Customer Reviews

Rock N Roll

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For a band with only two studio albums, the only reason to buy a compilation like this is for otherwise-unavailable material. Fittingly, when this compilation was first announced, it was supposed to have five previously unreleased tracks. But when ROCK & ROLL finally appeared that number had been whittled down to three. It's a shame, because all of the bonus tracks are good, particularly "Lone Star Queen", which is arguably as great as anything else the Dolls ever wrote or recorded.

(Still missing-in-action is the outtake of "Great Big Kiss" recorded during the TOO MUCH TOO SOON sessions that appeared on the 1985 compilation NIGHT OF THE LIVING DOLLS, which has never re-appeared anywhere since).

The bonus tracks are really the only thing this compilation has going for it (and a slightly longer version of "Stranded in the Jungle", with a few extra bars added at the very beginning, something not noted in the liner notes). The two Dolls studio albums were produced *very* differently, with the debut having a dense, murky mix and TOO MUCH TOO SOON having a bright, treble-y mix. This seemed to stump the compilers of ROCK & ROLL, who barely make any effort to mix up tracks from the two albums. Instead, they essentially took both records, dropped almost all of the cover material, and put them on a single CD in a running order almost identical to the original LPs with a few bonus tracks thrown in. First, uniformly dropping the covers really does an injustice to the Dolls ability to "own" a cover, with "Pills" probably being the best example - a track who performance is superior to many of the Dolls' own compositions. Second, if this compilation is basically just 80% of each studio album, for the average fan it makes more sense to simply buy both original albums on CD, especially as they tend to be priced at "budget" prices. A Dolls collection without "Pills", "Showdown", or "Bad Detective" definitely isn't complete, while only serious fans probably need the bonus material found here.

If the compilers of ROCK & ROLL had really wanted to dedicate a compilation to the Dolls, they would have been better off with a two CD set that included remastered versions of both original studio albums with any bonus material appended to the end of each disc. That's something I could give 5 stars to.

This album is both an excellent introduction and retrospective, since they only had two actual albums, from this noisy, garish quintet of smart-alecks. There is the added bonus of some previously unreleased cuts. I'm a huge fan, so I had to have all three. Emerging from the glittery Manhattan sixties hangover, they were the court jesters of the sleaziest sections of N.Y.C. Their fashion faux pas went into some uncharted territory beyond transvestitism and looked as if they shopped in the most disreputable thrift stores. They accesorized with hand bags, glad rags, and trash bags. Apart from this, and a large part of their appeal over many later punk/metal outfits, was that they were bi-: half contemptuous sneer, half goofy smirk. They immediately became a love `em or hate `em band and managed to simultaneously win both "Best New Band of the Year", and "Worst New Band of the Year" in Creem Magazine's Reader Poll. Some denigrated them as a grotesque garage band parody of the Rolling Stones, but if the originals were more and more becoming boring professional millionaires, well than why not? Supposedly they weren't musicians, couldn't play, but if they lacked a certain, shall we say finesse, they made up for it tenfold in brute power, raw exuberance, and unbridled passion, which many at the time were forgetting that's what rock `n' roll is all about. Guitarist Johnny Thunders high speed whiplash playing may have slid past the notes and chords, but he landed in the general vicinity, so why quibble? Besides there was always so much distortion, who could ever tell anyway? (Thunders later went on to a successful career as a professional corpse imitator). Other guitarist Sylvain Sylvain provided both bridge and anchor to the rhythm section for Thunder's thunder. Meanwhile, guy with the microphone, David Johansen, snarled, yelled, bitched, and generally preened and posed. Beneath all the bluster and blurry noise, they were true to their roots and influences: sixties soul "Don't Mess With Cupid", kitsch, the Cadet's "Stranded In The Jungle", and great girl group harmonies in "Trash" (well sorta' harmonies. General vicinity, general vicinity). Oh yeah, and cartoons, "Courageous Cat Theme". The Dolls made (endless) party music for the latter 20th Century's accelerated, fractured, and fragmented world. In "Frankenstein" they tell you how they know they're bits and pieces thrown together from the cultural trash heap, and they're none to pleased about it: "Oww, these shoes are too big! Oww, this jacket's too small!" In their classic "Personality Crisis" they are even sympathetic. Play it for your best burned out neurotic friends, it will cheer `em up. But what of this bizarre sartorial statement, what really was their sexual orientation? "I'm trisexual, I'll try anything", quipped Johansen. Naw, beneath all the mascara and pancake, they were just your average horny males, out on the prowl, "Looking For A Kiss" as the song stated, or perhaps a "Bad Girl". After all there was nothing else to do. In the end ("Human Being"), both the last song on this album and the last song of their second album, they justify their outlandish obstreperous behavior. They may all have looked like Frankenstein's monster, but if they were acting like kings, or wanted too many things, they knew they had to dream, and if it got a bit obscene ("whoopee!"), it's just `cause they were human beings.

Now every fan knows that the best way to expieriance the Dolls music is through their two ( and only two) studio albums. Yet, for an introduction to the band, this album works. Seventeen tracks off those two records are included on this baby, along with three previously unreleased songs (which are terrific). The unreleased material and digitally remastered sound make it a must for all of the fans. And since it features most of the stellar work of the first two albums, it's a great jumping on point. There really aren't any standout songs as they are all eclectic and great in their own way. Buy it now!!!! It'll take you back to when music was actually good.

