Sid Vicious - Sid Sings

It’s strange to consider how history would have treated Sid Vicious if he had lived to see his 50th birthday on May 10, 2007. Would he have been able to maintain the iconic stature that death provided him? Or would he have been ousted as a fairly talent-less sod who owed his notoriety more to luck than true originality?
Judging from his only release, the posthumous Sid Sings, I’m fairly certain that the latter is more likely.
The first thing you notice is how much of a hodgepodge the album is; an obvious cash-in that took advantage of the untimely-yet-expected death of one of rock music’s most famous anti-musicians.
The opening track, a cover of The Heartbreakers’ “Born To Lose,” is actually taken from the Sex Pistols’ Christmas party for underprivileged kids from 1977. The event was a rare example of the band’s generosity, which is a polite way of diverting your attention away from the fact that the Pistols’ version of this track is by no means anywhere close to the original. Nonetheless, it may be the sole reason why a Pistols/Vicious fan would actually need to purchase Sid Sings.
A couple of other songs (a cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Something Else” and Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”) can also be found on the Sex Pistols’ soundtrack album The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle. However, the version of “My Way” on Swindle differs from the one found on Sid Sings. The Sid Sings version features a different vocal track from Sid and while the Swindle version features the (clever) string arrangement that most people are familiar with.
Curiously, Sid Sings does not include another solo Sid track that was included on Swindle: “C’mon Everybody,” another Eddie Cochran cover is missing here, which is strange considering Sid Sings extremely short running time.
The majority of Sid Sings is taken from a solo concert at Max’s Kansas City in New York City, about two weeks before Nancy Spungen was found murdered. The sound quality is pathetic (crowd noise is painfully apparent throughout these recordings), the performances are sloppy and amateurish, and (literally) a third of the tracks are cover versions of Johnny Thunders songs. Arthur Kane and Jerry Nolan do perform as backing musicians, so I guess its a case of not having to many rehearsal sessions. This must have been a great plus for Vicious who always had a kind word for the New York Dolls.
So why own it? There’s really no reason to. My only excuse is because it addresses the “completist” area of the brain in me; there's a part of me that wanted to have as much official Pistol-related material from ’77-’79 as I could get my hands on. Hell, I remember bidding retarded amounts on Ebay for the EMI pressing of "Anarchy In The U.K.," but there was someone who was more retarded than me.
I use the word “official” with a healthy dose of salt and a clear understanding of how silly this must all sound to the un-initiated and people who’re far removed from how stunningly frightening and influential the Pistols were during their brief existence.
Sid Sings can be viewed a couple of different ways: as an example of Virgin Records’ “ambulance chasing” marketing strategies or as an appropriate crabs-and-all memorial that befittingly documents Sid’s brief contribution to the world of music.
In either case, the album certainly does nothing to enhance his credibility or build upon his legacy.