Reviews (page 6 of 7)
3.3/5
Personality Crisis is obviously a banger. I've never latched on to another Dolls song in quite the same way, big points for influence and legacy though, fun album. Trash is the most obviously memorable one, and probably most influential. Frankenstein is about 3 minutes too long. I get it, it's a frankenstein.
Fun, sounded like green day sometimes and classic rock other times, enjoyed it but dont think I'll go back to it
Would hardly have been a hit today. But those were different times.
Starts off so Stones-Y - with an edge. One of the precursors to punk. Jet Boy - a stone cold classic.
Kind of a fun trashy punk 'n' hair band. I can see why this album has some swag and I really enjoyed it for the most part. Some of the lyrics are a bit top heavy on sniffing glue, but otherwise, I surprised myself by enjoying and humming a long to it more than I expected! The clean interludes on 'Vietnamese Baby' were technically great. 'Subway Train' was catchy.
I don't want to work, I want to bang on the drum all day! Waking up early enough to catch the bus in high school was terrible, thankfully, the 'Q Morning Zoo' used to play the 'drum song' to get me outta bed. Hilariously, I learned that Mr. Drum Banger himself, Todd Rungren, was the first to sign the New York Dolls in '73. Everyone talks about this band being the ones to start off the whole scene in NYC. Perhaps their live shows were amazeballs, but the music I just listened to was just, kind of, meh. Placing all the Dolls in order it would go as follows: • Dresden Dolls (tie) • New York Dolls (tie) • Goo Goo Dolls
The guitar work shines the most on this album. I liked the punkish Personality Crisis the best. Their style is somewhere between rock and punk. The harmonica threw me off. And the lead singers vocals are too raw for my taste. Overall a good album, a nice debut, but not great.
Never heard of them before, but they’re basically a poor man’s version of “if the rolling stones went down the punk path”
Pretty damn good little proto-punk record. It's no 'Funhouse' but it does what it sets out to very well. 3.5/5
Along with the Velvets and the Fall, a real influencers band. Unlike them the music is fine, but not amazing. Another in the endless series of New York bands where the look was at least 50% of the appeal.
Cool sound, you can hear the mix of influences of rock and roll mixed with what would eventually become punk rock
Decent and typical punk rock album without any highlights or standout moments
Very glam punk fun
Was alright. Definitely hear the Stone’s influence.
Punky!
This was a grower for me. When I first heard this album over a year ago, I hated it. I never liked the glam rock genre besides Roxy Music and T Rex (and even those took a few listens for me to appreciate). I just clicked like on "Personality Crisis" and moved on. But after listening to punk albums, Spotify would automatically spam "Trash" in my "related songs" and eventually I started to really like it. I played the album a few more times over the year, and even played their sequel "Too Much Too Soon" and actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was too hyped up as the universally agreed best proto-punk album. Maybe I'm used to glam rock or this group, but I genuinely enjoy most of the songs now. The chords are simple, tending to repeat themselves, which is very similar to the minimalism of punk. The lead vocalist is by far the highlight, yelling into the mic and exploding in energy and personality. A very fun listen, and I could hear his voice being used in less spontaneous genres like post-punk. Their appearance and sound is reminiscent of the hair metal groups that would follow over a decade later, so they're influential to more than just punk. Objectively speaking, only maybe 3 or 4 songs are genuinely good all throughout. For most of the songs, there's equally stuff that I like as much as stuff I dislike, usually in regards to the uninspired generic rock sound. Many of the solos are just a bore. But if you just think about it like rocking out to a bunch of rockstars playing whatever the hell they feel like, it can actually be a very fun experience to dance and sing to. I will replay this album if I'm looking for this specific sound and mood. Favorites: Personality Crisis, Lonely Planet Boy, Frankenstein, Trash, Subway Train
The songs blended together, still a decent listen.
Nothing special; it was alright but most songs kind of blended together and sounded the same. But decent.
Okay. Nothing stood out for me.
Sounds like a mix of punk and Billy Joel style piano riffs. Kind of Rolling Stones-esque too. Saved "Trash" to my spotify and giving it a 2nd listen. Good overall!
Listened to on 8/2/22 3/5 Favorite song: Personality Crisis Big 70s fluffy hair banging energy - a few songs were great but the latter part of the album was too chaotic for my taste. Personality crisis was 10/10 though
Decent pink influencing music
Productions alright. By no means a perfect album. There's some great tracks on it and you can see the influence on some great later bands that followed. Favourite tracks Jet Boy, Trash, Personality Crisis
3.0⭐
Great album!
good listen, nice and different punky piano, nice shame it’s not on apple music 7.1/10
Not mind blowing, but pretty solid glam rock Favorites: "Personality Crisis", "Trash", "Jet Boy"
Good album, holds up now, strong from start to finish though I preferred the first half.
