The history of Chelsea spans almost 40 years, and during that time members of Generation X, Buzzcocks, the Alarm and other more famous Brit bands have wandered onto the stage with singer Gene October. To expect that this album would be forward-looking would have been foolish. But I certainly didn't expect such a solid roots punk primer, either.

Chelsea Saturday Night Sunday Morning (Westworld)

This isn't the sonic destruction of late 70s/early 80s SoCal punk. This is much more in the Clash/Pistols/Police vein of muscular, tuneful punk. Indeed, fans of the first two Motley Crue albums, Hanoi Rocks, Billy Idol (duh) and other punk-influenced hard rock outfits will also find plenty to enjoy. It goes without saying that the less historically-informed Rancid fans will say things like, "This is such a rip-off!"

This is something of a "greatest lineups" effort, allowing members from different eras to write together for the first time (or at least the first time in a long time). That might be the reason these songs have a vitality that is usually missing from retread reunions. Or maybe the secret is that these guys are having a hell of a lot of fun.

While interesting as an artifact, the simple truth is that this album is a complete blast. It's not fresh, and the revolution ended a long time ago. Gene and the boys found a pocket of joy, and they managed to commit it to tape (figuratively speaking, of course).

I have no idea how the kids will take this one. Mine like it, but they have an unusually wide musical education. My guess is that old farts like me will turn this up to 11, and the young guys in beards will start screaming, "Turn that racket down!" There's really only one appropriate response to that sort of codswallop, of course:

"Two fingers straight up atcha, motherfucker!"

Jon Worley