Sex Pistols Boxed Set

Sex Pistols
Box set by Sex Pistols
Released	3 June 2002
Recorded	1976–1978
Genre	Punk
Length	220:10
Label	Virgin Records
Producer	Various

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Sex Pistols is a box set anthology of the career of the punk band The Sex Pistols with singer Johnny Rotten. It was released on 3 June 2002. The set comprises three themed CDs and an 80-page booklet.^[2]

The first disc features Never Mind the Bollocks, the band's only studio album, in its entirety, as well as four B-sides and the band's first demo session.

The second disc has demos and studio outtakes, from July 1976 to January 1977 and from the Never Mind the Bollocks sessions. This, together with the first disc, includes most of the material recorded by the band while Johnny Rotten was the singer.

The third disc, composed of previously unreleased live tracks, is almost completely made up with an 31 August 1976 gig at Islington Screen on the Green Cinema. Live bonus tracks include songs never recorded in the studio, "Understanding", "Flowers of Romance" and the legendary live performance of "Belsen Was a Gas".

Completeness

The box set includes almost the entire known recorded output of the band while Johnny Rotten was in the band. There are some demos not included, but they can be found completely on the bootleg album Spunk and the 1996 extended release of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols which comes with Spunk/This Is Crap.

The missing "Submission (Version 2)" is included on the widespread bootleg "Party Till You Puke" and part 2 of the 1992 "Pretty Vacant" double maxi CD.

If you own the box set, the 2006 15-song-remaster of "Spunk" (or the 2001 Castle re-release of the "No Future UK" bootleg, both releases run too slow as on the original bootleg LP, used for remastering) and part 2 of the "Pretty Vacant" 1992 CD single, you have the entire collection in digital format.

There are some semi-official releases out there who include some tracks and sessions in much better quality than included on the box set itself or the "Spunk" or "No Future UK" bootleg. The first Dave Goodman Session from July 1976 is included with best available sound on the Japanese "Mini-Album". Unfortunately the track "Pretty Vacant" is missing, but it is included in excellent quality on the "We've Cum For Your Children" bootleg CD. The Dave Goodman Session from January 1977 is available in its entire form on the CD "The Swindle Continues" (released on Restless Records). This version came definitely from a master tape or a first generation copy, cause it is included with real speed and the sound quality is simply perfect.

The "Pretty Vacant" version from July 1976, included on the box set (disc 2, track 1) is in fact the same recording as included on the "Spunk" album, but with a slightly different mix and the added studio chatter from the intro of the January 1977 session.

Here is a full list of all missing demo tracks from the Johnny Rotten era, not included on the box set:

01) Pretty Vacant – Original Version (Dave Goodman Session 1, Denmark Studio & Riverside Studio 1976)
02) Lazy Sod (Dave Goodman Session 1, Denmark Studio & Riverside Studio 1976)
03) Satellite (Dave Goodman Session 1, Denmark Studio & Riverside Studio 1976)
04) Anarchy In The UK (Dave Goodman Session 1, Denmark Studio & Riverside Studio 1976)
05) Problems (Dave Goodman Session 3, Gooseberry Studios & Eden Studio, January 1977)
06) Pretty Vacant (Dave Goodman Session 3, Gooseberry Studios & Eden Studio, January 1977)
07) Liar (Dave Goodman Session 3, Gooseberry Studios & Eden Studio, January 1977)
08) EMI (Dave Goodman Session 3, Gooseberry Studios & Eden Studio, January 1977)
09) Submission – Demo #2 (Bill Price Album Session, Wessex Studio, June 1977)

None of the post-Johnny Rotten material is included on the box, most of which can be found on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle soundtrack. It might be worth noting Sid Vicious, while commonly referred to as the bass player for the Sex Pistols, only plays on one track out of sixty-four on this box set.

