Art out of tragedy (and hard work)...
X is commonly called one of the great punk bands to come out of Los Angeles. I think that understates the case by a fair amount. For one, X is more than a "punk" band, whatever that means. For another, they are one of the best bands to come out of any town, period. X can be aggressive, they can be tender, they can be funny, they can be tragic. During my Christmas Music Shopping Spree, I found the Rhino re-issue of Under The Big Black Sun in the used bin, and I was fully prepared to take advantage of someone else's mistake.
The album was originally released in 1982; it was their major-label debut, on Elektra. X had put out two fantastic albums previously, Los Angeles and Wild Gift, both produced by Ray Manzarek of the Doors. X was poised for bigger things, but there were two problems. First, they had put virtually their entire catalogue of material on their first two albums. Lots of bands run out of steam when they have to come up with new material, so that was a huge issue. The second problem was that singer Exene Cervenka's sister Mary had died in a car crash (on her way to an X show) during tours to promote Wild Gift.
Mary's death hit the band hard, and it was two years after her death before they were able to write music and produce an album. Under The Big Black Sun was the product of a lot of pain and earnest songwriting, and it's obvious from the start. Many of the songs are explicitly about Mary's death, about Exene's relationship with her. There is a song about Exene having to do a show in Cleveland the night after her death, sitting in the bathroom, knowing she had to go out on a stage and perform. X's music has multiple layers, one of which is that bassist and singer John Doe and Exene were married for many years of the band's existence. So, you get some pretty honest songs about love, the end of love, adultery...an awful lot of genuine emotion in tight songs, which always makes for a good combination.
Despite the heavy content material, the album really delivers; it might be their best work. I was very happy to find it and discover a bit more of the puzzle for why so many people love X. X never found large commercial success, but music this good lives on. It's not dated, it's not forced. Just straight ahead rock and roll from a band that had to produce amid tragedy. And they did.
I should also mention that I have always had a bit of a crush on Exene Cervenka. Which is odd, because my wife Jane now has a crush on Viggo Mortensen. Turns out, Exene and Viggo hooked up 13 years ago and had a son, Henry. Weird.
11:52:48 AM 
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