#333 - X - Wild Gift (1981)

MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:

X BIO

X was formed in the late 1970s in Los Angeles by bassist-singer John Doe and guitar player Billy Zoom. Doe’s girlfriend, Exene Cervenka, loved writing poetry and became a vocalist in the group. D.J. Bonebreak became their drummer after stints with a few others, (what a name for a drummer) and rounded out the group. Their first release was their part of a compilation put together by independent label Dangerhouse, which included other LA Punk bands like The Germs (Bonebreak played drums with them briefly), The Alley Cats, and Black Randy & The Metrosquad. They switched to a larger independent label called Slash and released their first album in 1980 called Los Angeles. Today’s album had a similar sound to the first album
but with shorter songs and more of a punk vibe. Much of X’s early material has a rockabilly edge. Doe and Cervenka co-wrote most of the group’s songs and their slightly off-kilter harmony vocals served as the group’s most distinctive element. Their lyrics leaned towards poetry. They were one of the first L.A.-based punk bands to be taken seriously on both coasts.

The band’s sound would evolve over their future album releases, releasing their third album in 1982 called Under The Big Black Sun, before putting out 4 more albums through 1993 - with an extended hiatus in the late 80s and early 90s mixed in, and then went on a break again in 1997 before reuniting again in 2005. They continue to tour, and released their 8th album in 2020 called Alphabetland.

BACKGROUND – WILD GIFT

This is the 2nd album by the American rock band, and came out in May of 1981. It was released shortly after Doe and Cervenka got married. The album ends up reflecting this new situation through overlying themes of domesticity and relationship issues: a home built on a shaky, unstable foundation that’s falling apart at the seams but nevertheless still feels like home. Former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek reprised his role as producer (he produced Los Angeles) on what would turn out to be X's last independent release before signing toElektra.

“That is very much who we eventually became, and it started there,” says Doe. “In 1980 into ‘81, there were new bands toying with the roots thing—we were on the leading edge of that. Gun Club, Blasters. It was the beginning of that era. Plus, we had long championed the pioneers of rock ’n’ roll like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Eddie Cochran and Little Richard. We wore those influences on our sleeves—especially with Wild Gift.”

Bonebrake goes on to say that the blunt-yet-eclectic vibe behind Wild Gift was exactly why he joined X in the first place: “Doe and Cervenka had great oddball songs.” Though he loved being in Eyes with Charlotte Caffey (eventually with the Go-Go’s), “X could do anything: a rhumba, these great complex rhythms that I was able to bring to the mix. These guys were open to anything that sounded good.”

Billy Zoom talked about Wild Gift in an interview, saying he thought it had some of their best material but the recording process didn’t go well. “It’s too bad we couldn’t do that material justice. We probably should have pulled the plug on that one until we figured out how to finance it. It’s a very uneven, thin-sounding recording. We knew better; there just weren’t any options available. No other studio would let a punk band record. The only way we got them to let us record was to let their janitor, who was the owner’s brother-in-law, engineer. It was his first record. Everything hummed and buzzed.”

This was voted the year’s 2nd best album in the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll, finishing behind The Clash’s Sandinista!