The Sex Pistols' only album arrived in the U.K. on Oct. 28, 1977 – and for many, it was the definitive game-changer.

The impact in their native U.K. cannot be overstated. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols was a truly defining moment in culture: life before, and life after, punk rock. Though you have to draw the timeline from the Ramones to the Stooges, and even back to Elvis Presley, to get the whole picture, the public definition of "punk rock" sort of begins and ends with the Sex Pistols.

Never Mind the Bollocks is as much a snapshot of its era as Ziggy Stardust and Sgt. Pepper were of theirs. It's timeless, yet so of its time. The first thing is the songs. These are great songs, well-written and well-played. The story that they couldn't play their instruments is obviously untrue. One listen proves that.

After releasing four landmark singles, "Anarchy in the U.K.," "God Save the Queen," "Pretty Vacant" and "Holidays in the Sun," the band's debut LP was finally assembled. The resulting musical assault can, in part, be attributed to producer Chris Thomas, who had worked with everyone from the Beatles and Pink Floyd to Roxy Music and Procol Harum.

Thomas created a sonic force that was a loud, intense and aggressive powder keg. It was, in some ways, building-block hard rock, but the band had one not-so-secret weapon in the form of John Lydon – better known as Johnny Rotten. His venomous vocal delivery was truly startling, the dividing line between the old and the new and unlike most any singer that had come before.

Listen to Sex Pistols Perform 'Anarchy in the U.K.'

Their sound was fresh, it was dangerous, and it was not your older brother's record collection. Attitude was as integral an instrument as guitar, bass and drums. Songs like "Bodies" and "Liar" are still astonishingly fresh to this day. You'll just have to focus amid all of the hype, scandal, filth and fury over the Sex Pistols.

Bassist and main songwriter Glen Matlock was actually ousted prior to the completion of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, but his contributions are nevertheless crucial. Steve Jones' layers of guitar tracks make a wall of sound unlike anything heard before. Paul Cook was no slouch on the drums, and his powerful playing certainly drove it all home.

Still, it's Rotten who's the the star here. His anger is sincere, and is spat out with the most venom ever laid down on tape. While his persona may have been half-actor and half-singer, it ultimately comes off as very genuine, not unlike the scene in The Wild One where Marlon Brando is asked, "What are you rebelling against?" and he replies, "Whaddaya got?"

The Sex Pistols' debut was finally released in the U.S. in early 1978. A Rolling Stone cover story and an ill-fated tour followed, but they were nothing but a footnote in the states. American kids were far more interested in bands like Styx, Kansas or Boston to give the Pistols anything but a hateful glance.

It would be years before the full effect of the album would seep in: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ultimately went gold in the U.S., but that was a decade after its release.

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