New York Dolls Album: “Return of the New York Dolls: Live from Royal Festival Hall, 2004”

Fans only review: OK, so David has lost a step, voice wise. Well, what do you expect after years of movies and being the growly-voiced Buster Poindexter?

What we have here, really, is a band's tribute to its fallen members: in order, Billy Murcia (original drummer), Johnny Thunders (guitar), and Jerry Nolan (drums). Syl Sylvain, David Johansen, and Arthur Kane still rock hard for this Festival Hall show.

What we as fans get is the same intensity that's on those records from the 70's. Hard, driving rock and roll that preceded punk, with hard-rock licks provided by Syl, and off-Jagger vocals by Mr. Johansen. The lyrics run the gamut from sex and drugs to, well, sex, and drugs. Check out "Lookin For A Kiss," "Vietnamese Baby," and "Personality Crisis" if you don't belive me.

This concert also serves as a final, wonderful footnote to the life of bassist Albert Kane (possibly the true founder), who died two months after playing this show, and his heavy bass work keeps things pinned to the stage even as Johansen wants to run all over the place.

And as a capper, they tribute Johnny Thunders with the best song Thunders ever wrote, "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory." I had never heard the song before buying this, and they sang it without introduction, and the raw emotion still made me tear up.

If you don't know these guys, go buy their debut LP, "New York Dolls" first. It's much tighter, but more accessible and sloppy in the good spots, of course.

Other than that, raucous pre-punk, last-year fun. I think it's great.

The Doll's new live CD "Pre-Crash Condition - Live From The Royal Festival Hall" is everything a Dolls fan could ask for, except the rising from of the ashes of one guitar God named Johnny Thunders. Oh well, we can't have everything. They roll through their set as if they had been doing this for years, even though it had been 29 years since their last gig.

As much fun as this CD is, I'm not sure this should be anybody's introduction to the New York Dolls. Get the studio albums "The New York Dolls" and the aptly named "Too Much Too Soon". That's the Dolls at their finest, if that was ever possible.

"Pre-Crash Condition - Live From The Royal Festival Hall" is the happy reunion of the surviving members and a trip back in time for long-time fans. I'm loving it.

I will begin by strongly disagreeing about the condition of David J's voice, if anything it has gotten better. Johansen's vocals have more of a "baritone" like quality. They're deeper and more resonant than any of the 70's era Dolls recordings. I think DJ must have picked up a bit of Louis Armstrong while he was doing his "Buster" lounge act. It is Johansen's vocals which steel the show here and really carry most of the power in this performance.

As far as the music goes, first rate. The band plays very well and with a heck of a lot of inspiration (considering it has been over 25 years since they last played). Steve Conte is no JT, but he does an admirable job in whipping out Thunder's licks throughout the performance. Sylvain was never a great guitar player, but his rhythm work and spattered lead fills paint the music perfectly. My only minor beef is the guitar volume is a bit low in the mix, I would have liked to hear the guitars a bit more up front in the mix aka "louder" (as an aside hear, I have found with some digital recordings (waves & mp3's), as the volume goes up the midrange is enhanced more than the other frequecies. So for louder guitars, just turn it up!).

Purchasing this album is pretty much a no brainer for any New York Dolls fan. You may be a bit disappointed on the first listen, but with repeated listenings you will really begin to appreciate this performance. As well as the fact this music has stood the test of time. For any newcomer reading this, my suggestion is to purchase this album, you can get a great deal here in zShops. I also would give you the strongest recommendation possible to purchase the first 2 NYD albums or the compilation "Rock N Roll". The New York Dolls are the foundation of any music collection.

I'm giving this disc a four-star rating for it's existence, alone. Talk about one of those LONG-awaited reunions that you'd never expect to have chance of happening. Personally, I didn't even know about this CD until maybe a year after it was released - another case of simply 'too many' new titles being put out every month, let alone week. Most of you know all about this reunion featured three original members - vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Sylvain Sylvain and bassist Arthur Kane {who sadly died a couple of weeks after this gig}. All the classic Dolls material are here - like "Looking For A Kiss", "Subway Train", the *ss-kicking "Vietnamese Baby", "Trash", Johansen's signature tune "Personality Crisis", "Human Being" among others. Yeah, the DVD does have more songs but the CD is easier to play when you're on the road. Highly recommended.