My two year-old son's first concert was the New York Dolls. He wouldn’t let me take him away from the front of the stage. His second concert was the exceptionally talented kiddie artist Laurie Berkner—as then regularly seen on TV. We went backstage, and I mentioned the Dolls to Berkner. “He danced around more at that one,” I said. “He mainly spent your show staring in amazement. He looked like all the adults at the New York Dolls concert.”
Berkner laughed, and made the same perfect face of awe and disbelief. She’s seen that look on a lot of kids. Or maybe she’d been to one of those New York Dolls concerts.
That was back in 2006, with the release of One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. A lot of that awe and disbelief came from fans—young and old—who never thought they’d get to see the New York Dolls play live. There were probably fewer people like myself, who just never really cared about the New York Dolls. In our defense (and it can’t just be me), we were mainly exposed to the Dolls through lousy bootlegs and erratic solo careers.
When the Dolls reunion shows were announced, it mostly seemed like an unfortunate end to David Johansen and the Harry Smiths.That blues outfit was the best post-Dolls outfit ever. Syl Sylvain had always been underrated as a guitarist and songwriter, though.The sudden death of bassist Arthur Kane still took away the feel of a proper event. An album was announced, but that wouldn’t have been the first rent party from the surviving team of Johansen & Sylvain. But then One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This —helped by the grace of that humble album title—ended up being exceptionally fine rock. So were the live shows.
The album title is a lot cockier for the new ‘Cause I Sez So, out May 5.The same is true for the music.Todd Rundgren is back as producer, but he does a much better job than he did on the band’s 1973 debut. The sound’s more like the next year’s Too Much,Too Soon, where the band quit being fur-lined glam freaks and concentrated on sounding more like a hard-rock act.
‘Cause I Sez So tells a story, too. The first three tracks strut in vintage Dolls territory, from Johansen giving the finger to the eye in the sky to bragging about his baby and how he’ll kick your ass if you don’t show her respect. It’s a strong opening even with Johansen seeming a little old to sing about that kind of thing. At least the ragged rock makes it clear the Dolls aren’t going to try and convince us they’re really big fans of The Decemberists.
Then the album becomes more dramatic, with swinging blues and easy-listening flourishes that evoke the Dolls’ drag-queen heritage. It’s the kind of smart overkill that we once hoped for from David Lee Roth’s solo career. The songs also have an Old Hollywood vibe that’s far more age-appropriate for today’s Dolls.The album doesn’t become mannered, though, and ends with a nice collection of hard rock for adults—plus a new version of “Trash” from the Dolls’ debut, now adorned in Sylvain’s vision of pop music as Puerto Rican reggae.
It’ll be a busy summer for the New York Dolls. They’ll start by playing a May 5th album release party at the John Varvatos store at 315 Bowery—the spot that used to be CBGB. Maybe the owner will finally paint the walls for the occasion. Then the Dolls will tour the country, with plenty of bookings at assorted House of Blues venues. The band will probably start hitting festivals in July. By then, this current Dolls line-up will have been around for longer than any other version of the band. It’ll be nice to get all that history behind them.