Good
I have heard of the New York Dolls, but I never bothered to give them a listen, just assuming that I wouldn't really be into them. Honestly, in my younger years, I probably wouldn't have even been all that interested in listening to the entire album. But today, I was surprised at how entertaining that I found them to be. Honestly, my tolerance for them is limited and I am not ready to jump on the fan-wagon, but I am glad I have now been properly introduced.
Glad to have listened to New York Dolls so that I can say I have.
A fine racuous rock record. There was nothing here that pushed you away, but there always wasn't anything amazingly catchy and exciting. It would seem the perfect band that would be an amazing live energy, but the album doesn't quite catch it the same way.
It was ok
Half really good, and the other half annoying as fuck. Liked Trash the most with Jet Boy close behind.
Pretty decent for a debut album
These dolls have balls, I’ll give them that. They’re alright, but when I need 70’s New York punk I’ll always prefer the Ramones.
The album started off sounding like classic Rock'n'Roll with a little glam sprinkled in (think Rocky Horror Picture Show), but ended very much sounding like the Rolling Stones. It's good, but not great. 3/5.
classic plata en ekkert fyrir mig í dag
It's not a great album is it? Very influential, but not one that I'm going to go back to and listen to regularly. I wish I could hear more of the guitars and less of the piano generally. Maybe I should look up some live shows.
it was okay
I think this was my first time listening to New York Dolls, though the name was very familiar. Fun, boisterous glam-punk that kept me entertained. Was about to add something like 'decent but nothing revolutionary', but then I realised that it almost certainly was, at the time.
Pretty good but I prefer the solo work of Sylvain Sylvain.
Raunchy and sloppy. Fun.
Decent glam art rock
Hi- Personality Crisis, Vietnamese Baby, Trash Not bad, fun, and raucous...This is a sound that seems like it influenced The Clash and Murder City Devils.
Underwhelmed at first - early tracks seemed like just good old rock and roll - not that much of a departure from, say, the Stones... but it grew on me as it progressed
Hi- Personality Crisis, Vietnamese Baby, Trash Not bad, fun, and raucous...This is a sound that seems like it influenced The Clash and Murder City Devils.
Not bad
Look like some swollen dorky dudes, but I didn’t mind this album’s roughness and intensity
Spicy, shouty, melodic, a heap of fun. Surprisingly well produced, sounding modern, crisp and well-layered
all in all kul och Trash är en sån dänga! Men, kanske mer "historiskt kul" än bra på riktigt??
Oke tof!
honky tonk ACDC?
De rock is goed maar ik word er eigenlijk gek van
OK, but not as good as the Stooges
I'm sure this was thrilling in 1973. But since the advent of punk in 1977, it doesn't have the same impact.
It was okay.
They've gone from a fun cult band to impossibly overrated. I guess one could call this an important album since it (allegedly) inspired a legion of future bands, especially Kiss, but that's because Gene Simmons saw The Dolls' look and decided his band should go even further with the face paint. The album is good, I don't have a problem with it being on this list. My opinion is probably clouded by the fact that lead singer David Johansen had a solo career as Buster Poindexter and an obnoxious hit song called, "Hot Hot Hot", a song I assume is on an endless repeat in Hell. I liked Johansen in "Scrooged" though. Worth mentioning: This is Morrissey's favorite album. Bonus points for what appears to be a Schlitz beer can and a pack of Lucky Strikes on the album cover.
not my kind of thing but not too bad.
I didn't think i'd like this as it's not my favourite style but it grew on me
"When everyone goes to your house, they shoot up in your room Most of them are beautiful, but so obsessed with gloom" (Looking for a kiss) Sólo quiero tener esta pinta, ¿es mucho pedir?
Heard this in the past and it didn't make a big impression. When you look at the beginnings of punk music, there are a few distinct tributaries flowing into it. I guess I quite like the garage rock proto-punk, but I'm not really into this glam / hard rock style. It's a pretty solid rock album - nice energy and quite consistent. But it's not really for me. 3*
Glam trash proto punk trans rolling stones. Don't let them being Morrissey's favouritie band put you off. Just great rock and roll. Best Tracks: Personality Crisis; Looking For A Kiss; Jet Boy
02.07.21 Po usłyszeniu "Personality Crisis" pomyślałam, że błędem było moje sceptyczne nastawienie do glam-rocka. Większość kawałków po pierwszym odsłuchaniu była jednak bardzo forgettable, ale myślę, że wrócę do tego albumu jeszcze. Chciałabym. AAA co do genre, jeszcze raz, chyba bardziej pasuje mi trash, niż sam glam. idk, bo totalnie się na tym nie znam, jeszcze wczoraj nie wiedziałam, że taki zespół istnieje ulubione: TRASH na pewno Bad girl było chyba słabe posłucham więcej potem
Not bad, but probably wouldn’t listen again
ok
One of the OG glam punk rock groups formed in the US, which paved the way for the likes of the Sex Pistols, Guns & Roses, Kiss, The Dammed and The Smiths. In listening to this album, you can hear where each of these bands have drawn their influence from. I found this an easy listen, and fell straight into the album with a now fairly familiar sound. High tempo, shredding guitar riffs, and punching rock vocals. Best: Personality Crisis, Frankenstein, Jet Boy Worst: Looking for a Kiss, Bad Girl, Subway Train
Was ok
Not my favorite but good music.
