Richard Hell was one of the first men on the scene when punk rock first began to emerge in New York City as an early member of both Television and the Heartbreakers (he left both groups before they could record). But his own version of punk wasn't much like anyone else's, and while Hell's debut album, Blank Generation, remains one of the most powerful to come from punk's first wave, those anticipating a Ramones/Dead Boys-style frontal assault from this set had better readjust their expectations. "Love Comes in Spurts" and ...
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Richard Hell was one of the first men on the scene when punk rock first began to emerge in New York City as an early member of both Television and the Heartbreakers (he left both groups before they could record). But his own version of punk wasn't much like anyone else's, and while Hell's debut album, Blank Generation, remains one of the most powerful to come from punk's first wave, those anticipating a Ramones/Dead Boys-style frontal assault from this set had better readjust their expectations. "Love Comes in Spurts" and "Liars Beware" proved the Voidoids could play fast and loud when they wanted to, but for the most part this group's formula was much more complicated than that. Guitarists Robert Quine and Ivan Julian bounced sharp, edgy patterns off each other that were more about psychological tension than brute force (though Quine's solos suggest a fragile grace beneath the surface of their neo-Beefheart chaos). And while most punk nihilism was of the simplistic "Everything Sucks" variety, Hell was (with the exception of Patti Smith) the most literate and consciously poetic figure in the New York punk scene. While there's little on the album that's friendly or life-affirming, there's a crackling intelligence to songs like "New Pleasure," "Betrayal Takes Two," and "Another World" that confirmed Hell had a truly unique lyrical voice, at once supremely self-confident and dismissive of nearly everything around him (sometimes including himself). Brittle and troubling but brimming with ideas and musical intelligence, Blank Generation was groundbreaking punk rock that followed no one's template, and today it sounds just as fresh -- and nearly as abrasive -- as it did when it first hit the racks. [In 2017, Rhino Records released a remastered and expanded edition of Blank Generation in honor of the album's 40th anniversary. In addition to a beautifully restored pressing of the album (including the original version of "Down at the Rock and Roll Club" that vanished when the album was released on CD in 1990), this release includes a second disc of rare and unreleased material. Along with an alternate take of "Who Says," and three tracks from scrapped initial sessions for the album, the set features five unreleased live takes from 1976 performances at CBGB, the original recording of "Another World" from a 1976 Ork Records EP, and "Oh," a 2000 performance that reunited Hell and the Voidoids for the last time. The package features superb liner essays from Richard Hell, as well as an abundance of rare photos and memorabilia. This release of Blank Generation treats it like the classic it truly is, and if you're either interested in replacing your old copy or introducing yourself to a singular work in the history of rock & roll, this is the edition you want.] ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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