Various Artists

Action Time Vision (Cherry Red Records)

The subtitle ‘A Story of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979’ lets you know exactly what to expect from this lavishly presented four-disc box-set. The absence of The Clash and The Pistols (presumably due to them both going straight to major label success) isn’t noticed on this excellent collection which takes in all other the big names of the day (The Damned, 999, SLF, Angelic Upstarts, UK Subs and their ilk) and mixes it with the – and let’s be honest here – bands that only their family members recall (Woody And The Splinters, Bears and many more) and acts that at first surprise by their inclusion – Tubeway Army, Adam & The Ants, The Skids, to give a few examples – until you remember that these are the early cuts of bands who would later become household names and Top Of The Pops regulars.

The one hundred and eleven bands included cover pretty much all aspects of the punk scene of the time, recalling that it wasn’t all “this is a chord, this is another, this is a third, now form a band” type material of the sort loved by the sideburns and sniffin’ glue crowd. Amped up Chuck Berry wannabes rub shoulders with the truly clueless, where mundane life stories are treated with the same respect as police brutality, and songs of hope and despair are shown equal respect. Brief histories of each band on show are included in the 64-page book which accompanies the set, along with an introduction/overview by Kris Needs, then editor of Zigzag magazine.

In short, this is the best, and the most complete, UK punk compilation I have ever seen. It goes beyond just being music to listen to, and becomes more of an important historical document, a look back at the days when enthusiasm was often more important that talent, and there were no taboos and no rules about what you could and couldn’t sing about.