Reviews

Richard Hell and the Voidoids

Blank Generation

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Review Date: 2006-03-12

I don't know lots about Richard Hell and The Voidoids, but I do know that they are an early punk band from the seventies. This album is their first one, at least I am pretty sure that it is their first in the sequence of albums they had. Oddly enough they remind me of a few retro punk bands from back in the day, mostly The Clash, but a more unpolished version of them for sure. Its hard to really describe but the important thing is that I am doing a retro review and I haven't really done one of those in a while. Richard Hell from what I have read is the brains of the operation, but that shouldn't make you think any less of The Voidoids because without their music the album would probably not be as good as it is. Its not super hardcore but that goes without saying, its from the seventies, most stuff from that era hadn't started to incorporate a harder sound to punk music yet. The music isn't all drugged out and trippy either though so thats another positive to the album, Richard Hell has some pretty good lyrics and his vocals are fairly prominent in most of the songs. I like the fact that this CD is old school at times because you get the long and drawn out solos for guitar or some other instrument, mostly the guitar is featured though and as you can imagine that suits me just fine. I was actually pretty excited to get this retro review since it had been such a long time since last I had one sent to me. I'm an awfully big sucker for retro punk and hip hop and it seems that lately those are the reviews that I have done the most of in the retro scene. The disc Blank Generation is a saga indeed, some of these tracks will rock you and others will slap your face off, enjoy.

The song that I submitted for Track Fu might have been robbed, its the fifth song on the disc "Down At The Rock And Roll Club". This song is pretty wicked if you ask me, I don't know who beat it in Track Fu but I'm sure there was a legitimate reason for the loss. This track has sections that are more upbeat and then ones that are low key, the back and forth nature creates a nice atmosphere for the track. The chorus is the catchiest part of the track, and that’s probably why I felt it deserved a submission to Track Fu. Anyways the important thing is that this song is recognized for what it is, a catchy tune that I hope was released as a single from the album. I don't know that singles were released as often back then or that the music industry was as prominent, but if it was they should have released this track. This song is pretty fun, and I would think this is one of the songs that you could have seen played in the clubs back in the day. I mean I'm thinking that the clubs rocked this sort of beat back then, I suppose its possible that I am wrong, but without a strong hip hop and R&B presence I would tend to think I'm correct.

The title track is sicke, "Blank Generation" is the seventh song on the disc. It actually reminds me of The Legendary Shack Shakers a bit, only the vocal style though. The music itself doesn't have that same twang to it that shouts out Shack Shakers. That’s ok though because its entirely possible that The Legendary Shack Shakers borrowed a bit of influence from Richard Hell & The Voidoids. The song starts off with a sweet little guitar riff and that rolls into some funky play by the drums and vocals even. This song is pretty entertaining if you ask me, it sounds like I should be stomping my foot and chewing tobacco while I listen to this track, which is probably the reason that I am finding it more fun than I initially felt. Actually I have to be honest the first few times I hear this album I didn't really think there was anything special about Richard Hell & The Voidoids, but after about four more listens my opinion of them has changed greatly as you can see. I just wanted to make sure people understood it might not be a band that you think the tops of on the initial listen, even if you do usually appreciate a good retro punk album.

The first song on the album is called "Love Comes In Spurts", which might be my favourite song on the album. This song is one that really makes me think about The Clash, in fact maybe The Clash thought of borrowing the sound since they did release their music for the most part after this time. There is a sicke guitar solo in this track that is a huge reason why I like it, it’s only about thirty seconds but it happens at a weird point in the song and its right near the beginning about forty five seconds in. I like the solo though so its ok that it happens at such an unpredictable time, the song isn't very but in a good way to start off an album no matter which era you release it in. The chorus is really catchy even though it’s really just saying the title of the song over and over and then listening to Richard Hell whine about why its such a bitch for that to be the way that love occurs. This song is definitely a good listen I hope that you will take the time to hear it if you like old school punk rock.

The eleventh track is called "I'm Your Man", I think Richard Hell really means that shit too. He obviously wants a girl in the worst way but the way he is singing about it isn't totally annoying me and that’s an artform. To not annoy me on the subject of love is like almost a miracle I suppose, but regardless it’s still a bitchin' song. Richard Hell & The Voidoids are wicked to me, when I visited the official Richard Hell website I got to see a picture of Richard Hell and he kinda looks like Tom Wilson from Junkhouse. Or maybe it the other way around, but the point of the story is that he doesn't look like his lifespan will be incredibly long or anything, regardless I don't think that Richard Hell does much with The Voidoids these days. In fact I think Richard Hell writes poems, or has a poem book, something like that. I suppose he's a pretty interesting guy but I'm not really into poetry dude, its kinda lame. This song is overall pretty catchy too, but not as much as the others, I would suggest you hear it once just to see if you agree.

The tenth song on the CD is over eight minutes in length but I would have thought there would be more than one of those songs on a disc that is pre-80's. This is the trippiest song on the disc, it reminds me of a big circle, kinda like the one that the kids in That 70s Show used to have, but only with this circle there’s more people and its a big fucking bong that everyone is getting mangled off of. Personally I think that'd be a wicked party but if I was at that party I would expect to hear music much like the stuff that I am currently listening too. The lyrics in this track are almost whiney punk which I wasn’t sure about but I like. The guitar isn't really used that much and when it is used its really just filler for the song, the part of the song that is really emphasized are the vocals, which is ok because they sound all tripped out and fuck't at times. There are a few solos for the guitar and drums in this song and both are pretty cool, they space them out but that’s probably better than cramping them together. Overall this is one of my favourite songs and its over eight minutes, usually that doesn't happen but I think that this song has captivated my attention after hearing it so damned much.

*NOTE* We do not score retro albums so now we didn't score this a 0.*

Does Richard Hell & The Voidoids disc "Blank Generation" live up to the hype?
I think there’s a lot more hype to Richard Hell then The Voidoids but I could be wrong, I didn't research it well enough to fully know, but what I do know is that they are good and it was sent to me as a retro review, technically those shouldn't disappoint me if they are the legends of music.

How influential is this album?
I can see music this band did as influencing others, I don't know specifics, but since they have a sound that I can see in The Clash and even The Legendary Shack Shakers that’s at least two that I can think of at the moment. I don't think they are the greatest examples but they at least did a good job of keeping that old school punk movement alive.

Should you buy this album?
If you like old school punk you will like this album, it’s a given, but people without that love can just avoid this album like the plague.

- Brandon