Le moins que l'on puisse dire est que Robert n'avait pas traîné pour nous initier à l'androgyne rock. Et on l'en remercie.
I like the sound. It wasn't bad. It did start to get a little tedious and redundant around Frankenstein though.
One of the albums that started the popularity behind punk rock. This band is an interesting hard rock group that had amazing live shows, and then this first album tried to capture that magic. Their debut album is decent, but the band is remembered for much more than their music.
Better than expected
fine punk sound. Didn't blow me away, probably won't listen again.
Punk rock al más viejo puro estilo.
Gut hörbarer Rock
pas desagreable a écouter ces petasses, 3/5
Ist echt ok aber dass es Auswirkungen auf meine Musik von „heute“ hätte kann ich nicht sagen
This one was a bit strange to me. It's a 3 not because all of it is pleasantly mediocre, but rather I found half of the album (the more punkish songs) pretty annoying and would like to give them a 2, but also I enjoyed half of the album (the more oldschool rock songs) quite a lot and would like to give those a 4. So here's a 3 for the whole thing.
First track Personality Crisis was used on an Earthed mtb dvd, reminds me of that, class 😂. I like it, early punk stuff, feels like a 3.5. Prob rate it a 3.
A little aggressive for the night vibes but lots of energy
Glam rock? It’s ok but not for long
3/5 interesting tracks, but eventually no
Muss beim Opener an Marius Müller Westerhagen denken und weiß nicht, ob das gut ist. Rest ist erstaunlich bzgl. des Jahres und versetzt mich zwar weder in Euphorie noch in Entzücken, aber irgendwas ist da, was Respekt zollt, vor diesem tief wurzelnden, leidenschaftlichen R‘n‘R. Die Ärzte geben mehr als 3.2
Glaube, bein a New York Doll muss wahnsinnig geil und noch wahnsinnig viel anstrengender gewesen sein. Dieses glamouröse Leben zu führen aber gleichzeitig Dreckpunk zu sein (den es ja genaugenommen noch nicht mal gab), irgendwo zwischen Bowie, Roxy Music und den Stooges - das ist nur was für die ganz harten. Davor größten Respekt, auch wenn mich das musikalisch noch immer nicht so besonders berührt.
No track could match the energy of the opening song, and it instead got into headache territory through the middle. I can see why this band is important and why they would have been fun live in New York in the 70s, but the album is just meh. 6
Very rock-y. Reminds of kiss, not like i listened to alot of kiss but the cover and sound feels like something kiss would produce.
Not my favorite thing, but it was ok. Just kind of loud and bland for me. Favorite tracks: “Personality Crisis” and “Lonely Planet Boy”
Meh
proto punk, a bit like the stooges, bit of rolling stones
Personality Crisis was the only memorable track on this one.
7.5
Kinda like the ramones... Kinda
Ok not great. No bad songs but none that really stood out. Cool use of instruments and some horns. High 2.5
Punk forgjenger. Mye personlighet, noen aggresive og noen svingete.
Really good energy that works for the straight up rock/punk music
Loose, like the Stones but more punk. Love the vocal performances throughout the record, love the extension of the syllables. More of a Stooges fan when it comes to proto-punk, but this is still tasty. Favorite tracks: "Personality Crisis", "Pills", "Vietnamese Baby"
Had to be there!
I just can not appreciate punk. I need rhythm and structure please Would I listen again: no. Deserves to be on this list: perhaps 2.4
Not my jam.
Full disclosure did not listen to the entire thing 😟 but I did not like it :/
I don't like glam or punk or sleaze so this is a no from me.
Overall, I like this album and think it is just fine. It may be because this album was revolutionary and a trend setter, but to me it feels slightly bland and repetitive. Albums that came after perhaps would not have been as great without this one - I honestly do not know and I am not familiar with the history surrounding this album. I can hear the makings of something great, but the project never goes out to achieve that. I would not revisit this of my own accord, so I'll go 2/5. Not bad, though!
