40th anniversary expanded edition of Richard Hell & The Voidoids’ highly influential debut LP! NYC punk fixture Richard Hell (nee Richard Meyers) had been a founding member of now-legendary proto-punk band Television, but left in 1975 just before the release of their first 7” single “Little Johnny Jewel” (shout out John Padget). Hell quit due to disagreements with bandmate Tom Verlaine over Hell’s erratic stage antics and Verlaine’s refusal to play Hell’s songs. Despite this, one of his songs managed to work itself into regular rotation, but Hell took it with him and named the debut Voidoids record after it: Blank Generation. Recorded at Plaza Sound Studio in NYC with the assistance of Brill Building hitmaker Richard Gottehrer (“My Boyfriend’s Back”), Blank Generation is a perfect distillation of the legendary downtown punk scene, and on a bigger scale, representative of an entire generation: “To me, blank was a line where you can fill in anything ... It's the idea that you have the option of making yourself anything you want, filling in the blank. And that's something that provides a uniquely powerful sense to this generation. It's saying 'I entirely reject your standards for judging my behavior.’’ This expanded double vinyl reissue includes a fresh remaster of the original album, packaged in original replica gatefold sleeve and overseen by Hell himself, plus a bonus disc containing alternate studio versions, out of print singles and rare bootleg live tracks from the band’s first appearance at CBGBs, appearing here for the first time ever on vinyl.

• 40th anniversary expanded edition
• double vinyl pressing
• bonus LP contains alternate takes, live tracks and rare singles
• gatefold sleeve
• extensive liner notes
• limited edition of 2,500
• music label: Rhino 2017

reviewed by frau farbissina 12/2017