Released a decade ago, "Rock 'n' Roll" remains - for better or worse - the best single New York Dolls compact disc. If the reader has a turntable, by all means track down "New York Dolls" (1973) and "In Too Much Too Soon" (1974) - the band's two studio albums are both classics, and you'll get the original running order, fab graphics, and analog sound. And posthumous releases such as "From Paris With L-U-V" and "A Hard Night's Day" (two of the best) offer much terrific music to those familiar with the Dolls' albums. But at this late date - and with a surprisingly smart and potent 'reunion' album out this week - neither of the original band's classics have been remastered for CD since the early days of the format, and this 20 (21 in fact) track compilation beats both in terms of sonic impact. The debut, especially, suffers a significant loss of grunge in its feeble and thin transfer to digital.
As already described by others, "Rock 'n' Roll" has 10 out of 11 tracks from the debut (Bo Diddley's "Pills" is missing), and 7 out of 10 from the second album (including a longer 'Stranded In The Jungle' but excluding marvelous covers of Archie Bell & The Drells, Sonny Boy Williamson), and for a single cd, that's about as good as it can get however we might quibble about what was not included. This set is intelligently put together, and a generous 79 minutes. As far as rarities are concerned, in addition to the aforementioned 'Stranded...' there is the amazing, truly blissful opening instrumental 'Courageous Cat Theme' from the "Too Much..." sessions, and it's a classic on the order of Johnny Thunders' 'Pipeline,' a swinging, rock-out blast. Two others are Paul Nelson-produced demos from '74, the Stax classic 'Don't Mess With Cupid' and a Johansen/Thunders original, 'Lone Star Queen.' Both are solid and enjoyable, but obviously not intended for release. Yet the mixes are fine and any Dolls fan will be glad to have them in addition to this great band's all-too-slim body of work. The final rarity is an unlisted radio spot.
So, until someone gets the wise idea of remastering the original albums, this is the Dolls cd to get, and the band remains - however misunderstood in their own time - among the very best and brightest American bands to come out of the 1970s.

Rock n' Roll is a nice collection of New York Dolls music.
Not only are the tracks remastered but they've included a few unreleased ones as well (Courageous Cat Theme, Lone Star Queen). A cool booklet with a lot of information is
included with the CD. It's a shame this disc wasn't that well
publicized when it firsy came out. The disc sold poorly and their only two studio albums have never been digitally remastered. The only thing missing from this collection is the New York Dolls anthem PILLS!

Strongly recommended.

If you are a long time Dolls fan and completist, view this as a great CD for driving around in the car, or for working out at the gym. If you were born after they broke up, and think Motley Crue or Guns N Roses invented this type of music, if you didn't know that KISS used to open for the Dolls way back when, or viewed the semi-drag get up on the first album as something to be scared of, or think punk was invented by the Ramones or the Sex Pistols, you need to buy this now. NOTHING afterwards would've happened without the NY Dolls. Period. EOC. All that happened after the Velvet Underground is directly as response to the advent of the Dolls. If you love late 20th century rock, and you don't own this, buy now. 'Nuf said.

This is what compilations are supposed to be. Great track selection, nice liner notes, cool pictures and previously unreleased tracks that don't sound like they should have remained unreleased.

While they were influencing everyone from Kiss to the Sex Pistols, the Dolls in their time were just all about high-energy, fun rock and roll with more than a hint of danger and swagger.

Unfortunately, despite the otherwise faultless track selection, "Give Her a Great Big Kiss" and "Showdown" are inexplicably left off, forcing me to keep my old cassette version of "Night of the Living Dolls." Those are two of my favorite NY Dolls songs ever, so I have to deduct one star. Still, this is highly recommended.

Timeless raunch-n-roll. Still rocks LAMF. First got their stuff on 8-track when originally released, and still in heavy rotation. The only omission is "Pills"-I wonder why. Anyway-it's essential.

They were of the Velvet Underground's lineage. They predated The Ramones, and were one of the few bands that Johnny Rotten acknowledged as an influence on The Sex Pistols. (I can't help but wonder if the the cover art of a crosseyed, busty blonde holding two pistols isn't a deliberate reference, but I doubt it.) The New York Dolls were the bridge between the hardline, anti-hippie New York scene of the 60s and the hardball, anti-hippie New York punk scene years later. This compilation bears testimony to the profound influence they had on later punk, although they themselves were not shackled to that image or self-conscious attitude. They were gratefully grafted to the simple term that perfectly suits the name of this collection: rock & roll.

This is one of those rock bands that never had a hit song and the average person has never heard of, but they are one of the most influential bands of all time. They had a huge influence on the New York punk scene and they only had two albums (one in '73 and the other in '74) and 17 songs from those two albums are on here along with three unreleased songs. Two of the unreleased songs ("Lone Star Queen" and "Don't Mess With Cupid") are as good as anything else they did. David Johansen was a great frontman and Johnny Thunders is one of the coolest guitarists ever. I've given it 5 stars because the songs are just incredible, but the one problem is some of the songs you are missing if this is all you buy. The song "Pills" from their first album is a Bo Diddley cover version, but a must have and from their second album two more cover versions of "There's Gonna Be A Showdown" and Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talkin" are must haves also in my opinion. Plus the song "Great Big Kiss" is really good which can be found on the cd Seven Day Weekend along with some other unreleased songs. However this cd is great though if you are just wanting the best of and a good introduction to one of the greatest rock bands of all time -The New York Dolls