..
the jams were fine i just didnt like their tone of voice lol
Rod stewart but 10% gayer. A marked improvement but not incredible
That was some pretty wild music. Glam and punk together—you don't see that very often. It was kind of fun, but the sound was pretty flat. A funny idea alone just isn't enough. I probably won't be listening to that again. 2/5
Nope
budget ass shitty 70's glam rock derpy derp
La première me semble familière, elle est bien ! Globalement l’écoute est facile et il est agréable que le groupe semble avoir autant confiance en lui. Mais aucun son ne ressort je trouve, L’Album est assez long au final, à la dernière musique j’en ai un peu marre 5/10
Day 3 - New York Dolls by the New York Dolls. A more punky version of the Rolling Stones or if mick jagger did rocky horror! Some fun songs and a bit different but not sure I’ll be listening to them anytime soon. 3/10
This was ok. I liked Personality Crisis but the rest just wasn't for me.
The opening track was pretty good, but the rest of it blended together and was overall a little too out of the box for me. Not one I’m dying to come back to.
Didnt listen fully, got through like 3 quarters but not really for me yet some elements i liked
More like a 2.5- not bad but I would never seek it out and no song caught my attention
Trash and Subway Train seemed to have marginal redeeming value. They’ll not make it on any favorites list of mine however.
“Didn’t hate it” is probably the ceiling for this mess.
not for me but fine
Below average classic rock
Started out okay, but I grew weary of it pretty quickly.
I'm sure this has historical value, but it's one of those classic punk/rock albums that just sounds like nothing now. Not their fault, but 2/5
Not my favorite but it was ok
Kind of meh.
No private session used for Spotify. It was fun to sit down a listen to Buster's earlier stuff, but nothing convinced me I should do it again.
Pre punk album from Dave and the boys
Clearly a very influential band and album but I didn't enjoy it.
4/10
Gets pretty annoying after a while
Not too bad. I liked some of the songs. But it was a rock album, nothing too unique about it.
ehh
i respect the grind. unfortunately it's really not for me i just wanted it to be over the whole time
Influential? Yes, I guess so… Listenable? At a pinch…. Good? Not really!
Saw another reviewer who said "Without the New York Dolls, there is no punk and new wave." Seems like an exaggeration. Punk would be a loss, but new wave would not. Neither would this album if it were cut from the 1001, but we all know the book editor would rather cut off an arm before he cut an album older than the late 90s.
It was pretty solid and raunchy. I’m assuming it was super influential because it wasn’t that good. It seems this album was about all they’d done. Overall, I mean it’s alright I guess.
Mid
I didn't absolutely hate it, but also feel I didn't need to listen to it. Feels five years too late to the punk rock craze
I wanted to like it but I couldn’t!
Nieko ypatingo.
I like Buster Pointdexter, but outside of this group haha. This is not for me.
in new york i milly rock
inoffensive but I didn't really enjoy that 👍
I understand why they were important in the grand punk scheme of things, but there's a reason why they don't get mentioned in the same hushed tones as some of the British punk bands, or later American ones. They just didn't have the tunes.
I dig the vibe and band aesthetic, and the band themselves are putting in good enough work. Damn that guy can't sing though. It's not grating, but it's that screaming-in-your-speaking-voice-near-the-note type deal that I can't get with often. It's not an all out scream, just near it. But not near a note value. I wouldn't call it dad/yacht/easy rock which is often a lot softer in texture, it's more like a glam psuedo-punk. That's getting specific, but really it's pretty basic rock that'd be the precursor for similar acts through the 70s and 80s. Kiss and Sex Pistols, etc. I dunno. It's alright. Lot of the songs are quite samey. I like Private World. Goddamn there is a lot of classic rock on this list.
I understand why this album was important but it’s not for me.
Je vois l'idée mais c'est mal exécuté, ça manque d'intensité, de panache
First and only time I'll bother listening to this one. Not my jam. Too aggressive and obnoxious.
not a great lifespan track record for these guys, huh? I guess I can appreciate the foundations and paths these guys set for future rock / punk but my comments still stand on not liking early or current punk rock. The first songs off the album didn't set up me on the right foot, either.
Certainty one of the albums of all time.
Ihan ok. Ei herätä suuria tunteita
#288/1001. Basic sleazy punky rock and roll. It sounds like they could have improved the sound and the imact with better production but disn’t want to do it. There is a story by the Finnish bass player Sami Yaffa: as the band was reunited somewhere in the 2006 or so, in the beginning practised a lot, and when went to do some gigs in Japan the singer David Johansen looked worried. It wasn't that the band played bad, in fact the opposite: "no more practice!" was the verdict. Ugly and raw, not for me.
Groupe inconnu. Rock assez dynamique mais peu original. Pas désagréable (+1), mais rien ne me donne envie d'y retourner. =>2/5
Early proto-punk-glam-rock isn't my thing. I'm sure there's some out there that will love this though.
