New York Dolls
One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (Roadrunner)
The New York Dolls influenced an amazingly disparate lot of bands over the decades, too many of whom nihilistically partook of transgression while forgetting the fun. Fortunately, there’s plenty of that to be had on the Dolls’ first studio LP since the Nixon administration. With more than half the original band deceased and a seminal legacy on the line, keeping it light proves to be a smooth move for vocalist David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain. One Day is a rollicking carnival ride that turns its off-the-cuff attitude into something approaching transcendence. “We’re All in Love” kicks off with malevolent harp and sneering lyrics that boast of getting to jump around the stage like teenage girls while detractors have to work. The addictive “Dance Like a Monkey” turns intelligent design against itself as drummer Brian Delaney’s tom work does the heavy lifting. Heavy-hearted ballad “Maimed Happiness” finds a weathered Johansen lamenting the human condition with Brill Building-flavored pop prowess, while “Take a Good Look at My Good Looks” is the best thing the Stones haven’t recorded in at least 20 years. All bands that wait 32 years between albums should be so lucky.
This article appears in September 1 • 2006.
