Can't Stand the Rezillos - The (Almost) Complete Rezillos

Scotland’s Rezillos in 1977 created a postmodernist punk confection that mixed B-movie and pop-culture ephemera with relentless Ramones riffs, power harmonies, beefy glam rock, blips of speed-addled R&B, and absolutely peerless bass playing—all with nary a whiff of punk anarchy or sloganeering. The U.K. Top 20 hit “Top of the Pops,” which is like early Queen on too many Pop Tarts, leads the charge of well-recorded ironic (i.e., post–art school) punk ditties, including eardrum-tenderizing covers of an old Fleetwood Mac B-side (“Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight”) and a Dave Clark Five humdinger (“Glad All Over”). Led by the colorful Faye Fife and guitarist Jo Callis (later a Human League main man), the band created songs that withstand the test of time, easily evidenced by the number of “best albums” lists this thing has graced. This set collects the band’s pretty much flawless 1978 debut (Can’t Stand the Rezillos), a non-album single (“Destination Venus”) and its b-side, and the ’79 live album Mission Accomplished ... But the Beat Goes On.