Nyy joorkin nuket ei kyllä osunut. Rokkenrollia joka ei sellasenaan himoituta.
escucho tanta gente inspirada en ellos! pero aún así no he podido conectar emocionalmente
Dir Zeit ist definitiv vorbei
hypelı ama hyplamıyor
This kind of music does not age well. Just surface level music, bad lyrics. Feels like they were more focused on their look rather than their sound..
Nothing to write home about. Also are they dolls?
I can appreciate that it's super influential but for me, this album of its time and doesn't grab me in a modern context. I wanted to like this more than I did but ultimately, it faded into the background for me. It's not just about the era - other early 70s stuff has blown my mind on this list - it just doesn't feel that exciting or interesting beyond the band's obviously striking image.
Nie.
Not my genre. Rhythms too monotone.
Probably a "They've been copied so much that their original stuff seems very generic", but this sounds like every hard rock album to come out in the 80s (this was released in 73!!!). If you like KISS, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, etc. you'll love this album. But I just am not feeling it.
I mean, there is some decent energy here, and a few of the songs seem serviceable, but this seems like run of the mill stuff
Can’t believe we got a “Someone’s In The Kitchen With Dinah” interpolation in a drag 70’s punk band song called Subway Train.
Very forgettable.
I appreciate the significance of the band and this album, and while I didn’t hate it, it’s not something I would choose to listen to. Still, there were some fun songs and the raw, punk feel was there.
I do acknowledge this was early for punk, but on 2026 ears it just sounds glam rocky to me. Not my kind of punk music that's for sure. High 2 but definitely not a 3.
this is album 261 for me and if by this point the importance of an album doesn't have any creedance on the rating, it never will. dont like this one, dont care about it either unfortunately
At the time I'm sure dressing in drag was shocking, but we're on to bigger and better things. Without the gimmick im not sure we're hearing about these guys.
Pre punk
I respect how inspirational this record was to a lot of bands and albums that I really like but this just isn't quite my thing.
Best thing I can say about this and for the sake a variety, is that after getting two Morrisey albums on the trot it was not a hat-trick of misery. That said listening to this it was a bit miserable for a different reason. I’m not into this type of raucous rock/punk at all. I can understand why people liking this stuff dig it and for a debut album it is quite impressive. But it will never rattle my cage at all. 2/5 14/12/25
p312. 1973. 2 stars. Primeval roots of punk rock. Lots of energy but sadly lacking quality songs.
Pretty fun, it's sort of like a discount punky rolling stones. In that way it also feels like a little watered down punk? Solid record but not anything crazy to me, sure they would be fun to have seen live
30/1001 First listen. Sounds something like early Kiss but with much worse singing. 4/10
Hmm, pretty sure I played in garage bands that were no worse than this. I guess it had it’s spot in the timeline it was in but…
Bands wish they made this album
Didn't like
OK/10
Fun but pretty one dimensional to my ears and therefore got boring. 2/5
Noise. 2.
Bit of a punk vibe for a tuesday morning, not bad
Mér finnst ég vera að hlusta á blöndu af Rolling Stones og Sex Pistols. Þetta er mjög nálægt rokkstílnum sem ég fíla en á sama tíma nálægt þeim sem ég fíla ekki. Þeir dansa á línunni en falla á endanum röngu megin.
Pretty interesting hearing this proto-punk early glam rock album. I found it just OK but appreciate the significance it holds. Jet Boy got me unconsciously toe tapping, though. 👍Jet Boy
I'm struggling to understand why this album made the list tbh. It sounds like Generic Rock Music. None of the songs are bad, but none of them stand out to me either. I'll give it a 4/10.
This was like Walmart Brand Rock n Roll in the year of 2025 (Nothing wrong with great value brand at all). Great Value is just fine, and so is New York Dolls by New York Dolls, like c'mon they didn't even come up with an album name. Every single song past song 2 sounded the same to me, so things got old quick. It didn't help that the lead vocalist kept screaming out the name of the song over and over again within each song. Their outfits look pretty cool though, so kudos to that!
Meh
Sounds very dated and also not my style.
One of the better punkier albums but still didn't hold my attention long enough to keep it at 3
not my cup
Punk. Would have been better with a better vocalist.
Not necessarily my cup of tea, but okay and while I would not personally purchase their albums assuming this is representative of their music, I can at least listen to it.
One of those albums that both draws upon influences from the early 70's while also providing a roadmap for many bands in the years to come Personality Crisis & Jet Boy are the tracks I enjoyed most, but their particular shouting/singing style has always prevented me from liking them more
No thanks.
Lowkey chaotic.
Not really my style, but personality was okay, I guess.
