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X: Wild Gift (Slash SR-107); The Flesh Eaters: A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (Ruby JRR-101)

Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981

THERE'S A BIG difference between playing crudely out of necessity and harnessing primitivism to say things that can't be said any other way. Rock thrives on simplicity, which has always led incompetents to assume they could excel. Not so; the music is just easy to play badly, as proven by legions of awful doo-wop groups and horrible punk bands (to name two obvious categories). X and the Flesh Eaters, on the contrary, keep the faith.

Total word count of piece: 431

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