Blank Generation [Deluxe]

by Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Richard Hell

Overview

Richard Hell was one of the first men on the scene when punk rock emerged in New York City as an early member of both Television and the Heartbreakers (he left both groups before they could record). But his own version of punk wasn't much like anyone else's, and while Hell's debut album, Blank Generation, remains one of the most powerful to come from punk's first wave, those anticipating a Ramones/Dead Boys-style frontal assault from this set had better readjust their expectations. "Love Comes in Spurts" and "Liars Beware" proved the Voidoids could play fast and loud when they wanted to, but for the most part this group's formula was much more complicated than that. Guitarists Robert Quine and Ivan Julian bounced sharp, edgy patterns off each other that were more about psychological tension than brute force (though Quine's solos suggest a fragile grace beneath the surface of their neo-Beefheart chaos). And while most punk nihilism was of the simplistic "Everything Sucks" variety, Hell was (with the exception of Patti Smith) the most literate and consciously poetic figure in the New York punk scene. While there's little on the album that's friendly or life-affirming, there's a crackling intelligence to songs like "New Pleasure," "Betrayal Takes Two," and "Another World" that confirmed Hell had a truly unique lyrical voice, at once supremely self-confident and dismissive of nearly everything around him (sometimes including himself). Brittle and troubling but brimming with ideas and musical intelligence, Blank Generation was groundbreaking punk rock that followed no one's template, and today it sounds just as fresh -- and nearly as abrasive -- as it did when it first hit the racks. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/23/2023
Label:	Org Music
UPC:	0711574929818
Rank:	32838

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Richard Hell & the Voidoids   Primary Artist
Richard Hell   Primary Artist,Bass,Vocals,Guitar (Bass)
Ivan Julian   Vocals (Background),Guitar
Robert Quine   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Marc Bell   Drums

Technical Credits

Richard Hell   Producer,Design,Arranger,Composer,Cover Design,Art Direction
Richard Gottehrer   Producer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
John Fogerty   Composer
Peter Hook   Composer
Rob Freeman   Engineer,Recording
Robert Quine   Arranger
Richard Hell & the Voidoids   Performer
James Van Heusen   Composer
Gillian Gilbert   Composer
Tom Fogerty   Composer
Bernard Sumner   Composer
Don Hunerberg   Engineer,Recording
Jerry Solomon   Engineer,Recording
The Voidoids   Arranger
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Steve Taylor   Collage
John Gillespie   Design,Cover Design,Art Direction
Fred Wilkes   Assistant Engineer
John Piccarella   Liner Notes
Spencer Drate   Design
Roberta Bayley   Photography
Ivan Julian   Composer
Joel Cohen   Assistant Engineer
Stephen Morris   Composer
Triumph   Composer