Performer Notes

As one of the key progenitors of punk, the New York Dolls created in their brief existence a sloppy, sleazy, glorious rock-&-roll sound that has rarely been equaled. That may explain why it took the Dolls 32 years to follow up their last proper studio album, 1974's TOO MUCH TOO SOON. The long hiatus can also be attributed to the deaths of three of the band's five original members--Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, and Arthur Kane.
But where such circumstances would have relegated most acts to the dustbin of history, lead singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvian Sylvain recruited replacement musicians to create a new Dolls album in 2006's ONE DAY IT WILL PLEASE US TO REMEMBER EVEN THIS. What's even more surprising is that ONE DAY, though not quite on par with the band's monumental early releases, bristles with classic Dolls energy. Their ragged, bluesy bite and doo wop flourishes are here on tracks like "We're All in Love" and "Dance Like a Monkey," and even when the band sounds uncharacteristically tight and polished, there is still much to recommend the disc. It stands as a testament to the vital, enduring power of rock & roll.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Johansen crows with craggy defiance atop the part 'Personality Crisis' but also packs the matured anxiety and tattered-Sixties classicism of Johansen's 1978 solo debut."

Rolling Stone (p.103) - Ranked #12 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "Everywhere Johansen mourns mortality and celebrates contingency in the most searching lyrics of the year..."

Spin (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Spectorish balladry, monkey noises, and odes to fishnets and cigarettes abound."

Entertainment Weekly (p.65) - "[They] opt for the rowdy professionalism of Johansen's '70s/'80s solo efforts. And make no mistake: That's a good thing." -- Grade: B+

Q (p.109) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his time they've got things like proper arrangements, percussionists, a honky-tonk pianist and a whole life of sleaze to draw upon."

Alternative Press (p.228) - "Guest spots from Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe and Against Me!'s Tom Gabel are a pleasing nod to modernity, but REMEMBER's strengths are in its time-warp atmosphere."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'Dancing Like A Monkey'...sees Johansen beating his skinny chest on their raucous, chaotic call of the wild."