CD Reviews
Written by Dom Daley
Wednesday, 05 August 2009 11:12
Oh how sooooo many people miss out on some superb releases. This “only available at Dolls gigs” CD is a feast of ten dirty, horn-honkin’, hand-clapping, whoo-whooing rock n roll.
Conte has slipped into the massive shoes of Mr J Thunders and over time has grown to make that position his own. The guy has style, ability and, on this evidence, he can pen some grade A tunes.
So open the windows, crank up the volume on the stereo, pour yourself a large drop of red and indulge yourself in this good time rock n rollin, down n dirty jam fest.
The album kicks off with ‘The End Is Here’, with a shuffling raw drum beat before being joined by Mr Conte’s down and dirty riff which sets the pace for one hell of a set. The sound is simple guitars, bass and drums with the odd horn and harmonica (provided by his day job boss Mr Johansen). The band sound like they’re having a ball and it sounds like one take fare which, for someone like me, is bliss. This is what rock and roll should be, a bunch of guys having a ball. ‘Gypsy Cab’ swaggers in and has every single ingredient for a great song. The honking horns, delta guitar riff, whoo-whoos, hand claps and some laid back lyrics. Buckle up kids, we’re going on a road trip – we’re not sure where but it’ll be fun and the company is as cool as it gets.
All killer and no filler – the stand out tracks for me would be the aforementioned ‘Gypsy Cab’ and the up tempo riffage of ‘The Good Are Odd’. The album has the stamp of the Dolls’ rough and ready recording all over it and fans of the Dolls won’t be disappointed. It also has some of the more carefree elements of greats such as the Stones, Faces and early Aerosmith all wrapped together. Possibly the most Dolls-sounding track would be the superbly titled ‘Strumpet Hearted Monkey Girl’ which could easily have fitted on either of the Dolls’ last albums.
Other albums to check out if you like it; Alison Gordy – ‘Black And Blue’; Johnny Thunders – ‘Copy Cats’; ‘Cookin’ by the Diamond Dogs and Steve Klasson – ‘Don’t 
Shoot The Messenger’.
http://www.myspace.com/stevecontecrazytruth