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The Best: Make the Music Go Bang

X - The Best: Make the Music Go Bang Audio CD

A fair review of the X "The Best: Make the Music Go Bang" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all X reviews here, or go back to the X tabs.

Band: X
Title: The Best: Make the Music Go Bang
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-07-27
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Adult Books [Single Version] 2: We're Desperate [Single Version] 3: Angeles 4: Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not 5: Johny Hit and Run Pauline 6: Soul Kitchen 7: World's a Mess; It's in My Kiss 8: Unheard Music 9: White Girl [Single Mix] 10: Once Over Twice 11: Universal Corner 12: Some Other Time 13: In This House That I Call Home 14: Beyond and Back [Live] 15: Riding With Mary [Single Version] 16: Hungry Wolf 17: Motel Room in My Bed 18: Blue Spark 19: Have Nots 20: Under the Big Black Sun 21: New World 22: Breathless 23: We're Having Much More Fun 24: True Love 25: I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts 26: Wild Thing [7" Single Edit] 27: Poor Girl 28: Call of the Wreckin' Ball - The Knitters 29: Someone Like You - The Knitters 30: What's Wrong With Me... 31: Burning House of Love 32: My Goodness 33: 4th of July 34: You 35: When It Rains... 36: Surprise Surprise 37: I'm Lost 38: See How We Are 39: Skin Deep Town [Live] 40: Around My Heart [Live] 41: Just Another Perfect Day [Live] 42: Devil Doll [Live] 43: Big Blue House 44: Clean Like Tomorrow 45: Country at War 46: New Life

gregsellshondas
You can really see the characters in their music. Make the music go BANG! The best of X is a fantastic addition to any ones collection who likes smart fast fun rock music. This 2 disc set gives a perfect overview to their career. I found X when I had to take a bus trip. With only $30 in my pocket and 4 hours to kill, I bought a cheap Walkman and found "Ain't Love Grand" in the bargain bin at the mall. "Burning House of Love" is a story of a jilted lover that is a sonic powerhouse. Also featured here from Grand is "What's Wrong with Me. . . ", where you know it's none of your goddamn business. The rest of this 2 disc set provides a full overview of the rest of the albums in the X collection. "Make the Music Go Bang" is a wonderful place to start exploring X.

Timeless Tunes
I actually bought this CD as a gift for my 16 year old son, making an educated guess that he would appreciate it, and he did. One of those great bands that never got a lot of radio play, at least not where I live. Some groups just never stop sounding good. X is one of those bands.

X hits the spot

For the uninitiated, or for nostalgists such as myself, this compilation serves as either a great introduction or a great recap of one of the finest careers ever in the punk/pop genre. Actually, it's five stars for the first disc, three stars for the second. In case you don't already know, X were a Los Angeles band that combined fast guitar riffs, country and rockabilly attitude, lovely harmonies and sensitive lyrics to create a totally original rock and roll package. They were a band in the truest sense of the word, with each member making a strong contribution, and are as vital now as they were then.

The first disc captures the most illustrious part of their career, which encompasses their first four albums, the striking debut Los Angeles followed by three undeniable classics, Wild Gift, Under the Big Black Sun(their best album) and More Fun in the New World. The song selection is uncannily savvy, almost invariably picking the very best cuts from these albums. My only argument is with the quality of some of the demos(the album version of Adult Books is much better) and with some of the selections from More Fun in the New World. For instance, why call the album Make the Music Go Bang, and then fail to include that song, one of the band's best? I also would have preferred Painting the Town Blue, Drunk in My Past and I See Red over some of the other cuts, but this is a minor grumbling. The chance to hear Your Phone's Off the Hook(But You're Not), In This House That I Call Home, I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts, Blue Spark, Riding With Mary, White Girl, Breathless, Motel Room in My Bed, We're Having Much More Fun, The Unheard Music, Some Other Time, Hungry Wolf and Universal Corner all on the same disc is an indescribably euphoric listening experience.

The second disc shows a serious drop in quality. I've never heard the album Ain't Love Grand in its entirety, but based on the selections here I'm not missing much. See How We Are is a vast improvement, but its watered down roots rock sound doesn't hold up as well today as it did when the album was released, perhaps because, in this format, it is presented side by side with their far superior earlier music. The best part of the second disc is the live tracks(I saw X in concert once and still have fond memories of that evening, one of the best shows I've seen), and some of the later studio tracks that close the album. Good stuff overall, but not up to the quality of the first disc.

My first recommendation would be to get X's first four albums, especially 2-4, in order to get a clear sense of just how great a band they were, to really experience the songwriting talents of Exene Cervenka and John Doe. But as compilations go, it's hard to ask for much more than what this set delivers.

A very good overview of a great band
Sex and Dying In High Society 2. But there are 5 songs missing (mostly from their first four seminal albums) They are(in chronological order:)1. Year 1 3. Come Back To Me 4. Dancing With Tears In my Eyes (Both from "Big Black Sun" and nice change of pace tunes) and (probably the most egregious omission) 5. True Love Part 2. You could make a case for including the first two albums in toto (if not the next two). The Go-Go's and Los Lobos will get more RnR Hall consideration, but I feel X is just as deserving.

We're Disparate, Get Used To It
Granted, this compilation has every X song you might've heard if you *weren't* already a big fan of the band. Ugh. But this disc is just tiring to listen to-- two CDs worth of X at their in-yer-face-punk-rawk-est is simply draining, and not even what the band is really about.

I'd recommend, then that X newbies looking to spend $23. 00 buy "Los Angeles" and "Under The Big Black Sun-" both of which display more of X's subtlety and dark humor.

By the way, *avoid* "Beyond and Back" at all costs- the sequencing is even worse than this, and the B-sides and rarities are mostly forgettable.

You can see a complete list of all X discography, or go back to the X tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.