Sweet Revenge is the fourth and final studio album of the English 1970's post-punk band Generation X,[1] though it was chronologically their third recorded album.
Generation X broke up during the original 1979 studio sessions that the record comprises, which were little more than demo sessions made without a producer. The material first received commercial release in contested circumstances retrospectively in 1998.
Most of the songs on the record were composed and initially rehearsed in a house in the English county of Oxfordshire in the first half of 1979, rented by the band for the purpose of working together secluded from distractions to assemble what was intended to be its third LP. During this period Generation X was looking for a new sound after the commercial failure of its second LP, Valley of the Dolls at the start of the year, and the new material was written with the intention of getting back to elemental song-writing, with more space musically in song construction.[2]Billy Idol, the band's frontman/singer, did not enjoy the experience of working in the pastoral surroundings of the Oxfordshire countryside, and was unhappy with the quality of much of the material that it produced.[3]
The record was demo recorded at the Olympic Studios in Barnes in early 1979 with the studio's in-house engineer Doug Bennett, with Idol and Tony James acting as producers.[4] Further recording work was done at the same studio in July/August 1979,[5] the latter sessions seeing the writing at the studio of the song "Dancing with Myself", which was regarded as an important event by Idol and James, the band's songwriters, as the song revealed a dynamic new dance-punk sound that they had been searching for since the failure of the band's second LP (a sound which would subsequently provide the foundation of Idol's solo career in the 1980s).[6]
The LP was never finished due to Generation X breaking up in acrimony at the end of 1979 whilst it was still a work in progress.[7] Idol and James went on in 1980 to relaunch the act under the new name of Gen X, salvaging several songs from the aborted recording sessions at Olympic Studios, and incorporating them into a new long-player release entitled Kiss Me Deadly (1981).[8]
Release & formatsedit
The original 1979 recordings were first released retrospectively as an LP via the labels 'Empty Records' and 'Munster Records' in Europe in 1998.[9] It was released via legal contractual obligation without the consent of Billy Idol or Tony James - the material's composers, and in the face of opposition from Idol, who believed the material it contained was unfit for the commercial market.[10] The studio recording tapes that composed the first release came from Derwood Andrews, Generation X's former guitarist, who had parted company with Idol and James on bad terms at the time of the original recording sessions. Knowing there was opposition to the release of the material from Idol and James, Andrews named the album K.M.D. - Sweet Revenge (1998) referencing the subsequent LP Kiss Me Deadly which Idol & James had gone on to produce after he had left the band with a re-branded act and new personnel.[11] An attempt to release K.M.D. - Sweet Revenge in the United States was successfully legally blocked. An American release of the same material from another audio source was issued four years later with Idol and James' consent as a part of the 2002 Generation X retrospective Anthology.[12][13]
An expanded reissue LP entitled K.M.D. – Sweet Revenge Xtra (2004) was released in Japan, as a part of the "Derwood Andrews' tapes", without Idol & James' approval, featuring alternate mixes, this record also contains different studio variations of the songs "Rock On" and "Your Generation", together with two live songs recorded at a gig in December 1978.
Track listingedit
K.M.D. - Sweet Revenge (1998 Empty Records (MT-421))edit
All tracks are written by Billy Idol and Tony James
^. Cosmik.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^Colin Larkin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 2317. ISBN9780857125958. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
April 11, 2024
sweet, revenge, generation, album, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, sweet, revenge, generation, album. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sweet Revenge Generation X album news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sweet Revenge is the fourth and final studio album of the English 1970 s post punk band Generation X 1 though it was chronologically their third recorded album Sweet RevengeStudio album by Generation XReleased14 April 1998Recorded1979GenrePop punk punk rockLength56 05 Japan LabelEmpty Records MT 421 Revell Yell Music RYCD019 Generation X chronologyPerfect Hits 1975 81 1991 Sweet Revenge 1998 Live at the Paris Theatre 78 amp 81 1999 Generation X broke up during the original 1979 studio sessions that the record comprises which were little more than demo sessions made without a producer The material first received commercial release in contested circumstances retrospectively in 1998 Contents 1 Production 2 Release amp formats 3 Track listing 3 1 K M D Sweet Revenge 1998 Empty Records MT 421 3 2 K M D Sweet Revenge Xtra 2004 Revel Yell Music RYCD019 4 Personnel 5 ReferencesProduction editMost of the songs on the record were composed and initially rehearsed in a house in the English county of Oxfordshire in the first half of 1979 rented by the band for the purpose of working together secluded from distractions to assemble what was intended to be its third LP During this period