New York Dolls Albums
1973
New York Dolls - 93%
The debut by the NYD feels normal to our times now, but I can't imagine being alive and hearing this for the first time. Between The Stooges and The Ramones, this showed the evolution of soon to be punk culture. The fact that they dressed like women was the gimmick to get them noticed, the music they made was some of the most revolutionary of all time. Sure, the attitude is totally a Mick Jagger influence, but there's more to it, a sort of deranged character given with Johansen’s vocals and Thunders riffing.” Personality Crisis” sort of sums up the internal confusion, the reason in physicality but also the merging of glam rock with something truly more wild in the performances; is it sloppy or so unhinged that there is no way keep it bottled up?
Amongst all of the single ready tunes, it's hard to pick a favorite song: closer "Jet Boy" sticks in my bead all day, "Frankenstein" is a mess of a thundering ballad and the longest song here, "Looking for A Kiss" is forceful and demanding but also maybe the perfect song (“you’re going to church?!?”); "Trash" is fun and carefree and a reversal of the verse-chorus styles. “Vietnamese Baby” has a bridge that highlights a fun phaser effect, and “Bad Girl” is a quintessential tune, all attitude and sneering. “Private World” incorporated an almost Caribbean atmosphere and wood block percussion, where “Pills” incorporates a lo-fi approach with harmonica and a more blues approach. Even on the two slightly weaker tracks, “Subway Train” is not horrible just kind of unmemorable, and “Lonely Planet Boy” still works as sort of a reprieve form the hard rock all around it and boasts a nice melody, similar to many songs on The Rolling Stones’ Goat’s Head’s Soap album from the same year.
Unlike so many bands that try to be one ‘thing’, New York Dolls’ debut is many things at once. The main thing it doesn't sound like is the year 1973. Producer Todd Rundgren knew exactly how to find the best version of this band and bring it to life. No other band before had this much power and attitude. With great guitar solos.
Best Songs: Looking for a Kiss, Trash, Jey Boy, Pills
1974
Too Much, Too Soon - 87%
More than many other bands of their era, The New York Dollas wrote very memorable songs. This was their overall strength - not just a knack for riffs or stage presence as those things kind of fall by the wayside overtime. Opener “Babylon” shows their growth into a more expansive sound, as they all sound more confident in the way they approach rock music overall with more background vocals and overlapping percussion. “It’s Too Late” has a distinct quality too, adding harmonica with a driving rock n roll energy that didn’t quite have a name just yet. Overall, Too Much too Soon is no Sophomore slump. The whole album combined the 1960’s garage rock energy with something way more histrionic and above all…..fashionable. After all, the band’s new manager Malcom McLaren would travel across the sea to England and create The Sex Pistols the next year with a similar gusto and focus on ‘appearance’. Turns out, they had pretty good songs too….
Too Much Too Soon was the album I owned first by the band, and my first impression of them for a long time. It is album I have always found to be a bit inconsistent, not to mention four out of the ten songs are covers: one sounds like a pre-Rocky Horror Picture Show though I would say “Stranded in the Jungle” works and adds more Broadway elements, but “Showdown” and “Bad Detective” do not. “Puss n Boots” plays a bit too into their decadent image (maybe that was the point?). But It’s still amazing album most of the time, especially with more histrionic performances over all with the ‘fabulous’ amped up to eleven on “Who are the Mystery Girls”, and one of their masterworks the long and winding “Human Being” as the ultimate finale. Above all, there is more pre-punk energy from guitarist Johnny Thunders on “Don’t Start Me Talking” (more Rolling Stones hero worship through another cover), and he even takes over lead vocals with the monumental “Chatterbox”. Too bad they self-destructed after this record, because the songs here were still an ever-expanding version of their sound with few precedents. After the two NYD albums were released, rock music was never quite the same again.
Best Songs: Human Being, Chatterbox, Babylon, It’s Too Late