Search - X :: L.A. & Wild Gift

Two of the Greatest!

Chad Bagley | Shanghai China/Provo, UT | 09/20/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How depressing it was to look up this album (expecting to see dozens of 5 star reviews) to find only 6 reviews and little tag line that read "This title is not currently available". A few years ago a filmmaker made a documentary about the inaccessibility of X's music and very aptly named it 'The Unheard Music' (a fine documentary I might add).I saw X for the first time twenty years ago and I've been a diehard fan ever since. Unfortunately X wasn't quite punk enough for some of the punks and didn't quite fit in any other category either. In short, X was a genre buster that ended up with a small, albeit dedicated audience.Los Angeles/Wild gift combines two of the greatest albums that X ever made, and certainly two of the finest recordings of its era. This is visceral, hard driving, American music at its best. There are so many great cuts on this CD that I hesitate to single out one or two for special comment. With twenty two amazing songs that range from hauntingly slow to good ole'punk rock, this double record gives you about as much 'bang for your buck' as anything that your likely to find in the record store. I'm convinced that X will eventually get their due. It may take a few more years but you'll eventually see X up there with all the other musical movers and shakers from the 70's and 80's."

The Sound of Young America, circa 1980

Neil Roseman | Seattle, WA USA | 11/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How sad that this is currently unavailable. Not only are they still great records (the CD contains full-length versions of the first two X albums), but they are seminal documents of american punk and the birth of la hardcore. I remember when "Los Angeles", came out, I was disappointed with Manzarek's production -- feeling it lost some of the immediacy of X live. But, it has held up pretty well. From the opening of "Your Phone's", the wild, poetic nature of X is on full display. (Listening, I can see them live, Billy Zoom standing with that crazy grin fixed on his face, playing like the devil.) "Wild Gift" is a little bit less amazing -- but it does include the two songs on the first single, "Adult Books" & "We're Desperate", the latter a suitable anthem for the times, with a great guitar riff. X's mix of punk and rockabilly has never been equaled (ok, maybe by the Cramps, but that's a whole different thing), and this twofer represents their best work.Please, someone, re-release this!"

One for the History Books

John D. Pride | Atlanta, GA USA | 09/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The debut album by X was, is and will always be one of rock's zeniths . They took the world by storm at a time when the Album Oriented Rock world of the early 80s was more than a little queasy over the thought of anything that wasn't "Free Bird" or "Stairway to Heaven". Not only has this album (I'm referring to, of course, "Los Angeles") stood the test of time, but it now sits firmly in the RnR Hall of Fame. The fact that so much of X's music is unavailable is not a good sign for the present or future of some of rock's most enduring output. Hey, music industry - re-release the good stuff! Brittany Spears' name has already been etched onto Lief Garrett's tombstone!"