The Boys

Even though the Boys will always remain in the second tier of UK punk in most eyes, the liner notes on this collection from thee Michelle Gun Elephant explain why people will always care for them: "It was 10 years ago when I heard the Boys for the first time…then we, our band, made cover versions of it and it made me so excited! The BBC Sessions play the greatest songs and all performances are brilliant. It makes me more excited!" Such cheery enthusiasm is deserved; consisting of two John Peel studio performances from 1977 and 1978 and a ten-song concert broadcast from 1980, The BBC Sessions is brash, hooky fun from a band that knew how to deliver that in spades. Bursting to immediate life with a great rip through "Sick On You" - strange but true, a song about contempt that's warm and winning even in overdrive! - the whole listen is a great trip back to the past. "Livin' in the City" and "TCP" are further standouts from the studio sessions, high-speed fun that demonstrates why the Boys eventually opened for the Ramones, while "Brickfield Nights" gets a rougher but still stirring take. That song resurfaces in the live concert sequence, along with a storming take on "First Time" that starts the concert, a take on the cowritten song with the Lurkers' "New Guitar in Town," and their already notoriously hilarious version of "The Worm Song." The whole show features some enjoyably fierce guitar work, and likely the audience went happily nuts from the sound of things. (Further fun bit - the plummy BBC announcer introducing the band.) Further liner notes from an appreciative Max Decharne put the band's place in history in fun perspective, and the whole disc is a must listen from anyone who loves the spirit of '77. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide