X
Los Angeles (Slash/Rhino)X
Wild Gift (Slash/Rhino)X
Under the Big Black Sun (Elektra/Rhino) Onstage circa 1980, the band X was quite a sight. Blond guitarist Billy Zoom stood stage right, legs spread, only moving his fingers, with a broad smile that never left his face. At the center was Exene. You just knew she was a badass under the layers of make-up, even if she looked as fragile as a cupie doll with her slightly tattered dress. John Doe, the perfect name for a punk, occupied the spot to the left. Tall, lean, and dreamy with his dark hair and eyes, he was obviously the anchor of the group and when he sang with Exene it was like nothing we’d ever heard before. In the back, D.J. Bonebrake pounded out the rhythm on his drums, a ferocious sound that betrayed his youthful good looks. X was a band unlike any other in those days when punk had not yet twisted into New Wave. Their lyrics read like poetry. Their songs were social and political commentary that made you think while you danced around the room. Their music still resonates 20 years later for exactly those reasons. Rhino has reissued X’s first three LPs, giving them the “remastered and expanded” treatment. The music has never sounded so crisp and clear and while the bonus tracks are an interesting collection of live tracks, previously unreleased demos, re-mixes, and hard to find tracks, they’re not essential; some are retreads from 1997’s Beyond And Back anthology. So what we are really left with is 33 songs that were on the initial releases. Sure it’s punk from the same school as the Ramones and Sex Pistols, but what makes it different are the influences of the Beat poets, Fifties rockabilly, and the folk songs of Woody Guthrie. If you know the band, you’ll want these. If you missed them the first time around, pick up one or two and learn how you can rock with your brain engaged.(Los Angeles; Wild Gift) 
(Under the Big Black Sun) 
This article appears in December 14 • 2001.