They Go Together
Timothy Cole | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | 08/13/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There is so much joy in this cd, and it is almost reassuring to know that Johnny Thunders could still reach that emotion in the late 80's. At the time of recording, the poor man had loved and lost big time. And even if he was more notorious than Keef, Thunders delivered an authentic and
polished performance that even the Stones would have loved to phone in from France at the time.
The collaboration with Patti Palladin is perfect, innocently romantic and street sexy at the same time. I hope she loved him.
In thinking more on this subject, I can readily identify only three duet partners of any consequence in rock and roll - Johnny and June, Elvis and Ann-Margaret, John Travolta and Olivia Newton John (I'm serious!) These two - Johnny and Patti, have the chemistry of the others, while creating something entirely original.
Maybe this was as close as Thunders ever got to that New Orleans dream band he was finally ready to assemble on the eve of his death. Because here, in this cd, lies that swamp rock sound with a cherry on top and a smile on the side.
Perhaps Thunders was the last of a rock breed, able like Elvis to terrify your parents one day, and then turn around and sing a ballad that made them think twice the next. Such diversity of delivery is no longer so easy to find.
I am very thankful that this cd is now easy to find, and I sincerely thank Amazon for making it available."
Like Mickey & Sylvia, But Different
Katherine McCarthy | Forest Hills, NY United States | 10/10/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The previous reviewer noted, correctly, this is not the lurching buzzsaw guitar slinger Thunders. This is akin to the second NY Dolls album pop kulcher mashup. David Johansen wasn't the only Doll with encyclopedic knowledge of pop tunes from back in the day. Johnny matched him with love for the girl groups, classic R&B, and obscure Top 40 ditties. So if you're craving Johnny's raucous excess and careening off the rails riffing, stop reading and look elsewhere.
He became notorious for all the wrong reasons. But only a musicologist could've dug up Marc Bolan's "The Wizard," or the obscure "I'd Rather Be With The Boys" by the Rolling Stones, to cover.
His loopy version of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" had me smiling; I went digging through my record closet to find the '60's original Chambers Brothers "Uptown to Harlem." Ditto Elvis' "Crawfish" from one of his better films, "King Creole."
Patti Palladin is Johnny's perfect foil. She has that Shangrilas catch in the back of the throat so necessary to deliver "He Cried," an over-the-top teenage angst fest. Their voices sound so good together. Patti inspires Johnny to actually sing. It's not his usual whining sneer. He really cuts loose here.
Their combined attitude is so New York BBQ, so Bridge & Tunnels. This is not Manhattan music. This is Queens, NY comin' at you, sitting on the stoop with an AM radio circa WMCA Good Guys era. Drinking a cold, frosty in a paper bag checking out the comings & goings in the neighborhood. These are songs from a simpler time. Maybe Johnny was nostalgic for lost innocence?
Copy Cats can sit proudly next to So Alone as something Johnny could've been proud of. Two albums with the Dolls; one with the Heartbreakers; three solo studio albums; a gazillion bootlegs from live shows ranging from spectacular to shambolic. A legendary dope fiend. Limitless unrealized potential. Johnny, I loved you. RIP."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1