Very influential to the oncoming Punk scene. But I'm not really into this. It's too rough and amateurish sounding, and the music doens't really match the band's exhuberant visual aesthethics. Key tracks: Personality Crisis
Alright
Just noise. Making me question the quality of this list’s compilation
Well I like glam rock, and I like a little punk. But this combo here doesn't really work for me and going with a 2.
If you like The Rolling Stones and you like The Ramones (or any other late 70s NYC Punk band), you'll find plenty to like here. I'm not a fan of either, so it didn't do much for me. 2 stars.
I just can't with the vocals. I know they're stylized. But blech. Off-key talking and yelling should be reserved exclusively for Tom Waits.
Not quite the missing link more glam and rock than the immediacy of punk, vocals closer to punk.
I just don’t like punk music, okay?
Love the band aesthetic; sadly not a fan of the music. I'll give it two stars based on my personal enjoyment. I think it is a good album in the technical aspect.
The idea of New York Dolls is better than the actual product. It is certainly a junction to more enjoyable punk rock down the road, but I wouldn't say it is a destination where you want to languish. It is more like a rest stop off the freeway; you know, the one with the thrashed bathroom that you passed on your journey to more sophisticated punk. Personally, I prefer Buster Poindexter. P.S. Also, props to the member with the roller skates. A nice touch of the rebellious among the rebellion.
It's alright? Probably won't revisit this, tough to hear how this is so influential.
Title of the 6th song on the album.
Not really my cup of tea.
Parts of it were ok, but I won't be revisiting it at any point in the future.
I don’t get it
Songs are similar throughout. Personality Crisis was the most enjoyable song as it felt new, but everything afterwards came with similar tempos and instrumentation. Maybe should've paid attention to the lyrics better, but if they don't stand out casually, it probably isn't that good anyway???
Decent. Very same-y.
Best punk so far, but no standouts
If the Rolling Stones trued to imitate The Clash, but Mic Jagger wasn’t available, it might sound like this. It’s interesting, but I won’t play it again. It’s a two.
this was fun to have on. kick ass cover.
Not my favorite, won’t revisit, 2/5
Melkoista rokkia vanhaa sellasta. Kaikki biisit kuulostaa melko samalta
A more annoying and less interesting Rolling Stones
Eh.
New artist Interesting. Need more time with it. Rating could change but no stand out songs.
Eh punky, not my jams
Ugh punk
Another album where its influence far exceeds the album itself. Maybe the 2nd ever punk album after Raw Power? Definitely ahead of its time. The production is superb and the energy of the performances is great. Unfortunately I didn't find any of the song writing particularly good or memorable. A lot of standard rock n roll stuff just played with a bit more carefree youthful spunk and rage. Favourites - Honestly there wasn't a single stand out song on this for me rip
The ultimate snapshot of glam rock if there ever was one. Unfortunately, it doesn't represent the genre at its best. The sound is pretty messy and unrefined. It sounds like the main band members don't really know what they're doing, musically, and that can seriously hamper a band's listenability (even if it's not actually true). A reviewer described this record as "sleazy, messy, trashy and raunchy" and then used that as a reason to give it 4 stars. I would argue that if you can only think of adjectives with negative connotations to describe music, maybe that music is... well, bad. Another reviewer cites their apparent influence on the music scene: "Without the New York Dolls, there is no punk and new wave. Without punk and new wave, we're still listening to arena rock and suffering through endless drum solos." I really don't think musical progress is that one-dimensional. Genres constantly influence each other, and there's no linear "shift" from arena rock to punk/new wave. (In fact, I'd argue that both genres emerged at roughly the same time.) Plus, plenty of proto-punk acts were around during or before the early 1970s. And most of them were better than this. The singer's very angry in Frankenstein. I wonder why. I would feel happy and vindicated if I created a living monster from sterile flesh. Or if I was the living monster in question. Maybe the lyrics on this record are something spectacularly incredible and groundbreaking – though I doubt it. My focus was primarily on the melodies, harmonies, and instrumentation. The melodies, which are the most immediately noticeable parts of music (and therefore some of the most important), left me unimpressed. Lonely Planet Boy, Looking For A Kiss, Bad Girl... try humming their tunes after a couple of listens. You'll realise that, without the instruments (which are pretty good), these songs are just not composed to a very high standard. 2/5 Key tracks: Personality Crisis, Trash, Pills
Proto-Punk with fitting riffs and nasal vocals, which mostly tend to sound the same after a certain point making it ok as background music in a bar.
Ugh. I hope I never have to listen to this again.
This was fine. I can see the draw for some people. This just didn’t hit the spot for me though.
Wasn't a fan. Some ok moments.
Meh. T'was okay I suppose. I like the comp of Rolling Stones in drag.
