As for the track selection, everyone has an opinion. Overall I think it's great. I personally would have substituted TRB's "Glad to Be Gay" or "Power in the Darkness" for "2-4-6-8 Motorway," which, in comparison, is a toe-tapping ditty (albeit a great one).

I'd also exclude The Pretenders, The Motors (although it's great to see The Motors included anywhere), Joe Jackson, and Devo. I mean, if you're gonna include Joe Jackson, you might as well add a tune from the early Police or Tom Petty albums. That stuff should be collected on a New Wave 4-disc set, along with Squeeze, XTC, The Cars, B-52s, Graham Parker, etc., to let people know there was something out there in the early `80s besides Duran Duran. I look forward to that set, Rhino. And while I'm at it, if you're gonna include the New York Dolls, why not stick The Tubes on there as well? But I digress...

For me, this is a great way to get good recordings of a lot of the punk I liked/like, but don't want to collect album-by-album. Rhino is just about the best label out there for old farts like me who, though turning gray, like to maintain a certain punk sensibility.

I mean it, maaaaaannnn! Oh, wait; that one's not on there...


What are box sets for?   November 13, 2003
 61 out of 71 found this review helpful

The point of box set compilations, like this one, is to provide the listener with an overview of a particular era or type of music. It's impossible to include everything everyone, especially completists would want or even expect. The questions to answer then are "Does this set provide you with a insightful look into 70's punk?" and "When I'm finished listening, have I learned something useful?" The answer is yes, resoundingly. If you were around in the 70's, you will hear and remember some old stuff that you have probably forgotten, and if you weren't around then, you can see how punk morphed into new wave and then devolved into the pop music that often passes as "punk" today. (Devo was right!)

If you like to show off your knowledge of obscure punk bands, or if you think hair gel and a trip to Hot Topic to get a Blink 182 shirt makes you a punker, then this box set isn't for you. It's for people who are interested in, not obsessed with the music and who at least know the difference between punk and "punk." Enough said.


the perfect punk box set for nostalgic new york burnouts   March 15, 2005
 18 out of 38 found this review helpful

I have to assume that those giving this box set five star reviews are punk-rock burnouts, pining away for the glory days of CBGBs and subway grafitti. Honestly, giving this set five stars just because it reminds you of your mispent youth is no better than a bunch of stoner hippies toking up to the Grateful Dead and getting all weepy over Jerry Garcia. In fact, let's just re-classify all geriatric punk rockers and hippies under a new collective noun: "homeless."

I got this box set AFTER hearing Rhino's superlative 80s underground collection "Left of the Dial." That collection spanned 81 songs over a wide range of genres: new wave, goth, hardcore, punk, pop, and in doing so, it didn't repeat a single artist.

"No Thanks!", on the other hand, gives you 100 songs, but repeats almost all of its artists: 2 songs from Patti Smith, 2 songs from Wire, 2 song from Elvis Costello, etc.. And by virtue of limiting itself to only one genre, punk, it ends up picking a lot of godawful songs to fill out 4 discs.

And even more problematically, only about half of these songs even qualify as the sound we'd call "punk." Was Blondie punk? Was Ultravox? Was Joy Division? Was Joe Jackson? And sure, Iggy Pop is on here, but is "Lust for Life" a punk song? I mean, they use it in CRUISE SHIP commercials, for crying out loud!

Now, on the other hand, if you've never heard of the Buzzcocks or Wire or the Slits, this might be a great introduction, and you can use that as a spring board to purchase full length collections from these bands. But if you've even remotely heard of most of these bands, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by just picking up a few essential punk rock albums: Wire's "Pink Flag", Clash "London Calling", Joy Division "Substance" and almost anything Elvis Costello recorded prior to 1979.

Lowlight: Patti Smith's embarrassing cover of "Hey Joe." She invokes 1970s heiress/radical Patty Hearst in her breathless introduction to the song and talks about black revolutionaries. Honestly, in the year 2005, who cares about Patty Hearst anymore? It's, like, so 30 years ago.

Also both of Rhino's sets (70s punk and 80s underground) include the Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." Now, I ADORE this song, but honestly, can't Rhino decide what decade spawned this song or were they just trying to fill out the box set?

Save your money. This box set calicifies punk as an embarrassing artifact that your dad might groove to in the background of a Burger King commercial. And yes, final whiny note, there is NO Sex Pistols on this set. And for that sin of omission alone, it's a 3 star box set.


Perfect Collection   October 31, 2003
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Looking back to the original Punk scene you have to realise it was mostly about singles - the odd 7" you had to look forward to every friday (that was the day when my record dealer returned from his London trip). This collection has all the essentials. One might argue that one gem or the other is missing but all in all you will either get a fine replacement for all your scratched and worn vinyl items or a perfect introduction to the scene and times. One special point I'd like to make as an European: Neither the US nor the UK scene are over- or underweighted - this is just what it was like between 1976 and 1979. Plus with the last tracks on disc 4 you see where it's heading: New Wave rears its head with the modern pop of Joe Jackson and the punk/jazz/funk of The Pop Group. Buy!


Predictable choices   November 28, 2003
 13 out of 27 found this review helpful

I admit that this box has a reasonable selection of songs for the unitiated, but anyone who is a 1970s punk fan is likely to have virtually everything on this thing. And i don't mean the type of train-spotting elitist that is likely to scrutinise obscure corners of Record Collector magazine to find copies of Bloated Toads singles (people like me!). I mean the type of person who has a healthy enthusiasm for punk but actually has a life ourside of their record collection.

This box offers nothing really interesting or challenging for that person. And isn't the point of a boxed set to accommodate the broadest range of people possible? Check out Rhino's "Nuggets" box sets to get an insight into the craft of compiling a box-set. They are monumental; almost perfect. 'No Thanks' just comes accross as opportunistic and exploitative. And is it just my imagination, but doesn't the selection on this box bear a striking resemblance to the 1-2-3-4 punk box that came out a few years back?

My criticism isn't based on the actual songs. Almost without exception most of the songs on this Box have blown me away at some point in my life. The problem is that the box is so limited in its scope and only focuses on the obvious, instead of taking the opportunity to present the diversity of 1970s punk. It completely ignores some of the more idiosyncratic artists and constructs a kind of corporate history of punk. It wouldn't surprise me if corpulent record executives are discussing how half of the songs on this box set can be used in the next Mondeo advertisement.

And why are so many bands given more than one song? This is just stupid. For example, if Rhino excluded one Television song, there would have been room for a Television Personalities track. Simple. If 20% of the tracks were replaced by more imaginative selections, the box would still fulfil Rhino's cynical marketing expectations, and satisfy hoary old critics like myself who like a bit of a challenge. I may have even considered forking out the cash to buy it. But as it stands, I'll just dig up my Hyped 2 Death compilations and leave it at that.

Shame on you Rhino!