Rhino/Elektra Makes The Music Go Bang!

First-Ever Best Of Collection From X Available July 27

Rhino/Elektra salutes one of the most important and influential rock and punk rock bands ever with the release of X: The Best: Make The Music Go Bang. This two-disc, 46-track collection is the first "best-of" package for this legendary group.

X: The Best: Make The Music Go Bang covers the whole of X's recording career, from their first single on L.A.'s pioneering indie label Dangerhouse Records to their last studio album, Hey Zeus!, and touches on X's alt-country/folk offshoot, The Knitters. The set was co-produced and compiled by original member John Doe.

Disc One gathers highlights from the first four highly acclaimed albums the band cut with producer Ray Manzarek. Los Angeles stands as one of the most astonishing debuts ever (ranked #4 on Spin Magazine's recent Top 50 Punk Albums Of All Time) while the next three discs-Wild Gift, Under The Big Black Sun, and More Fun In The New World-revealed the many influences that made X's brand of punk rock so unique. With Ain't Love Grand, See How We Are, and Hey Zeus! the band broadened its sound and successfully morphed from being a great punk band to being a great rock band with classic tunes like "Burning House Of Love," "See How We Are," and "4th Of July." Disc Two of Make The Music Go Bang showcases the excellent work X did exploring folk, country, roots rock, and even flirting with metal stylings.

Fans of the band will be happy to find that Make the Music Go Bang includes rarities and tracks previously unavailable on CD before. In addition to the Dangerhouse versions of the classics "Adult Books" and "We're Desperate," the collection includes a never-before-on-CD live version of "Beyond And Back" recorded for the movie Urgh! A Music War, and single versions of "White Girl," "Riding With Mary," and "Wild Thing," X's take on the Troggs' classic.

From the now-fabled L.A. punk rock scene of the late '70s, X quickly emerged as a band to be reckoned with. While their first albums seemed to spring from the late '70s punk revolution, deeper listening reveals a group inspired as much by Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Leadbelly, '50s rockabilly, and Jim Morrison as by the punk movement. X rose above many of their contemporaries thanks to their musical proficiency and the poetry of Exene Cervenka and John Doe's lyrics, which invites favorable comparisons to film noir or Charles Bukowski.

X: The Best: Make The Music Go Bang carries a suggested list price of $24.98 at retail as well as at www.rhino.com [ http://www.rhino.com/ ].

Source: Rhino Records