I get how the album really started off punk... but for punk, the songs were too long. Songs like "Frankenstein" felt like you could cut it in half and would be more effective. Glam / punk? Glunk? Nah. NEXT.
didn’t really care for this
Ehhhh. I get it, and it's okay, but nothing stands out.
I can absolutely see how this went on to influence punk rock and glam punk in the years to follow, but in the cold light of the present day, it just doesn't do much for me. Highlights were the opening track Personality Crisis, and Pills with its Beatles-esque harmonica.
I understand why it was influential but that’s the last of the compliments I have. Nothing really made an impression on me.
It was..... Okay. Decent instrumentation throughout, but nothing that stuck with me. Sounded like background bar rock. One track did stand out as pure garbage, and it was ironically not "Trash" but rather "Frankenstein" with horrendous vocals that go on for 6 minutes??? Not all of the album is like that, but it IS just about the only thing I can recall about the album by the end of my listen. Actually, no, "-Ah, how you call your loverboy? -TRASH" did stand out as a great line. Perhaps I was too harsh.
Very little to like here. It's a very specific, early 70s punk sound, where the singers all adopted the same nasally affect and they all took pride in not being able to play their instruments well. I have respect for the fact that I, intellectually, understand that it was groundbreaking and foundational, so I'll add a star for that, but I did not like this album at all.
meh
2.5 - alright
Two star.
It's really low quality but it's really catchy.
Ok 2/5
Always though Johansen and his group were a poor Bowie ripoff. A few decent tracks here, but meh overall.
Why was this on the list? Maybe because they influenced a lot of hair metal bands? The music was not incredible. There's nothing I'm coming back to on this album, but now I can say I've heard New York Dolls. This album was a new York 2. It would have been a three in other cities, but... New York has higher criteria.
I imagine this was great in 1973. Don't get me wrong, it's not 'bad' but it just did nothing for me at all. It's proto-punk so it wasn't quite fully formed yet. I'm not a big punk fan as it is, so this is just even worse for my tastes. Nothing jumped out and grabbed me, nothing stood out, I couldn't hum you a tune from the album as soon as I finished. I was somewhat bored throughout. Again, it's not bad, but there have been albums that sound bigger, badder, stronger, louder and heavier than this since its release 52 years ago so this is just a bit of a time capsule of a record.
It started out ok - pretty fun in fact. But it wore on me as the album went on and ended up being pretty tiring.
point9.
Didn't vibe with this at all really.
Nothing stood out to me in this album. It was just fine
Prince is not my favorite, but no respect the craft put into this album
Lovely message, punk as hell, and hard to see how they fit. I just wasn't feeling the music though
An important band for its time and for those influenced by them. More melodic than The Stooges of their time. Buster before he was buster.
Mix between the clash and the Ramones? Unfortunately I'm not a fan of either... I think American punk lasted longer because there were less rules about what is and isn't punk. It's decent background music
Classic 70s punk, hearing influences of The Ramones and Iggy Pop.
There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but honestly all of the songs sounded the same. It's interesting that in our modern age a common criticism of recent music is that it all sounds the same, but then this exists in the 70s? Food for thought. Any of these songs could stand solidly on it's own but listening to the album together just makes them all feel repetitive
Past 1st track Personality Crisis which is a good enough tune this is a big long stale glam rock trudge. The guitar riffs are punky and fine but the vocals suck big time and act like a bulldozer in drag over songs which which mostly tend to sound the same after a certain point anyway. 2.5 stars
I get the feeling I could enjoy this album a lot more if I understood the lyrics. Maybe I'll listen against with lyrics in hand. But for now...... It's just generic punk?? A harder version of The Clash?. I was reading they were one of the first and kudos to them for going against the on going homophobia of those years. But it's not really music I dig.
These guys do have a very early punk sounds for 1973 and can likely be attributed to feeding into the early genesis of that genre. A pretty good rough rock and roll sound throughout.
Proto-Punk bores me. I understand it is a precursor to the wider musical movement that became punk rock and it has it's place as an influence, but it's an era totally spoiled by what came after it. This album is utterly forgettable musically if listened to today if you have ever heard anything more hardcore than the E street band. I actually googled this one because I never understand why all these white bread middle of the road acts end up on a list of most important albums and wiki tells me that this punk precursor was reactionary to the 'sophistication' of prog rock that was on top at the time. Yea man I'm really gonna show those snooty prog rock guys by making a dogshit uninteresting album.
Early in my listen of this album, I became bored and checked the wikipedia page to see that this has received the mark of the Antichrist himself: Robert Christgau. How he gave this a A and gave Raw Power a B+ is totally beyond me. Probably because Iggy wasn't a NYC/Village rat. This album is a fun novelty of the early days of punk and you can see the influence here, probably. The lyrics are nonsense, the vocals are okay at times, the instrumentation and production are serviceable. There's one good song on here and the rest I hope to never have to hear again except maybe in a Gitmo 'advanced interrogation room' Highlights: Jet Boy
Important, but boring.
