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The True Godfathers Of Punk
Part One: Intro and Nick Lowe
In the early days of Punk, it was common for music reviewers and writers to cite "Godfathers of Punk" from the 60s (or 50s) as influences on the first wave of artists. That was understandable; people naturally try to understand the origins of a new music genre, but it also reflected the age of the writers, most of whom were Boomers and publicists promoting back catalogs of '60s and '70s artists.
However, a few decades later, it's evident that Punk wasn't a temporary fad and became a full-fledged genre. As a result, one could say that the true Godfathers were those outstanding groups in the first wave or generation of Punk. The artists in the first generation that I admired covered an extensive range of styles, ranging from pop, Rock, trash rock, and even progressive. In fact, you might only recognize many of the "Punk" songs by their sensibility (lyrics) or the group or artist's appearance. It was very much an attitude and fashion trend also.
In the end, one could say that Punk wasn't just the latest thing but part of the natural process of the next generation of artists discovering Rock and Roll (and blowing past the usual gatekeepers that had developed in the previous generations).
I will make a list of albums by artists I consider to be the true Godfathers of Punk, given that the genre continued on from their work. It goes without saying that there will be omissions that will convince Punk fans of my incompetence as a music critic and writer. These will be covered in no particular order. Some of these albums now sound dated or overrated after a few decades, but those observations will be left out of the review. All of the albums that'll be mentioned deserve the respect given to works that were inspirations to the succeeding waves of musicians and listeners.
Nick Lowe: Pure Pop For Now People (U.K. Title: Jesus Of Cool) - Stiff Records (US)
Nick Lowe was pivotal in the punk movement as a session man, producer, and composer. He influenced the pop aspect of Punk (which was always there). Quite a few punk artists had a distinctive style, complete with a rebellious attitude, but their commercial breakthroughs tended to be their more accessible songs.
One of the things he achieved was to make good Pop cool again. His first solo album was an extraordinary combination of Rock and recreations of old pop styles. One of the songs, "The Rollers Show," was very much a tribute to the notion that the younger generation discovers rock and roll hits in each generation, a thrill that you only really experience once before you get older
Lyrically, he was quite different, as evidenced by one of his more eccentric songs, Marie Provost, which depicted the death of a once famous silent movie star, whose silent movie career was ruined once the "Talkies" came because of her New York accent. On the surface, it's black humor, but there is an undercurrent of sympathy and warmth, which is present in many of the best pop songs that involve a tragedy.
As far as flat-out rockers, his song "Heart Of The City" rocks as hard as any Ramones cut. What can make a song sound like a hard rock isn't always the volume of the guitar(s) but the arrangement and mix. It's an album that doesn't sound dated, and it's well worth checking out.
Al Handa
2024
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