“Los Angeles” is the debut studio album by the American rock band X, released on April 26th, 1980, by Slash Records. It was produced by Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and includes a cover of the 1967 Doors song “Soul Kitchen”. “Los Angeles” is best known for its city-defining anthem and the torrid tale of date rape called “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene” it also shows that punk and classic rock can be occasional friends.
X carved out their own punk sound with unconventional vocal harmonies, poetic lyrics, and their own dash of rockabilly influence. X is another band that proved that accomplished players could take the power of punk and filter it through different influences. This is incredibly apparent if you watch The Decline Of Western Civilization, a documentary about the early days of the Los Angeles punk scene. During interviews and live concert footage, X’s lifestyle, sources of inspiration, and performances all point to the idea that punk can be whatever you want it to be.
Once you listen to “Los Angeles”, you’ll see that the punk possibilities are endless. Most punk bands used their musical inability to create their own style, but X actually consisted of some truly gifted musicians, including rockabilly guitarist Billy Zoom, bassist John Doe, and frontwoman Exene Cervenka, who, with Doe, penned poetic lyrics and perfected sweet yet biting vocal harmonies. “Los Angeles” is prime X, offering such all-time classics as the venomous “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, but You’re Not,” and two of their best anthems (and enduring concert favourites), “Nausea” and the title track.
While they were tagged as a punk rock act from the get-go (many felt that this eventually proved a hindrance), X are not easily categorized. Although they utilize elements of punk’s frenzy and electricity, they also add country, ballads, and rockabilly to the mix.
“Los Angeles” was reviewed very positively from its first release. Rolling Stone quoted that it “is a powerful, upsetting work that concludes with a confrontation of the band’s own rampaging bitterness and confusion. The review concluded that the album is considered by many to be one of punk’s all-time finest recordings, and with good reason.
The Fat Angel Sings 