Glad I listened to it because of the influence they’ve had, but don’t really want to listen to it again.
Didn’t excite at all really… probably doesn’t deserve a 1 but doesn’t quite reach the heights of 2… oh go on then, I’ll be nice
This was alright, but didn't leave an impression
Just some early pinkish rock
There are just so many better albums in this genre. Nothing stood out to me, but probably fun live.
Meh.
I dont think they can be famous for being the band that inspired the idea of a more famous band
4/10. Listenable but didn’t enjoy a whole lot of it.
Blind album and artist. This is one of those bands that my fiance and I would call a Walmart Band. A knockoff of a better band. A store brand band vs the name brand band. Why would you listen to the store brand when you have the name brand? To save money. This band is cheaper.
too sloppy punk for me. I’m sure they put a lot of effort to sound that sloppy though. i like the cover.
Boring listen, it's all attitude with no real substance. The tracks are mostly boring and underdeveloped, the production is unpolished on purpose I presume, but it's just not good. Best song: Personality Crisis Worst song: Private World Cover check: Grabs your attention, but just like the music it's wannabe edgy and has no real debt
This is music song. Vocals are not it. Instrumentals don't really do it for me. 2.
Seventies punk that's just like a harder Rolling Stones.
#368. This sounds a bit like a bastard love child of Kiss and The Ramones or something, and not in a good way [if there ever could be a good way] 2/5: pass
OK straight forward rock music with mediocre vocal and pretty bad lyrics - very banal and repetitive.
Always start an album with a guttural scream. More unhinged Rolling Stones. The first three songs were pretty generic classic rock. I enjoyed the softer 4th song Lonely Planet Boy. The perfect album to listen to 30 seconds of each song and move on to the next. 4/10
Made it all the way through but its a one and done for me.
Singer is dumb, song structures are dumb generic punk
Little too screamy for me
It was ok I guess. Didn't enjoy it so much.
01) Personality Crisis - 6,5 02) Looking for a Kiss - 6,0 03) Vietnamese Baby - 5,5 04) Lonely Planet Boy - 6,0 05) Frankenstein (Orig.) - 5,5 06) Trash - 6,5 07) Bad Girl - 5,5 08) Subway Train - 6,0 09) Pills - 5,5 10) Private World - 6,0 11) Jet Boy - 5,5 TOTAL: 5,86 (59/100) Current ranking: 250/302
Kinda odd, but could see it being a 70's thing
I knew this would eventually happen. My propensity to give out three stars and have that mean "OK but Meh" to "Yeah, this is actually pretty good!" is finally here to burn me. Because there is nothing "wrong" with the New York Dolls, no technical faults, the musicians are solid, lyrics... But the punk movement has a serious side to it. Even the songs that were purposefully a bit tongue in cheek were laced with anti-establishment, rebellious edges. It was a social movement. I think of post-punk and Rage against the Machine and the "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" lyric that became more and more dead serious and rage inducing. We demand change! But with the Dolls? I never got that sense of seriousness, it is as if they thought "yeah, we can do this" and had fun and all but was any of it real? It is just not there for me.
Nothing spectacular outside of early punk. Thankful that Johnny Thunders went on to create the Heartbreakers - but aside from that? Meh.
This is ok I guess, the guys voice really grates
Impactful? Yes. Just not my cup of tea.
meh protopunk. Nothing I heard felt very revolutionary to the scene, and songs were very similar sounding.
More glammy rock? Slade in a public toilet? Or a pre-cursor to punk? The Sex Pistols are always viewed as original, but this is halfway there. Less posey-sounding than, again, Slade, as well. It's not life-changing or complex. By 'Trash' and 'Bad Girl', it wears your patience a bit. Too many weak songs, really. 'Pills' is poor. 'Personality' is more appealing, catchier. The energy is contagious, if basic. Quite a lot of fun. 'Jet Boy' is a fun ending after a bunch of filler songs.
Not really a fan of this one at all.
It's alright punk music. I don't regret listening to it but I don't need to hear it again. Didn't hate it but didn't really like it either.
Some of the better Punk I've heard here, and Personality Crisis really clicked, but Punk is Punk, so it can only go so far.
Meh. Didnt hate it.
It's not bad, interesting sound (I keep thinking Elton John if he tried punk), just not really my vibe.
I'm sure seeing this group live was something special - but the studio recordings just don't really do it for me.
Reminds me of a rougher version of the Rolling Stones. Not for me.
Kinda sounds like Great White with a shitty lead singer. Not a fan.
Shrug,not for me
No doubt influential. But also no doubt that it sounds awful. I’m so bored of how similar most of the albums on this list sound.