the consumerism, moral agenda and aggressive foreign policy of Ronald Reagan’s 1980s America. It has since come to be seen as one of the greatest songs in the X canon. Other numbers, however, such as ‘True Love’ and ‘Poor Girl’, dealt with decidedly un-punk rock subjects, such as unrequited love, broken hearts and disintegrating relationships.
Despite the country stylings, ‘More Fun In The New World’ is not a slow slide into unplugged territory. The final track, ‘True Love #2’ is a funky vamp, which takes in ‘Skip To My Lou’, ‘Black Betty’ and ‘One Nation Under A Groove’. While X definitely found a groove on ‘More Fun In The New World’, they didn’t just find a formula then stick to it. Instead the album is one of their most diverse, without diminishing the power of the music or the lyrics. It’s a statement by people knocked about by their difficult circumstances, but who refuse to just lie down and accept their fate.
Spurred on by the artistic success of ‘More Fun In The New World’, the band’s country side-project, The Knitters, released the ‘Poor Little Critter In The Road’ album in 1985. This was followed by X’s somewhat disappointing ‘Ain’t Love Grand’, which precipitated Zoom’s departure. He was initially replaced by Dave Alvin (of The Blasters and The Knitters) and then by Tony Gilkyson (previously of Lone Justice), to record the ‘See How We Are’ and ‘Live At The Whisky A Go-Go’ albums. After these, the band took a much-needed break from each other.
John Doe and Exene Cervenka recorded and toured as solo artists in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while Doe also branched out into acting, appearing in such films as ‘Salvador’, ‘Great Balls Of Fire’ and ‘Boogie Nights’. Exene also filled her time with spoken word performances and writing books, such as ‘Adulterers Anonymous’ (in collaboration with Lydia Lunch).
In 1993, X got back together to record ‘Hey Zeus!’. An underwhelming public response, however, saw the band’s momentum slow down considerably and solo activity return to the fore. In 1998, Billy Zoom returned to the X fold and the band resumed limited touring, which continues to this day. The reformed original line-up has yet to present any new recorded material to the world, however, a couple of 2004 Los Angeles’ gigs were released on the ‘Live In Los Angeles’ DVD, in 2005.
