So why is Class of 77: US Punk Nuggets on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Sometimes there’s nothing like a great compilation album to help collect and showcase an array of bands that you wouldn’t ordinarily think to seek out. And in the best of cases, such as with Class of 77: US Punk Nuggets, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
I’m supposing that there are many like me who only heard of the Los Angeles punk band The Germs by way of alumnus Pat Smear stepping in to join Nirvana as the band’s second guitarist in the early 1990s. The Germs’ “Lexicon Devil” is enough to make one want to check out the band in greater depth as well as making Class of 77 worth seeking out alone.
Which is to say, “Lexicon Devil” absolutely rips. It’s LA punk, late ‘70s style, taking in influences ranging from UK bands like the Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks in addition to U.S. bands like The Ramones. Simply great.
We get a nice wide geographic distribution on this album as well. Enter the Dead Boys, from Cleveland, Ohio, who check in with the driving, Midwest punk rock of “Sonic Reducer.” And, bonus, the Beastie Boys’ sample this song in their brilliant post-9/11 love letter to New York City, called, “An Open Letter to NYC.”
I never fail to get emotional when listening to that latter one, this New York native and former NYC resident will happily admit.
What’s wild about Class of 77 is that it also includes big hits by well-known bands – “Rock Lobster” by The B-52s, for example – in addition to selections by a bunch of legendary punk and post-punk bands that might pull casual fans a little bit deeper into their respective catalogs (Talking Heads, Television, Devo, X).
It also includes “Romeo,” by the Wipers, a band I’ve gotten much more into in recent years. In fact, “Romeo” is on Over the Edge, which makes the grade as #748 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
Some stats & info about Class of 77: US Punk Nuggets
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Punk Rock, Compilations, Old School Punk
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – not rated!
- When was Class of 77: US Punk Nuggets released? 2018
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #592 out of 1,000
Class of 77: US Punk Nuggets on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Class of 77: US Punk Nuggets that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
I’m a lexicon devil with a battered brain, and I’m lookin’ for a future, the world’s my aim.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.