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New York Dolls
Live at the Fillmore East: December 28 & 29, 2007
(Sony/BMG)
First Appeared in The Music Box, May 2008, Volume 15, #5
Written by John Metzger
Tue May 6, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
Perhaps it is because New York Dolls felt indebted to Morrissey after he
insisted that the band reunite to perform at the Meltdown Festival in 2004.
Perhaps it is because One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This Now,
the ensemble’s recently issued (and long overdue) third album, received such
widespread critical acclaim, thus providing a further boost to its confidence.
Or, perhaps it is because the members of New York Dolls no longer are wasted out
of their gourds when they take the stage or enter a recording studio. Whatever
the reason and against all odds, there is no way of mistaking the fact that the
legendary glam-punk outfit is back in business.
Live at the Fillmore East, New York Dolls’ latest concert set, was culled
from a pair of year-end performances that were held in 2007, and it provides
firm evidence that the group remains capable of raising quite a ruckus. For
certain, New York Dolls’ sobriety has tempered its feverishly chaotic approach,
but in this case, the professionalism that has crept into the ensemble’s
delivery actually is a good thing. Despite the fact that three members of the
outfit’s classic line-up have slipped quietly into the twilight — guitarist
Johnny Thunders overdosed in 1991, drummer Jerry Nolan suffered a stroke in
1992, and Arthur "Killer" Kane succumbed to leukemia a month after the band’s
appearance at the Meltdown Festival — their replacements (Steve Conte, Brian
Delaney, and Sam Yaffa, respectively) do a terrific job of capturing the
swaggering fury unleashed by the quintet that issued its self-titled debut in
1973.
"C’mon boys," shouts front man David Johansen prior to the onslaught of
Babylon, the opening track on Live at the Fillmore East. Conte and
Sylvain Sylvain then proceed to toss violent blues riffs against the tune’s
clattering, hard-driving, rhythmic stampede, thus setting the tone for the
remainder of the performance. Over the course of the program, the guitars whirr
and buzz as the group swerves from the punk rock fury of Trash to the
raging intensity of Puss ’n‘ Boots. Fully re-energized, New York Dolls
seamlessly situates new cuts, such as Dance Like a Monkey, alongside its
vintage material, and as always, the band playfully snatches whatever it needs
to bring its songs to life. Touches of Chuck Berry’s work, for example, emerge
from the mayhem of Jet Boy’s central jam, while The Beatles’ Please
Please Me improbably is tucked into Rainbow Store.
Considering the resurgence of garage rock in recent years, it is all too easy
to be skeptical about Johansen’s motivations for reforming New York Dolls. After
all, he has spent several decades acting rather indifferently about the group’s
history. Of course, New York Dolls certainly wouldn’t be the first outfit to
take advantage of a market that had come full circle. Regardless, the
aggressiveness of Live at the Fillmore East puts all fears to rest. This
is the sound of a band that is determined to celebrate its history without
bowing down to it. 
Of Further Interest...
David Bowie - Earthling
The Clash - The Clash Live: Revolution Rock
Mott the Hoople - The Best of Mott the Hoople
Live at the Fillmore East is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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