Too Much Too Soon

by

New York Dolls

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A lot of covers, but thats not a bad thing. "Too Much Too Soon" is as great as the first Dolls LP, and certainly needs to be reissued. There is certainly a better production, with cleaner guitars, and female backing vocals. This may not be a good representation of what the Dolls sounded like live, but its still sleazy as hell. Its dangerous but fun and soulful, like all good rock 'n' roll should be. Theres a perfect balance of originals and covers, which prove the Dolls know their roots. David Johansen obviously has an incredible knowledge of popular music of the last fifty years. This is what Malcolm McLaren wanted the Sex Pistols to sound like. Like the Velvet Underground, the Dolls where way too different to be appreciated by the music-buying public of the time. Only as time passed on and the bands cult grew where they proven to be one of the most influential bands of the decade.

This album seems to look backwards, I think. It has grating guitars, boogie rock'n'roll and rowdy vocals. However, it lacks the quality originals of the band's debut. This album lacks terrific tracks like "Private world", "Frankenstein" and "Trash". If you didn't like these three songs on their debut, then you may like this album more than me! How much you like this album depends on how much you like boogie rock, with grating guitars. Could see fans of bands like Status Quo enjoying this album more than I did. Album runs to 37:22 minutes in length.

The songs - in album order:

Babylon - maybe a little country boogie type song with laddish backing singing. One guitar is on the right hand channel and the other on the left hand channel.

Stranded in the jungle - nice drum tone/rhythm to the intro and alternative parts. Lead singer alternates his 'white' voice with a faux 'black man' voice. Has 1950s style rock'n'roll backing singing.

Who are the mystery girls - grinding guitar rock with rock'n'roll type music. Lead guitar and backing vocals.

(There's gonna be a) showdown - perhaps the best song on the album. A 1950s style song with a touch of 1960s girl group type material...think "Leader of the pack" but with a 'dance-off' theme instead of mayhem. Sorta catchy singing with attitude.

It's too late - nice drum intro and harmonica. Bassy. Screechy guitars. Harmonica features later too. Think my notes suggest that this song reminds me of tracks like Kevin Borich's "Gonna see my baby tonight" (The La De Das) and "Alone with you tonight" by The Sunnyboys. Both acts are from Australia or New Zealand...the former song pre-dated this NYD track. It's the lead guitar on this track which reminds me of The La De Das song.

Puss 'n' boots - boogie riff with grating guitar at times. Backing vocals are of the surf music variety. Has gospel elements at times too, as far as the female backing singers go.

Chatterbox - jarring sound to this boogie riff. There's a passage in this song which reminds me of The Rolling Stones' "Brown sugar", I think. Bass guitar melody is familiar too, but I can't place it. I like this bass line in any case. Features the lyric "ring my bell".

Bad detective - has an interesting Oriental flavour to it. 1950s style scat backing vocals. A song with a narrative.

Don't start me talkin' - piano and harmonica feature. 1950s style rockabilly with a chugga-chugga rhythm...there's that Elvis song about a train...forget what it's called...maybe similar kind of vibe to it. A honky tonk boogie piece. Features brass instruments, I think.

Human being - 5:44 minutes in length. 1950s style rock'n'roll with a punk guitar sound. Boogie rock with brass instruments and sax or such like. Dual guitar riffing with sometimes one guitar playing lead and this being heard on the right hand channel.

Recommendations:

New York Dolls - New York Dolls. A terrific album from the last song on the A side to pretty much the entire B side. Has their best songs in "Frankensteing", "Private world" and "Trash". Reviewed here. Scored it 77.5/100 at this site.

Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F. After the New York Dolls wound up, guitarist Johnny Thunders made this terrific album with his new band. Gave it a score of 85/100 at this site.