Los Angeles | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 26, 1980 | |||
Recorded | January 1980 | |||
Studio | Golden Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA | |||
Genre | Punk rock | |||
Length | 28:05 | |||
Label | Slash | |||
Producer | Ray Manzarek | |||
X chronology | ||||
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Los Angeles is the debut studio album by American rock band X, released on April 26, 1980,[1] by Slash Records. It was produced by ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and includes a cover of the 1967 Doors song "Soul Kitchen".
Los Angeles placed at No. 16 in The Village Voice's 1980 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[2] In 2003, the album was ranked No. 286 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[3]
In 1988, Slash issued Los Angeles and Wild Gift jointly on a single CD. It was reissued by Rhino Records in 2001 with five bonus tracks.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A−[5] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[6] |
Pitchfork | 8.5/10[7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[9] |
Uncut | [10] |
Los Angeles was reviewed very positively from its first release. Ken Tucker wrote in Rolling Stone that it "is a powerful, upsetting work that concludes with a confrontation of the band's own rampaging bitterness and confusion."[11] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that their outlook and songs "make a smart argument for a desperately stupid scene."[5] AllMusic's retrospective review concluded that the album "is considered by many to be one of punk's all-time finest recordings, and with good reason."[4]
For the year of its release, Los Angeles placed at No. 16 on the Christgau-organized Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[2] Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn named it one of the ten best albums released between 1977 and 1987.[12] Subsequently, Los Angeles was ranked No. 24 on Rolling Stone's 1989 list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s,[13] and Pitchfork ranked it 91st on its 2002 list of the decade's top 100 albums.[14] The former also ranked it #286 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003,[3] dropping it to #287 in the 2012 update of the list, and to #320 in the 2020 update.[15][16] In 2012, Slant Magazine placed Los Angeles at No. 98 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s.[17] The title track was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".[18]
All tracks are written by John Doe and Exene Cervenka except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not" | 2:25 | |
2. | "Johny Hit and Run Paulene" | 2:50 | |
3. | "Soul Kitchen" | John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Jim Morrison | 2:25 |
4. | "Nausea" | 3:40 | |
5. | "Sugarlight" | 2:28 | |
Total length: | 13:48 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Los Angeles" | 2:25 |
7. | "Sex and Dying in High Society" | 2:15 |
8. | "The Unheard Music" | 4:49 |
9. | "The World's a Mess: It's in My Kiss" | 4:43 |
Total length: | 14:12 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "I'm Coming Over" (Demo Version) | 1:24 |
11. | "Adult Books" (Dangerhouse" Rough Mix Version) | 3:21 |
12. | "Delta 88" (Demo Version) | 1:28 |
13. | "Cyrano de Berger's Back" (Rehearsal) | 3:01 |
14. | "Los Angeles" (Dangerhouse Version) | 2:14 |
Total length: | 11:28 39:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Soul Kitchen (Live)" (Live) | 2:35 |
11. | "Sugarlight (Live)" (Live) | 2:43 |
12. | "Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not (Live)" (Live) | 2:38 |
Total length: | 7:16 36:00 |
X
Additional personnel
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