(3CD, Cherry Red)
In retrospect it’s clear that there was more than punk in the air in the mid and late 70s. New York, perhaps, most clearly showed the musical divergence and synchronicity, as the city birthed disco, hiphop and punk from its broken and bankrupt tenements and slums. But something similar was happening in London too: pub rock, progrock, pop, dance, new wave, funk, jazz, experimental and improvised music had, of course, continued alongside and despite the headline-grabbing antics of the Sex Pistols and others, and by 1978 anything and everything was musically possible. Punk simply let some room into the mix, and encouraged anyone and everyone to make the kind of music they wanted to. And to do it now.