Under The Big Black Sun

Third album by seminal “punk” band from mid-late 70’s that broke through, belying their roots in rockabilly and folk. In the mid 70’s people keyed into their energy (and rough appearance), which is still all over this album, but it could easily be argued that they were never really a “punk” band (Exene told me herself “the hardcore kids hated us”). This album broke clearly from the hardcore scene blossoming in LA at the time (1981), breaking from bands like Black Flag and The Circle Jerks, and displaying their depth, lyric-wise, Billy Zoom’s magnificent guitar playing in the spirit of Dwayne Eddy and Buddy Holly (“Billy felt the Beatles, the British Invasion, ruined rock and roll”). The overall theme of the album addressed Exene’s extreme sorrow over the recent death of her sister and her vocals take the forefront, no longer just backups to John Doe. If some of these songs don’t bring a tear to your eye you might want to have your soul checked. My favorite X album, even “back in the day” (my hardcore cohorts used to scratch their head when I said that).

1)* (3:48) Hungry Wolf, chugging and galloping, rockabilly seeping through like never before 2) (2:42) upbeat peppy feel despite lyrics 3)** (3:41) probably my favorite X song (besides Were Desperate), a gliding driving lilting feel in the overall rhythm but power chords are probably the least rockabilly of all the tracks, beautiful very very sad song about the recent death of Exene’s sister in a car crash (“Riding With Mary” – Exene said its about people who put the saints on their dashboard, a futile attempt to be protected while driving – listen to the last verse) 4)** (3:46) sock hop slow dance, total tear jerker, Exene solo ballad mourning the death of her sister, “please come back to me”, oh man…. 5) (3:29) upbeat bouncy and guitar melody brings us out of the sadness 6) (2:23) punky high energy fast chords but still accessible 7) (2:09) kinda sexy feel, John Doe at his crooning best 8)* (2:15) Dancing with Tears in My Eyes – a Leadbelly cover, if you doubted anything I said about Billy Zoom being one of the finest rockabilly guitarists only look here, just beautiful, so sad because you know who the girl is in this case… 9) (3:00) driving and punky, but you hear the rockabilly in there don’t you? 10) (2:17) driving punky rockabilly 11)* (4:45) pleasant mid paced rootsy song with John Doe in lead, hooky melodies, working class themes