Los Angeles punk band X shared two new bonus tracks from the recording sessions for their 2020 comeback album Alphabetland. Like the recordings that made it onto the record, “True Love, pt. 3” and “Strange Life” featuring The Doors’ guitarist Robby Krieger pick up X’s sound right where they left off 27 years prior.
As the name suggests, “True Love, pt. 3” calls back even farther to “True Love” off their 1983 record More Fun in the New World. While “True Love, pt. 2” took the “true love is the devil’s crowbar” line in a completely new direction, “True Love, pt. 3” offers an alternate version of the original “True Love.” It pulls heavily from the rockabilly influence X is partially known for and ditches the original’s chaotic guitar solos for more friendly noodling in the rockabilly vein. Notably, Rob Schnapf’s far cleaner production also does wonders to transform the sound of the tune. As vocalist Exene Cervenka stated via press release, “And can there ever be enough ‘True Love’? Writing this reminds me of how much fun it was being in the studio with Rob Schnapf. He is a great producer and really helped make Alphabetland happen.”
A different version of “Strange Life” made it onto Alphabetland, but this new version came about after Robby Krieger dropped by the studio and X asked him to play on the song. Krieger adds a brief outro to the song that didn’t make it onto the album version. Cervenka said him coming by was “fitting and wondrous!” It’s fitting because X are tied to The Doors through their keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who produced their first four albums, Los Angeles, Wild Gift, Under the Big Black Sun and More Fun in the New World. All four are now widely considered to be punk classics.
Krieger also put out an album in 2020, The Ritual Begins at Sundown. It’s his first solo album in 10 years and blends psychedelia, blues rock and jazz.
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