The Crazy Truth Is...
M. G. Kimmel | St. Louis, MO | 11/01/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"...that this CD is really very good!
A solo effort by the guitarist from the New York Dolls, Steve Conte & the Crazy Truth, was finally released in October this year. I had been waiting for it for a while. I've been a New York Dolls fan since 1977 (thanks to a guy named Steve Heckman who I hope is doing OK) and when they started up again a few years ago I started listening again.
Originally, the only replacement members were the drummer (Gary Powell replacing Jerry Nolan) and the guitarist (Steve Conte replacing Johnny Thunders).
While both were good, Conte - as a guitarist - was much more visible (obviously, eh?).
So you're seen much more readily when you're in a position in front, and that can be good or bad. Talent has little to do with that. Whether you're good or you're bad, you're still gonna get noticed.
Conte looked like he fit perfectly with the Dolls, and as a Dolls fan I started doing some research and found that he'd been around for a bit. So now I'm embarrassed because I pride myself on knowing stuff like this. But Conte is still touring with the Dolls so I'll have more chances to find stuff out about him, right?
Enough of the history lesson. Another chance to find something about Conte came about earlier in October when `Steve Conte and the Crazy Truth' released the self-titled CD.
11 tracks on the CD. For this to make any difference to you, you have to understand that I grew up in the age where you would buy an album and be happy if three of the 10 tracks were good (a.k.a. any Steve Miller release). Of these 11 tracks there's only one I'm not terribly fond of - and that's the third track; Texas T. It's still decent and the solo is great, but the rest of the CD is so good...
I pay a lot of attention to lyrics so this review will be no different than others I've done because there are some excellent words to accompany the excellent music. But we have to start with track six "The Truth Ain't Pretty;"
"I'm always putting the last things first. That's why I'm starting out with the second verse."
That might explain why the first song is "This Is The End" with the line "Just get off and get on with the show." Good tune.
Also from "The Truth Ain't Pretty" comes the line "I ain't no saint and that ain't no sin." Aside from grade A lyrics, Conte has a way of phrasing things so that the words are delivered with maximum effect.
"Gypsy Cab" is the next track and it's very good also. "Don't wanna be no thug. Don't wanna be no saint." Caught between influences? "Way up in Harlem. The things I used to do. Sink down in that black sedan with the windows you can't see through."
"Busload of Hope" talks about taking a chance to make it. "Shakin hands with one armed bandits. Livin on credit debt. Oh thank heaven for chapter eleven. Or should you make just one more bet."
On a CD full of very good lyrics, "Busload of Hope" has what I think is the best line from a CD with a whole bunch of good lines;
"Get on the busload of hope. You got the dream and just enough rope."
I have a problem going on and on after either I've said enough or people get tired of listening. That's an issue when there's something I could go on and on about - like this CD. You could compare it to a lot of different people. Listed influences include Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Bo Diddley, The Clash, The Who, Jeff Beck Group, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and others.
It doesn't really sound like anything else you could name. Sure, like just about everything in the whole wide world, there are things that different parts will remind you of. Just when you think you nail it down the next song starts and you think "Now what was I talking about...?"
If you Google Steve Conte and find out the Dolls connection, you're going to be surprised I think. About the only thing this CD has in common with the New York Dolls is the attitude - which both bands have plenty of. That's a very, very good thing.
To give you an idea of how much I like this CD, I got my copy for free and I've since bought six copies to send to friends. So far the worst review of it has been "Wow! This is really good!"
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Track Listings (11) - Disc #1