Critic's Review
Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Besides hardcore Sex Pistols fans, few know that Sid Vicious played a few solo shows in late 1978. With a set list comprised entirely of cover songs of proto-punk classics, and songs that the Sex Pistols either covered early on, or never got around to recording properly, anyone thinking that they'd get a live set of Sid originals was probably sadly disappointed. That said, such releases as 2004's Search & Destroy (which includes album artwork based on Sid's actual mug shot for the alleged murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen -- taken the same year as this album's recording) show that although the ex-Pistols bassist may have been short on original material, he knew how to put together a rockin' good-time set. Included are such covers as Johnny Thunders' ode to heroin, "Chinese Rocks" and Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else," as well as "Belsen Was a Gas," a Pistols original that was penned towards the end of their tenure together. With few studio recordings actually featuring Sid (the majority of the bass on Never Mind the Bollocks was supplied by guitarist Steve Jones), the live performances documented on Search & Destroy (as well as a bonus cover of "My Way") are among the precious few surviving bits.
