Review by Greg Prato
For X's second release, 1981's Wild Gift, the quartet followed the same path they had taken a year earlier on their debut, Los Angeles, creating another batch of timeless compositions that merged the energy of punk rock with other musical styles. Former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek reprised his role as producer on what would turn out to be X's last independent release before signing to Elektra. Included are such eventual punk standards as "We're Desperate," the melodic hookfest "White Girl" (sampled years later by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in their song "Good Time Boys"), and "Beyond and Back." Other highlights include the '50s-prom feel of "Adult Books," the punk-pop composition "In This House That I Call Home," and the rapid "Back 2 the Base." While it may be a shade less exceptional than its predecessor, Wild Gift is nonetheless a classic effort.
It took me long enough to realize how much I enjoyed Wild Gift. I blasted this record the whole of 1982 and a bit afterwards, but sort of took it for granted and never noticed that I liked pretty much everything on here. I recently realized what a punk classic this is, in fact, punk for people who like song writing and good lyrics; that's what this shit is. I love it! 50s riffs with post-punk angst, countryish storytelling, and the beatnik aesthetic is really unique.
True, it was Los Angeles and their rendition of Soul Kitchen that grabbed me first, but everything that makes that album great (except the keyboards, sadly) is all the more present here. The style had solidified, so the track list is more confident and mature. Not as many true highlights on here as the debut, but at the same time nothing sticks out like a sore thumb; a very consistent album.
Adult Books is precisely as adult as punk gets without losing anything, lyrical and introspective, biting and angsty. Back 2 The Base and I'm Coming Over cutesy hardcore, I'm just naming random songs here. Personal favourite might just be White Girl. Or is Some Other Time? Do I even know??? They're just memorable, catchy, tough, compact, which is everything I like about punk. And of course, short punk albums always win.
ThankYouCapitalism Apr 08 2024
A1 The Once Over Twice 2:31
A2 We're Desperate 2:02
A3 Adult Books 3:21
A4 Universal Corner 4:39
A5 I'm Coming Over 1:14
A6 It's Who You Know 2:14
B1 In This House That I Call Home 3:33
B2 Some Other Time 2:17
B3 White Girl 3:29
B4 Beyond And Back 2:49
B5 Back 2 The Base 1:32
B6 When Our Love Passed Out On The Couch 2:00
B7 Year 1 1:19
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