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The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
 
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The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle [Explicit Lyrics]

~ Sex Pistols
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Price: £3.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle + Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols + Kiss This: The Best of the Sex Pistols
Price For All Three: £12.94

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Product details

  • Audio CD (10 May 1993)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Explicit Lyrics
  • Label: Virgin
  • ASIN: B000025IQA
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,100 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories:

    #8 in  Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Classic Punk
    #49 in  Music > Rock > Indie Rock & Punk > British

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1. God Save The Queen (Symphony)
2. Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
3. You Need Hands - McLaren, Malcolm
4. Silly Thing
5. Lonely Boy
6. Something Else
7. We're Gonna Rock Around The Clock
8. C'mon Everybody
9. Who Killed Bambi
10. No One Is Innocent - Biggs, Ronnie
11. L'anarchie Pour Le UK
12. My Way

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Given that punk was supposed to blow away the hegemony of self-appointed "albums" artists, it's perhaps a little optimistic to expect a classic album by the Sex Pistols. Some would say that Never Mind The Bollocks was indeed such a thing; few though, would make the same claim about this, the accompanying album to the band's eponymous movie. That's not, however, to say that The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle doesn't yield some top moments: "God Save The Queen" and "Anarchy In The UK" still remain as beautifully nihilistic as pop can get. Alas though, Glen Matlock didn't stick around long enough to write a few more. What fills the gaps, in his absence, is a slew of occasionally amusing novelty songs ("Who Killed Bambi", Sid's "My Way", "Friggin In The Riggin"), lame covers ("Substitute", "Johnny B Goode", the afro-funk Pistols medley "Black Arabs") and a charming cameo from great train robber Ronnie Biggs on "Belsen Was A Gas". Perhaps you had to be there. --Peter Paphides


CD Description

Originally released in 1979 as the soundtrack to a documentary that marked the rocket rise and flaming crash of the SexPistols, THE GREAT ROCK & ROLL SWINDLE was really Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren's cinematic (and vinyl) potshot at the music industry he despised. Engaged in vicious legal battles with Johnny Rotten, Warner Brothers Records and Virgin Records, McLaren fought back in the only way he knew how -- by raising hell and documenting the whole bloody mess.
By the time THE GREAT ROCK & ROLL SWINDLE was released, the punk-era soap opera had ended: Sid Vicious was dead and Rotten had formed Public Image Limited. Probably best known for Vicious' tortured deconstruction of "My Way", the 21-track compilation features seven tracks by the Pistols -- even though Rotten only appears in the film via archival footage-as wellas songs by Tenpole Tudor, Ronnie Biggs and others. Curiosities abound, including a French version of "Anarchy in the U.K", drunken rugby songs, and the fey, McLaren- crooned "YouNeed Hands". Both ragged and riveting, THE GREAT ROCK & ROLL SWINDLE is a fascinating, screaming document of the tattered remains of one of the most explosive moments in rock history.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Charming Mess, 6 Oct 2002
By Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
This is perhaps more McLaren’s album than that of the Sex Pistols. It’s a mess, it’s in bad taste, but at least it’s an interesting mess. The God Save The Queen Symphony with vocals by McLaren is truly strange. The French version of Anarchy by one Jerzimy accompanied by an accordian is poignant but bizarre, while the two version of Einmal war Belsen Vortefflich (the second with vocals by Ronnie Biggs, are beyond redemption. The famous My Way a la Sid Vicious has a certain tragic charm and does not seem out of place amid all the weirdness. The orchestral version of EMI with vocal by Steve Jones is quite impressive with its sinister lyrics, while Friggin’ in the Riggin’ , sung by Steve Jones is crude and vulgar. This is followed by the entirely pointless You Need Hands by Malcolm McLaren. The album concludes with Tenpole Tudor’s messy but at least enthusiastic Who Killed Bambi. Bearing in mind that this is a soundtrack and that the group had already split up at its release, it’s still probably one of the worst second albums in history. Whereas the first album mocked the establishment and the music business, this one mocked the Sex Pistols themselves. It’s a very interesting piece of rock ‘n roll history but not a great listening experience.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It's A Swindle!, 28 Feb 2005
By A Customer
Forget objectivity this album is so obviously an insult to it's intended audience that it's beyond a joke.Then why do i find it so incredibly entertaining then? Punk rock always had a sense of the ridiculous.That was often missed by it's detractors but as it was an antedote to the po faced mush that preceeded it we can understand that.It's a mixed bag based on a film that was never really a film and contains all kinds of curios that many Pistols purists still find beneath contempt.As a collection of music it is fine, and like it or not, a part of the Pistols legend.
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26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Swindle? Definitely!, 24 Mar 2002
By robojam - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
With the departure of Johnny Rotten, the Sex Pistols should have been no more, and this album is excellent proof of that. It is mostly novelty songs and songs sung by other members of the band, but there is nothing that comes even close to anything that was sung/snarled by Johnny Rotten.

Let me ask you this - if it wasn't for the name 'Sex Pistols' on the front, would you buy and album of mostly cover versions sung by the other members of the band or their manager after the singer left, filled in with some accordian music and badly recorded rehearsals? I think not, and I regretted buying it on vinyl all those years ago for exactly these reasons. Never Mind the Bollocks was an awesome album, but this is only the Sex Pistols in name.

Go and buy Never Mind the Bollocks instead, it's a million times better!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh Dear !
How the mighty were fallen. From the high (hype) point of Never Mind the Bollocks to this mess in less than 18 months (approx). Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. David J. Garrett

4.0 out of 5 stars Less is more
I would seriously reccommend the 12-track highlights album as opposed to the 24-track sprawling mess. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2007 by AGC2070

5.0 out of 5 stars God save the Queen 'eh John?
The Sex Pistols were musically revolutionary and produced a brilliant first album, but it was all over too quickly. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Guaranteed to Upset the Neighbours!
If you only every buy one punk album, then make it this one. This is loud, obnoxious, offensive and irreverent all rolled into one with a heavy hint of sarcasm for good measure... Read more
Published on 14 Dec 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Listen to this if you feel like something different
An absolutely mad album. Takes you back to the days when rebellion and anarchy were cool and makes you want to do something outrageous. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 1999

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