Top 10 Influential Proto-Punk Bands (Part 1)

Within the realm of Rock journalism, there is a loose classification known as Proto-Punk, less a true musical movement and more a way to identify artists who served as the primary influence on the first wave of Punk Rock in the late 1970's. These bands spanned across their own diverse sub-genres from mid '60s British Mod Rock to the early Glam Rock bands who would reign the charts nearly a decade later. Despite their scattered origins, they are all unified in their towering influence over the Punk and New Wave revolution of the late '70s due to their simplistic, aggressive brand of Rock or utter defiance of excesses in the mainstream Rock world.

10. Roxy Music

The first entry on this list is a band whose "Punk" elements may not be as immediate as the others. Roxy Music is often summarized as a Glam Rock band that was obsessed with fashion, art and the avant-garde. While that is ostensibly true, their (even now) ahead of the times Rock blended traditional song structures with freakishly dissonant textures, with or without founding member and experimental music pioneer Brian Eno. Debuting in 1972 with a self-titled effort, Roxy Music distinguished themselves from the rest of the Rock world, retaining none of the traditional Blues influences found in contemporaries like the Rolling Stones or even the boundary-pushing David Bowie.

Toying with traces of Cabaret, early Electronic Music, Beatlesque Pop and an avant-garde approach borrowed from the Velvet Underground, Roxy forged a completely original sound from this raw material. Leader Bryan Ferry was capable of writing nearly traditional Pop songs before twisting them with dissonant and often jarring chord changes. Paul Thompson pounded his drums with a primal insistence that was aggressive yet infectious. Longtime guitarist Phil Manzanera is one of the most overlooked guitar heroes in Rock, capping off melodically challenging compositions with soaring, appropriately noisy solos. Roxy sounded unlike any other band before them and very few artists have even attempted to tread down the edgy, sometimes frightening paths they paved.

Along with many other artists from England's early '70's Glam Rock movement, Roxy served as the early influence for British bands to come from the Punk movement later in the decade, including straight-ahead rockers like the Sex Pistols, gloomy Post-Punk pioneers Joy Division and even pop-oriented synth artists like ABC. This extended even further, with artists as disparate as disco symbols Chic and early Alternative Rockers Faith No More citing their impact. Whether it was due to their own relatively simplistic rockers ("Virginia Plain"), their menacingly sophisticated epics ("In Every Dream Home a Heartache") or their twisted pop songs ("Love is the Drug"), Roxy Music shaped the sound of a surprising number of musical movements to come without the worldwide A-list popularity they deserve.

Recommended songs: "Virginia Plain", "In Every Dream Home a Heartache", "The Thrill of it All", "Street Life", "Both Ends Burning".

9. Faces

 It's hard to imagine Rod Stewart having any sort of influence on Punk Rock, but before the "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" singer became a symbol of anything but Punk, he lent his powerfully ragged voice to some of the toughest Rock music ever recorded. Most of that music was recorded with the Faces, an iteration of the Small Faces featuring Stewart on vocals and future Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood on guitar. Together, they created a sloppy, joyous and frequently intoxicated brand of Rock and Roll rivaled only by the Stones in swagger.

Their minor chart hit "Stay With Me" says it all - direct and borderline misogynistic lyrics about a one-night stand, a hoarsely belted vocal from Stewart, a chugging rhythm guitar part from Wood and a rhythm section that sounds like it's falling victim to that last shot of whiskey. While their excessive lifestyle put them in league with the Rock star culture from which Punk defected, their pure sound and party-animal image inspired the first wave of British Punks who endeavored to bring Rock back to its basics. Outside of Punk, the Faces' hard groove-driven Rock also inspired Hard Rock icons Guns 'N Roses and early Alternative Rockers The Replacements.

Recommended songs: "Stay With Me", "Bad 'N Ruin", "Had Me a Real Good Time", "Pool Hall Richard", "(I Know) I'm Losing You".