Generation X was looking for a new sound after the commercial failure of its second LP Valley of the Dolls at the start of the year and the new material was written with the intention of getting back to elemental song writing with more space musically in song construction 2 Billy Idol the band s frontman singer did not enjoy the experience of working in the pastoral surroundings of the Oxfordshire countryside and was unhappy with the quality of much of the material that it produced 3 The record was demo recorded at the Olympic Studios in Barnes in early 1979 with the studio s in house engineer Doug Bennett with Idol and Tony James acting as producers 4 Further recording work was done at the same studio in July August 1979 5 the latter sessions seeing the writing at the studio of the song Dancing with Myself which was regarded as an important event by Idol and James the band s songwriters as the song revealed a dynamic new dance punk sound that they had been searching for since the failure of the band s second LP a sound which would subsequently provide the foundation of Idol s solo career in the 1980s 6 The LP was never finished due to Generation X breaking up in acrimony at the end of 1979 whilst it was still a work in progress 7 Idol and James went on in 1980 to relaunch the act under the new name of Gen X salvaging several songs from the aborted recording sessions at Olympic Studios and incorporating them into a new long player release entitled Kiss Me Deadly 1981 8 Release amp formats editThe original 1979 recordings were first released retrospectively as an LP via the labels Empty Records and Munster Records in Europe in 1998 9 It was released via legal contractual obligation without the consent of Billy Idol or Tony James the material s composers and in the face of opposition from Idol who believed the material it contained was unfit for the commercial market 10 The studio recording tapes that composed the first release came from Derwood Andrews Generation X s former guitarist who had parted company with Idol and James on bad terms at the time of the original recording sessions Knowing there was opposition to the release of the material from Idol and James Andrews named the album K M D Sweet Revenge 1998 referencing the subsequent LP Kiss Me Deadly which Idol amp James had gone on to produce after he had left the band with a re branded act and new personnel 11 An attempt to release K M D Sweet Revenge in the United States was successfully legally blocked An American release of the same material from another audio source was issued four years later with Idol and James consent as a part of the 2002 Generation X retrospective Anthology 12 13 An expanded reissue LP entitled K M D Sweet Revenge Xtra 2004 was released in Japan as a part of the Derwood Andrews tapes without Idol amp James approval featuring alternate mixes this record also contains different studio variations of the songs Rock On and Your Generation together with two live songs recorded at a gig in December 1978 Track listing editK M D Sweet Revenge 1998 Empty Records MT 421 edit All tracks are written by Billy Idol and Tony JamesNo TitleLength1 Dancing with Myself 4 562 Modern Boys 3 233 Stars Look Down 4 334 Triumph 5 095 Girls Girls Girls 3 036 Anna Smiles 2 287 Flash as Hell 2 288 Psycho Beat 3 359 Cathy Come Home 3 4910 Revenge 5 3811 Dancing with My Wealth 5 38 K M D Sweet Revenge Xtra 2004 Revel Yell Music RYCD019 edit All tracks are written by Billy Idol and Tony James except where notedNo TitleWriter s Length1 Dancing with Myself 3 252 Modern Boys 3 253 Stars Look Down 4 434 Triumph 5 155 Girls Girls Girls 3 046 Anna Smiles 2 287 Flash as Hell 2 338 Psycho Beat 3 369 Cathy Come Home 3 5110 Revenge 5 1711 Rock On Gary Glitter Mike Leander2 3512 Your Generation 3 1513 Shakin All Over Live Johnny Kidd Gus Robinson2 4014 Kiss Me Deadly Live 4 4515 Dancing with My Wealth 5 38 Notes Recorded at T W Sounds Fulham and mixed by Alan Winstanley These two tracks were out takes from the band s first album Recorded live in Sheffield England on 8 December 1978 These two tracks are lifted from Live at Sheffield Personnel editGeneration XBilly Idol vocals Tony James bass Bob Derwood Andrews guitar Mark Laff drumsReferences edit Generation X Gets Sweet Revenge MTV 27 April 1998 Retrieved 28 March 2016 Introduction written by Derwood Andrews for the release of Sweet Revenge 2016 by Munster Records Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol Simon amp Schuster 2014 P 115 116 A Z fact file Smash Hits magazine 4 September 1979 P 16 Introduction written by Derwood Andrews for the release of Sweet Revenge LP 2016 by Munster Records Interview with Tony James Generation X Anthology April 2002 Interview with Derwood Andrews Punk Globe Magazine 2007 http www punkglobe com derwood html Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol Simon amp Schuster 2014 Band Pages Generation X Empty de Retrieved 28 March 2016 Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol Pub Simon amp Schuster 2014 P 115 116 Introduction to Sweet Revenge 2016 by Munster Records written by Derwood Andrews https www forcedexposure com Catalog generation x sweet revenge lp MR 363LP html Review Generation X Anthology Cosmik com Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 28 March 2016 Colin Larkin 27 May 2011 The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Omnibus Press p 2317 ISBN 9780857125958 Retrieved 28 March 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sweet Revenge Generation X album amp oldid 1177917755, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
