At the fag end of 1973 a bunch of country, folk, bluegrass and blues fans (hence CBGB's) opened a scuzzy venue in New York's Bowery district. It flopped. Fortunately the area also boasted its share of low-rent, fledgling 'punks' - musos weened on the Velvets and Stooges - and CBGB's was forced to offer these outcasts a stage.
Within six months of ditching the blues, the seminal Television and Ramones had both made their akward live debuts, swiftly followed by Blondie and Talking Heads (sadly not included here) and the legend of CBGB's was born.
Now with the Strokes revisiting the stripped-floor, sonic assault of mid 70s NYC, this collection offers an interesting - if not always compelling - history of US punk and its roots. Sure those snotty-nosed Brits eventually adopted and refined the genre, but the Yanks did it first. We had Barclay James Harvest, they had the magnificent Dead Boys - nuff said.
Hence Pere Ubu's 'Heart Of Darkness' comes on like a 1975 Joy Division while Devoto and Shelley must have cocked an ear to the Electric Eels' 'Agitated' before spawning their Buzzcocks. You can be sure too that the Strokes have played The New York Dolls' 'Trash' more than once on the tour bus.
Kicking off this compilation way back in 1965 with the Seeds might be stretching the history lesson a little, but if it's red-raw, Twin Reverbs at eleven, sneering leather pants action you're after, this is a perfect introduction.
