Customer Reviews

Night of the Living Dead Boys

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

 

 

When it came out everyone thought it was great---and then all the sudden we find out years later that Stiv overdubbed the vocals....Quite a sin I suppose but really who cares anyway. In fact if you look at it it's almost anti-punk(not a chic thing to be I would guess) but you never can please the purists and really punk is suppose to be a chaotic mess anyhow. With that said this is still a great live document of the hoodlums in all their glory..so get it and forget the over analytical hype and just jump in...lifes too short....and kudos to Stiv Bators for having the guts to overdub the vocals in the first place....he was probably too tanked that night to sing straight anyhow.

I've HEARD that this was the band's third actual album.That info might be wrong,but it doesn't matter.'Night Of...' was recorded in March,1979 at New York City's famed CBGB Club and it was the final performance by the original line-up.How many of you remember the Dead Boys vocalist Stiv Bators?Yes,it has been awhile.All thirteen of the gig's tunes totally shred,but the tracks that I liked the most are "Third Generation Nation","Catholic Boy","What Love Is" and the ass-kicking "I Need Lunch".Good sound mix.Should appeal to fans of the Sex Pistols,Generation X and The Damned.

Couple of quick things, having Lived through the dead boys playin at gildersleeves and the CB theatre, Son of Sam was RELEASED AFTER berkowitz was caught!! FACT not fiction!! Stiv ALWAYS said stuff like the best quote, doesn't make it true! What they got paid wouldn't get ME to get out there! Remember, at the time, the Dead Boys were NOT the most loved band!! Band members getting stabbed, od'ing, playing drunk etc, was all part of the schtick! To the guy who BELIEVES what Bomp says deserves to be ignorant!! Stiv never was that great at mic placement, nor enunciation(or in fact being coherent!)! They were NEVER a band that played live where you could get a live album outta it!! But, if you were UNABLE to tape the Meg Griffin broadcast Dead Boys Concert outta Hillys CBGB Theatre, and you ARE a Dead Boys fan, then LIVE DEAD BOYS is a disc you should OWN! Period!! after all, there aint nothin to do!

In the booklet that accompanies this accompanies this CD Bomp! records explains how this Cd came about. After reading about Stiv Bators not singing in the mic on purpose(only later to go back and over dub the vocals - in which he did a horrible job) and the spliced guitar parts this album is a chaotic mess. Bomp! wrote a whole lot about Stiv's performance in the booklet trying to make it sound better than it was... I'm sorry but when you're introducing Sonic Reducer as your newest song (in an unsarcastic manner mind you) in a Los Angeles studio overdub booth 3 years after the fact it comes off as pure crud. And one more thing where's "High Tension Wire" at?

At the end, the Dead Boys were imploding due to any number of issues and the vicious feuding was more reminiscent of arena rock acts.

Sadly, this "live" album is also like the dreck issued during this era by many of the rock icons making the rounds in large venues; Stiv Bators overdubbed the vocals while sitting in a studio, with some of the musical performances sliced and diced after-the-fact.

While the creation of the album is explained in the enclosed material, it does not excuse the shoddy practice. Turning tricks in the studio is deception, no matter who is working that street corner.

I wore this album out. If you've ever wondered what "punk rock" sounds like, look no further. In my opinion, this is one of the best live albums around.

Best comment: When they come back for an encore, Stiv says, "We're only doin' it cuz we have to get paid. We ain't doin' it for you." They then launch into a blistering version of "Son of Sam" (ya gotta remember, he was still out there at the time).