5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
TOO 80's, December 23, 2004
I sometimes wonder why someone as underground as DJ would record such a commercial sounding 80's album. It really is irritating, but since I am a huge fan of DJ I can find something good in the music. My biggest complaint is of the over uses of the synth (why?)! This record is not recommended to someone who like punk, like th NYD's or the Ramones. It may be DJ's worst effort, discluding that Buster Pointdexter (...). His voice gets bogged down in some strange voice effects, but there are pieces of brilliance like the titles track. Sometimes I wonder If I'm listening to the soundtrack of a Richard Simmons workout video. That's a little harsh, and I hate to be so critical, but as I said only for the die harders of DJ-like myself.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not That Bad, November 19, 2004
I got into David Johansen's solo stuff after discovering and listening over and over (still do) to the fabulous New York Dolls, and 'Sweet Revenge' was the first piece of non-Dolls music I heard him sing in. Upon the first listen there was, well, the surprise, and appropriate that emotion was, that here we had something quite different than the coolest and one of the most meaningful circus acts ever.
While this is rock n' roll (most of it at least), it's not a very obvious form of it. Influences range deeply, from latino, disco, jazz, blues and a Bruce Springsteen brand of rocking out. There's a tight edit (nine songs), some of which are pretty lousy but several are good and one or two are excellent.
When I need to escape the shackles of reality, I currently can't think of a better way to do it than to get in my car and drive off somewhere while smoking a cigarette or two and listening to 'Heard the News' a few times.
It's one of David Jo's best songs off any of his recordings and the title track is another one of my favorites of his.
It's not easy to pinpoint why owning this album is a good move since, overall, it's not the greatest. But there is a subtlety in this music, whether tunes are rampaging misdirectionally or are pursuing freedom in subdued verse, that's unusual to hear in a lot of what's dished out to us from the music industry.
Johansen's capacity for a subtlety and mystery that results in borderline hypnotism is most evident in two of the best, most raw, blues albums I've ever heard, ones he released with the Harry Smiths in 2000 and 2002 (and hope there's more comin'). And in 'Sweet Revenge,' though he's not singing anything too bluesy-sounding here, (there are elements of it, though), that subtlety underscores a nice portion of the album. And, true, there are times when there's an over-the-topness, too, i.e., King of Babylon,' in which there's a lot of crass, but there's humor, too.
Texas novelist/book scout Larry McMurtry has written some outstanding novels and some not so good. Even when they aren't good they are still well worth reading because he has this 'something' going for him that makes his books, what to me is very important, interesting.
You could say about the same thing for the music of David Johansen.
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