Track listing

Disc 1: Studio Tracks & Early Demos

1. "Holidays in the Sun" – 3:22
2. "Bodies" – 3:02
3. "No Feelings" – 2:51
4. "Liar" – 2:41
5. "God Save the Queen" – 3:20
6. "Problems" – 4:11
7. "Seventeen" – 2:02
8. "Anarchy in the U.K." – 3:31
9. "Submission" – 4:12
10. "Pretty Vacant" – 3:18
11. "New York" – 3:06
12. "EMI (Unlimited Edition)" – 3:13
13. "I Wanna Be Me" – 3:06
14. "No Feeling" (bonus b-side) – 2:47
15. "Did You No Wrong" – 3:09
16. "No Fun" (unedited) – 6:56
17. "Satellite" – 4:01
18. "Problems" – 3:41
19. "Pretty Vacant" – 2:44
20. "No Feelings" – 6:53
    • Includes the hidden track "Anarchy in the UK" (instrumental)

• Tracks 1–12 are comprised by Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
• Tracks 13–17 are B-Sides
• Tracks 18–20 are demos recorded at the Majestic Studios demo session in May 1976.
• Hidden track is a TV backing track recorded at the Wessex Studio in December 1976

Disc 2: Demos & Rarities

1. "Pretty Vacant"
2. "Submission"
3. "Anarchy in the U.K."
4. "Substitute"
5. "(Don't Give Me) No Lip"
6. "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
7. "Johnny B. Goode"
8. "Road Runner"
9. "Watcha Gonna Do About It?"
10. "Through My Eyes"
11. "Anarchy in the U.K."
12. "No Feelings" (instrumental)
13. "No Future"
14. "Liar"
15. "Problems"
16. "New York"
17. "God Save the Queen"
18. "Satellite"
19. "EMI"
20. "Seventeen"
21. "No Feelings"
22. "Submission" (version #1)
    • Includes the hidden track "God Save the Queen" (instrumental)

• Tracks 1–2 are demos from the Denmark Street session in July 1976.
• Track 3 is the Wessex Studio session recording from October 1976.
• Tracks 4–10 are taken from rehearsal sessions in Wessex Studio, in October 1976.
• Track 11 is the rejected version of the Anarchy in The UK 7" single.
• Tracks 12–15 are demo sessions from the Manchester Square session in December 1976.
• Tracks 16–17 are recordings from Gooseberry Studios from January 1977
• Tracks 18–22 are outtakes from Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
• Hidden track is a TV backing track recorded as the Wessex Studio in December 1976

Disc 3: Live at Screen on the Green ‘76, plus live rarities

1. "Anarchy in the U.K."
2. "I Wanna Be Me"
3. "Seventeen"
4. "New York"
5. "(Don't Give Me) No Lip"
6. "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone"
7. "Satellite"
8. "Submission"
9. "Liar"
10. "No Feelings"
11. "Substitute"
12. "Pretty Vacant"
13. "Problems"
14. "Did You No Wrong"
15. "No Fun"
16. "Understanding" (live bonus track)
17. "Flowers of Romance #1" (live bonus track)*
18. "Flowers of Romance #2" (live bonus track)*
19. "Belsen Was a Gas" (live bonus track)
    • Includes the hidden track "Pretty Vacant" (instrumental)

• Tracks 1–15: 29 August 1976 – Screen on the Green Cinema, Islington, UK
• Track 16: 3 April 1976 – Nashville Rooms, London, UK
• Track 17: 29 June 1976 – 100 Club, London, UK
• Track 18: 14 August 1976 – Barbarellas, Birmingham, UK
• Track 19: 10 January 1978 – Longhorn Ballroom, Dallas, United States
• Hidden track is a TV backing track recorded at the Wessex Studio in December 1976

(*)This is a different song from that of the same title recorded by Rotten's later band Public Image Limited

Personnel

• Johnny Rotten – vocals
• Steve Jones – electric guitars, bass
• Glen Matlock – bass disc one, tracks 8, 13, 18–20; disc two, tracks 1–17; disc three, tracks 1–18
• Sid Vicious – bass live "Belsen Was A Gas" only
• Paul Cook – drums

References