Live at the Roxy WC2

Infobox Album
Name = Live at the Roxy WC2
Type = Live
Artist = Various


Released = July 1977
Genre = Punk
Label = Harvest Records
Reissue 1: Receiver
Reissue 2: Sanctuary
Producer = Mike Thorne

Live at the Roxy WC2 is a seminal album of live recordings taken from various Punk bands that played the now-legendary Roxy club in Covent Garden, London between January and April 1977.

Overview

The original Harvest Records release in 1977 (cat. no. SHSP 4069) included tracks by Eater, Johnny Moped, and the Unwanted that were left off the 1991 Receiver reissue (cat. no. RR 132). Also, The Boys, The Damned, Sham 69 and The U.K. Subs appear on the reissue but not the original. Finally, even for bands that appear on both discs, some of the tracks have been changed (e.g. Wire’s "1-2-X-U", X-Ray Spex’s "Oh Bondage Up Yours!", etc.). The Receiver album was re-released on CD in 2001 by Sanctuary as a 2CD set.

The original 12 track album reached number 24 in the UK Albums Chart and spent five weeks in the charts. The album was described as "seminal" by "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music" [cite book |title= "The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music"|last= Larkin|first= Colin|year= 2002|publisher= Virgin Books|location= London|isbn= 1-85227-947-8|pages= p.503;] and others. [cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|pages= p.808;] In 2004, it was recognised as one of the five 'Classic Punk Rock Compilation LPs' of all-time. [ [http://www.trakmarx.com/2004_01/index.htm trakMARX (March 2004) "Classic Punk Rock Compilation LPs", Issue 13] ; ] 'Over the years, the compilation LP has rightly become the bedrock of any perceived ‘happening’. During the formative months of the development of any given scene, a compilation or two (usually on an obscure independent label) will appear to define the zeitgeist. 1977 was no exception - with pundits & commentators alike keen to establish a few ground rules - & a slew of top quality collections appeared almost overnight to pencil in a few guidelines... Capturing the full force of the first wave head on, The Roxy is an essential historical reminder of the power & the glory of Punk Rock.' [ [http://www.trakmarx.com/2004_01/index.htm Johnny Normal, trakMARX, Issue 13] ; ] Author and critic Dave Thompson calls it “one of the most important (and poorest sounding) live albums ever made, a document of the Roxy Club from on and off stage”. [cite book |title= "Alternative Rock"|last= Thompson|first= Dave|year= 2000|publisher= Miller Freeman Books|location= San Francisco|pages= p.808;]

Original Track listing

ide one

# "Runaway" (Rossi/Barrett) by Slaughter & The Dogs
# "Boston Babies" (Rossi/Barrett) by Slaughter And The Dogs
# "Freedom" (Wisdom/Nelson/Destroy/Grotesque) by The Unwanted
# "Lowdown" (Gilbert/Lewis/Newman/Gotobed) by Wire
# "12 X U" (Gilbert/Lewis/Newman/Gotobed) by Wire
# "Bored Teenagers" (TV Smith) by The Adverts

ide two

# "Hard Loving Man" (Halford) by Johnny Moped
# "Don't Need It" (Blade/Woodcock/Chevette/Generate) by Eater
# "15" (Bruce/Cooper/Dunaway/Smith/Buxton) by Eater
# "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" (Styrene) by X-Ray Spex
# "Breakdown" (Shelley/Devoto) by The Buzzcocks
# "Love Battery" (Shelley/Devoto) by The Buzzcocks

Track listing (from the 1991 reissue)

# "Runaway" by Slaughter And The Dogs
# "Boston Babies" by Slaughter & The Dogs
# "Rip Off" by Sham 69
# "Borstal Breakout" by Sham 69
# "Just Don’t Care" by Wire
# "TV" by Wire
# "Bored Teenagers" by The Adverts
# "Gary Gilmore’s Eyes" by the Adverts
# "Living In The City" by The Boys
# "Sabre Dancing" by the Boys
# "Sick On You" by the Boys
# "I Am Cliche" by X-Ray Spex
# "Orgasm Addict" by the Buzzcocks
# "Breakdown" by the Buzzcocks
# "Love Battery" by the Buzzcocks
# "World War" by the U.K. Subs
# "I Couldn’t Be With You" by the U.K. Subs
# "Smash It Up" by The Damned
# "Neat Neat Neat" by the Damned

References