The legacy of The New York Dolls is the stuff of legend. Born out of the wild arena rock era of the late 60s and sporting a new demeanor, NY Dolls band members combined to create a raucous new direction. With the Jagger swagger of David Johansen and the 'die for rock' attitude of Johnny Thunders, The New York Dolls went on to deliver a nova hot two albums that not only changed and influenced a legion of punk but also jump started the Glam era of the 70s.

With the Todd Rundgren produced debut and the prophetically titled second album, "In Too Much Too Soon", The Dolls produced a set of high quality rock that doesn't compromise and never lets up. Unfortunately, we only have two official albums but what a collection of songs originate from those discs.

David Johansen fronted the band with as much a command as Jagger used to reveal The Stones while bad boy and resident rock star Johnny Thunders with his teased hair and tag-along addictions provided the band with raw and cored rock guitar. Completed by Jerry Nolan on drums, Arthur Harold Kane on bass, and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, The Dolls have already earned their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

As controversial as that above statement about the Hall of Fame may be, it is representative of the legend of The NY Dolls. But the New York Dolls is representative of rock and roll. That is what this 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection attempts to reveal.

This great collection of tunes include the first ever single, "Trash" with was backed by the equally good, "Frankenstein" (not included on this disc). "Personality Crisis", "Looking for a Kiss" with the infamous intro, 'when I say I'm in love, you'd best believe I'm in love, L-U-V', "Pills" and "Jet Boy" are the tracks taken from the first album with the rest extracted from the second save for "Lone Star Queen", a song compiled on "Rock n Roll".

With songs that were masterfully written and brilliantly recorded, they incorporated every style and created timeless rock classics that are still unmatched. They did all of that with a coolness that showed that they were ready for this. Listen to "Stranded in the Jungle" and you'll hear multiple shifts that effortlessly slid back and forth, stylewise. "Trash" is a solid radio track that gave its listener a dose of breathless rock yet adhering to Top 40 standards. How many bands could do that and maintain the strut of The Stones. That's right...only The Stones and the very short-lived New York Dolls.

The rock and roll that screams from these tracks are otherworldly and only played better by the Stones. If that statement bothers you, you need only to pop this gem of a disc into your player and be seared by real rock n roll. The world will never know what greatness laid in wait for this band because of problems that were never resolved. But I can say that this band had the potential to match the greatness of The Stones. There is much more to say but space and time limit the adulation.

Go ahead, don't believe me. Miss out on the great band that never gained the recognition that the sum of its parts blasted from their Marshall amps. But pick this one up and you can clear a spot where you store your favourite discs. Of course, this disc could never replace the genius of the albums that it compiles from. Let's hope that Universal realizes the importance of revisiting the originals and reissuing them in spectacular fashion.

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New York Dolls

The Best of New York Dolls
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection

Released: March 18, 2003
Origination Year: 2003
Time: 39:46
Tracks: 11
Produced by: Various
Compilation Produced by: Bill Levenson
Engineered by: Various
Mastered by: Jeff Willens at Universal Mastering Studios, East
Style: Compilation/Studio
Format: CD
Enhancement: Remastered
Label: Mercury
Website:
N/A

Personality Crisis
Looking For a Kiss
Trash
Pills
Jet Boy
Lone Star Queen
Babylon
Stranded in the Jungle
Puss N Boots
Don't Start Me Talkin'
(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown