Search - The Bollock Brothers, Bollock Bros :: Never Mind the Bollocks 1983

Synthesized Do-Over

Stanley C. Sargent | San Francisco, CA | 03/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Bollock Brothers and the Sex Pistols were almost interchangeable at times as they were friends and played on each other's records. Here the Bollock Brothers, who came into their own after the breakup of the Pistols, take the original Sex Pistols "Never Mind the Bollocks" and re-do it, song by song, with respect. The difference is the music itself is all synthesized! The first time I heard it, I found it hard to comprehend the collision of the original album and electronic boom box beats, but I knew the songs very well from the Pistols and I found this new version rather hypnotic. Was this a joke, well, not really. Lydon and the other boys in the band liked it. This version make the songs sound so much more respectable, yet there is the dance repetition factor. You just have to hear it to believe it. The vocals are far more intelligible than those in the original album. After a while, this version grew on me. I don't listen to it often, but every once in a while I really enjoy it. It's really fun to play this while a friend is over, someone who is pretty familiar with the original. After a while they tune in to the familiarity of the music and words, then they can't believe it. It's fun stuff It's rare as hell these days (2008), but it's definitely worth hearing. Glad I got it when it was originally released on vinyl."