New York Dolls- IDOLS

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    David Johansen died on February 28th. He was the last surviving members of the New York Dolls. The Dolls were pioneers of the punk scene and influenced, with both their look and sound, bands like Kiss and Twisted Sister. After putting out albums in 1973 and 1974 they went their separate ways. This is a 1979 album that never was. From Johansen's album In Style, I grabbed the title song, "She" and two songs he co-wrote with Sylvain Sylvain: "Wreckless Crazy" and "Flamingo Road". From Sylvain Sylvain's eponymous album I chose "Teenage Dreams", Tonight" and "Emily". Johnny Thunders' October 1978 album So Alone gave me two songs that he wrote with Johansen, "Subway Train" and "Downtown". In 1979 Jerry Nolan and Arthur Kane put a single with the band The Idols. Both songs, "You" and "Girl That I Love" and on this "What If" album.

New York Dolls- IDOLS - YouTube

Comments

  1. Henry DesmondMarch 12, 2025 at 10:29 AM

    I absolutely love that you have taken on the Dolls. Sadly, I also believe that it is an impossible task. The dolls worked (well, for some of us - can’t say they were universally loved) because of the mismatched style preferences they brought, along with Thunders punk attitude (and penchant towards a bit of a rockabilly sound when on his own), and Johansen’s raw vocal power that always carried a bit of rage with whatever emotion he was trying to convey. They couldn’t stay together with their dramatically competing visions. But they created some fun, outrageous music.

    The problem is that when they spilt and went into the studio, only the Icons tried to keep the Dolls sound (and I know that is a bit of a stretch, but they didn’t have Syl and Thunders battling/complementing and Johansen’s power punk vocals, so they just can't carry it off, in my opinion).

    Johansen’s experimentation with more Caribbean rhythms and a cleaner, more polished sound emasculates his contribution to what the band was. Syl has a near fifties lyrical approach with a hint of punk. Thunders is Thunders of course (sober or juiced, he was who he was), with a strong punk edge and no care for polish, while borrowing heavily from rockabilly.

    This was a band whose sound came from the conflict, not the synthesis, of its members. so their solo efforts (other than She from Johansen) just don't sound like the Dolls.

    Good job on an impossible task. it actually caused me to reflect on what made the band work. So I count it as a success.

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