8. Slade

Slade was one of England's definitive Glam Rock bands, famed for their outlandish costumes and deliberately trashy singles. Along with T. Rex and David Bowie, they exemplified the essence of the genre. Unfortunately, their focus on making immediate and sometimes gimmicky tunes meant they were denied the same critical acclaim as those artists. Slade never had the same grand artistic ambitions. Apart from the occasional ballad, Slade specialized in campy, sleazy and deafeningly loud Rock singles with distinctly misspelled titles like "Mama We're All Crazee Now" and "Cum On Feel the Noize".

Like the Faces, Slade's sound was pure, unadulterated Rock and Roll turned up to 11, complete with roaring guitars and primal beats fit for a stadium. Lead singer Noddy Holder possessed a shrill, glass-shattering howl worthy of Robert Plant at his height. Their songs were infectiously simple and specifically written to bait the audience into participating. Late '70s rock band Cheap Trick famously derived their name after seeing a Slade show, noting that they used "every cheap trick" in the book.

While they are primarily remembered in the U.S. for providing Glam Metal band Twisted Sister with a pair of hit covers, Slade was a commercial behemoth in their homeland during the early '70s. Their unhinged, pure and over the top take on Rock & Roll proved to be massively influential not only on Punk but on Heavy Metal and Alternative Rock bands from The Replacements to Nirvana. Kurt Cobain summed it up best, describing Slade as the one band that "didn't give a fuck".

Recommended songs: "Mama We're All Crazee Now", "Gudbuy T'Jane", "Get Down Get With It", "Take Me Bak 'Ome", "Cum On Feel the Noize". 

7. Mott the Hoople

While they are mostly known for their definitive take on Bowie's Glam anthem "All the Young Dudes", Mott the Hoople was enormously influential in their own right, blending leader Ian Hunter's deadpan Lou Reed-style vocals with a tough Rock sound reminiscent of The Rolling Stones at their height. Mott had three albums under their belt and were on the verge of disbanding in 1972 before Bowie swooped in and offered his assistance as a producer.

While they had a similarly primal and kitschy sound - complete with barrelhouse piano and epic guitars courtesy of future Bad Company axeman Mick Ralphs - Mott lacked the commercial ambitions of Slade. Mott was never quite as catchy as T. Rex nor did they have the androgynous sex appeal of David Bowie, but their take on Glam Rock was the weirdest and among the most enduring. Hunter's lyrics were more poetic and cryptic, spinning tales of dead-end losers and revealing a strong Dylan influence.

It was this empathetic passion for the downtrodden street kids which appealed greatly to English Punk bands who identified with Mott's down-to-earth contrast to the pretensions of the era's Progressive Rock bands. Mott did indeed pave the way for the streetwise Punk bands that followed, with the Clash even writing a tribute entitled "All the Young Punks".

Recommended songs: "All the Young Dudes", "One of the Boys", "All the Way From Memphis", "Roll Away the Stone", "The Moon Upstairs".

6. MC5

The first American entry on this list, Detroit's MC5 defined the city's chaotic sound at the end of the 1960's, a symptom of the era's fiery sociopolitical climate, but in a louder and more aggressive manner than the average hippie band. Managed by political activist and founding member of the anti-racist "White Panther" party, MC5 played some of what is still the most aggressively decibel-breaking Rock & Roll ever recorded. Lead vocalist Rob Tyner had a menacing, baritone capable of leading the cacophonous dual-guitar attack from Fred "Sonic" Smith and Wayne Kramer, capped off by the pummeling rhythm section of Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson. 

Though they only released three albums in their heyday, their live debut Kick Out the Jams was heavier, more chaotic and volatile than anything else released in 1969, outdoing even Led Zeppelin and The Who. The title track's now-infamously shouted introduction "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!" and its monstrously anarchic sound essentially served as the blueprint for countless heavy Rock bands including the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned Motorhead and Black Flag.

While the MC5's music was rooted in a crushingly loud take on Blues-based Rock music (with later albums showing more of a Chuck Berry influence) Kick Out the Jams featured passages of dissonant, metallic noise which reflected their Motor City roots and a free jazz influence learned from genre icons John Coltrane and Sun Ra. This extended their influence beyond more traditional Rock and Roll with noise-driven experimental band Sonic Youth in particular citing them as an inspiration.

Recommended songs: "Kick Out the Jams", "Ramblin' Rose", "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)", "Looking at You", "Shakin' Street".