Rock 'N Roll

Performer: New York Dolls
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: New York Dolls: David Johansen (vocals, harmonica, gong); Johnny Thunders (vocals, guitar); Sylvain Sylvain (guitar, piano, background vocals); Arthur Kane, Jr. (bass); Jerry Nolan (drums, percussion). Producers: Shadow Morton, Todd Rundgren, Paul Nelson. Compilation producers: Richard Bauer, Bill Levenson, Marty Thau. Recorded at Record Plant Studios, Mediasound Studios and A&R Studios, New York, New York in 1973-74. Includes liner notes by Lenny Kaye. All tracks have been digitally remastered. As the precursors to punk, and an afterthought to the seedy sexuality of the Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls linked '60's rock to American punk. Their campiness was appropriated from glam rock, but it was also influenced by a variety of cultural elements. David Johansen's vaudevillian phrasing two-stepped all over the band's material; while lead guitarist Johnny Thunders' screeching leads were urban backdrops, sounding more like sirens and subway cars than rock music. With their plodding, raunchy, rhythm anchor of bassist Artur Kane, Jr. and drummer Jerry Nolan, The Dolls affirmed that rock's primal three-chord foundation didn't end in the '60's. ROCK 'N ROLL captures the Dolls in all their ragged glory. By their choice of covers--"The Courageous Cat Theme," the Cadets' "Stranded In The Jungle," and the use of a well-known Shangri-Las lyric--the group displayed their all-consuming love for rock 'n' roll, while originals like "Trash," "Bad Girl" and "Subway Train" elevated urban teen anthems of a street-corner doo-wop and girl-group aesthetic into a durably rocking byproduct.

Entertainment Weekly (10/21/94, p.67) - "...With their back-alley, blues-based thrash, the early-`70s Dolls became a model for punks..." - Rating: B Q (11/94, p.134) - 3 Stars - Good - "...In short, the Dolls were bloody cool, if glitter-in-the-gutter was your particular brand of sauce..." NME (Magazine) (11/5/94, p.48) - 8 - Excellent - "...They rocked like the Rolling Stones would have done if they had been comprised of five Keefs..."

With inspiration from British glam and US proto-punks like the Stooges, the New York Dolls were the originators of the NYC trash aesthetic that inspired subsequent generations of punk bands. Churning out garage riffs that tipped their hat to 1960s R&B, they were the Stones of the first punk generation. Their outrageous image and brash sound gained them attention, but failed to make them stars, and David Johansen, Johnny Thunders, and Syl Sylvain all went on to solo careers after just two Dolls albums. In 2004, the Dolls reunited, with surviving members Sylvain, Johansen, and Arthur Kane making a triumphant festival appearance. Sadly, Kane died shortly after, but Johansen and Sylvain played another show dedicated to the memory of all the deceased dolls (Kane, Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Billy Murcia). In 2006, the remaining band members recorded their third official studio album to almost universal acclaim.

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