Customer Reviews

Copy Cats

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is so much joy in this cd, and it is almost reassuring to know that Johnny Thunders could still reach that emotion in the late 80's. At the time of recording, the poor man had loved and lost big time. And even if he was more notorious than Keef, Thunders delivered an authentic and
polished performance that even the Stones would have loved to phone in from France at the time.

The collaboration with Patti Palladin is perfect, innocently romantic and street sexy at the same time. I hope she loved him.

In thinking more on this subject, I can readily identify only three duet partners of any consequence in rock and roll - Johnny and June, Elvis and Ann-Margaret, John Travolta and Olivia Newton John (I'm serious!) These two - Johnny and Patti, have the chemistry of the others, while creating something entirely original.

Maybe this was as close as Thunders ever got to that New Orleans dream band he was finally ready to assemble on the eve of his death. Because here, in this cd, lies that swamp rock sound with a cherry on top and a smile on the side.

Perhaps Thunders was the last of a rock breed, able like Elvis to terrify your parents one day, and then turn around and sing a ballad that made them think twice the next. Such diversity of delivery is no longer so easy to find.

I am very thankful that this cd is now easy to find, and I sincerely thank Amazon for making it available.

The previous reviewer noted, correctly, this is not the lurching buzzsaw guitar slinger Thunders. This is akin to the second NY Dolls album pop kulcher mashup. David Johansen wasn't the only Doll with encyclopedic knowledge of pop tunes from back in the day. Johnny matched him with love for the girl groups, classic R&B, and obscure Top 40 ditties. So if you're craving Johnny's raucous excess and careening off the rails riffing, stop reading and look elsewhere.

He became notorious for all the wrong reasons. But only a musicologist could've dug up Marc Bolan's "The Wizard," or the obscure "I'd Rather Be With The Boys" by the Rolling Stones, to cover.

His loopy version of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" had me smiling; I went digging through my record closet to find the '60's original Chambers Brothers "Uptown to Harlem." Ditto Elvis' "Crawfish" from one of his better films, "King Creole."

Patti Palladin is Johnny's perfect foil. She has that Shangrilas catch in the back of the throat so necessary to deliver "He Cried," an over-the-top teenage angst fest. Their voices sound so good together. Patti inspires Johnny to actually sing. It's not his usual whining sneer. He really cuts loose here.

Their combined attitude is so New York BBQ, so Bridge & Tunnels. This is not Manhattan music. This is Queens, NY comin' at you, sitting on the stoop with an AM radio circa WMCA Good Guys era. Drinking a cold, frosty in a paper bag checking out the comings & goings in the neighborhood. These are songs from a simpler time. Maybe Johnny was nostalgic for lost innocence?

Copy Cats can sit proudly next to So Alone as something Johnny could've been proud of. Two albums with the Dolls; one with the Heartbreakers; three solo studio albums; a gazillion bootlegs from live shows ranging from spectacular to shambolic. A legendary dope fiend. Limitless unrealized potential. Johnny, I loved you. RIP.

This is a nice album for fans of Johnny Thunders more ..well "sensitive" side. Its not the destroying riffs most fans know. Its a more subdued but no less potent Thunders, and his voice in contrast to Patti on some tracks is very interesting. The Album's real highlights would have to be Two time loser; a soul filled pleading between the two, Uptown Harlem poppy and upbeat song, born to cry, treat her right and the odd Crawfish. This Cd is Thunders with a full backing band, I do mean full: maracas, violins, castanets, saxophone. I give it a three because while not my favorite by far it's a nice listen ranging from blues to pop tunes. A definitely different listen then the normal Thunders' tunes.

This is a very diverse and interesting album by Thunders. It reminds me of Dr. John in that its an eclectic homage to his New York and R'n'B infleuences like the Good Dr's New Orleans cover records. I own the CD and two copies of the original import vynal. Pleeze reissue this for all the Thunders nuts who cant get it on CD !!! Till then, pay off my house and you can have my CD!!!

For 1988's "Copycats," Johnny gathered a bunch of friends and covered some of his favorite old doo-wop, R&B, and rock & roll songs. While these covers showcase the various talents and complex emotions of the 35-year-old Johnny Thunders, who had by this time experienced more than his fair share of life's ups and downs, John Genzale, the cocky Italian kid from Queens, can be heard too...and he is having a blast. On "Treat Her Right," Roy Head's number-two single of 1965, Johnny-the-ladies-man evokes the swagger of Dean Martin or Elvis Presley. On the Seeds' "Can't Seem to Make You Mine," Thunders' pleads are echoed by a wailing chorus of seemingly boozed-up alley cats. It all adds up to classic Johnny Thunders: the slightly soused black-clad crooner with the sneer on his lip and the heart on his sleeve.

This is a nice album for fans of Johnny Thunders more ..well "sensitive" side. Its not the destroying riffs most fans know. Its a more subdued but no less potent Thunders, and his voice in contrast to Patti on some tracks is very interesting. The Album's real highlights would have to be Two time loser; a soul filled pleading between the two, Uptown Harlem poppy and upbeat song, born to cry, treat her right and the odd Crawfish. This Cd is Thunders with a full backing band, I do mean full: maracas, violins, castanets, saxophone. It's a nice compostion ranging from blues to pop tunes. A definitely different listen then the normal Thunders' tunes.

This is an affectionate album (from 1988) of cover tunes that Johnny and his co-star, Patti Palladin from the group Snatch, pull off with style. Patti adds real sweetness to a surprisingly subdued Thunders, who sounds positively sincere covering "Love Is Strange," "Treat Her Right," and "Can't Seem to Make You Mine." With tongue firmly in cheek, there's Johnny's "She Wants to Mambo," and Patti sings two completely different versions of "Let Me Entertain You." Guests include Robert Gordon, Bob Andrews of the Rumour, Chrissie Hynde, and even Jayne County on backing vocals. A warm, wonderfully-executed set from start to finish, and a totally unexpected turn in the Johnny Thunders saga.

Buyer beware, anyone looking for the sass and bucking bronco guitar playing of Johnny thunders will not find it on this recording and in fact JT only plays guitar on two tracks off this collection of covers. The fact that this is a concept record like the old school duet records of the past helps put things in perspective, two fans of 50's and 60's pop paying tribute to their musical loves and influences, but anyone looking for the real rock n roll that Johnny Thunders is famous for will not find it here. This is a tribute album, and therefore is quite different as it is intended to be. There are good performances on this disc, but it is very slick and light on the guitar thunder that fans like myself would expect. this is a cd for Johnny Thunders completists, those who need everything, but I would suggest the unitiated go and seek out LAMF or So Alone and let this one suprise you someday when you run across it in the used record store for a bargain and there's nothing else new to buy. Put it this way. Buster Poindexter has this in his record collection, But David Johansen does not.