X: Beyond And Back: The X Anthology

"Best-ofs are boring," John Doe is quoted as saying in the press release to this new X compilation. And, generally speaking, he's right. There are a few artists who are so heavily singles-oriented that it's best to skip the album material, but the standard hits package usually includes only the most obvious selections, along with one or two usually inferior bonus tracks to lure completist fans (see Extreme Honey, Paint The Sky With Stars, A-Sides). On the other hand, if you take the alternate route of releasing a set of demos, B-sides, rarities and live tracks—which is what Beyond And Back first appears to be—you'll probably attract only the hardcore completists. That Beyond And Back works as both is what makes it a model of how to put an anthology set together. Though rarities dominate the proceedings, the 47-track two-disc set can be boiled down to over 15 songs in their original form—a pretty generous greatest-hits collection. But with X, a band without any real hits, this wouldn't tell the story anyway. The quintessential West Coast punk band, X's influence dominated L.A. in the late '70s and early '80s. This may be because the band offered something for everyone: Real-life couple John Doe and Exene Cervenkova traded smart lyrics over music that started out as stripped-down punk and became increasingly inventive, expanding to incorporate a wide range of musical influences. Through it all, the band was more heard about than heard, more critically lauded than commercially popular, and extremely influential, as can be discerned from the numerous tributes contained in the liner notes. The reasons for this praise are made clear throughout Beyond And Back, from a propulsive live version of "The World's A Mess; It's In My Kiss" to the now prescient-sounding country excursion of X's alter-ego The Knitters. This is an ideal starting place for new fans, and an irresistible purchase for devotees.