“Ray Manzarek hated the sound of distorted guitar chords. He didn’t think they belonged in music”: X’s Under the Big Black Sun is a stone-cold L.A. punk classic, produced by a legendary figure who “didn’t really like punk rock” – here's how it was made

A black-and-white action shot of Billy Zoom of X playing rhythm on his Gretsch as L.A. punks X tear it up onstage. On the right of the picture is vocalist Exene Cervenka.

L.A. punks X made their major-label debut in 1982 with Under the Big Black Sun. The record, which followed two critically acclaimed indie releases – Los Angeles (1980) and Wild Gift (1981) – spotlights a more refined and polished version of their sound, while not losing an ounce of the urgency of the previous two albums.

As always, at the heart of the band’s – and the album’s – sound was guitarist Billy Zoom’s sparkling ’55 Gretsch Silver Jet. Zoom’s under-appreciated (and killer) chops are the lynchpin that ties together the left-of-center vocal stylings of Exene Cervenka and John Doe, not to mention D.J. Bonebrake’s rock-solid drumming.