This is the Soundtrack double cd for Danny Garcia's excellent biopic of the legendary Johnny Thunders. The limited edition red patent vinyl has already sold out and this anthology of Johnny's solo career should follow suit working as both a good addition to the collection of any long term Thunders fans and as a good introduction to his music for anyone whose heard his name mentioned but not yet bought any albums.
The CDs aren't chronological and the only glaring omission is that there are no songs by the New York Dolls other than those most of Johnny's main bands and collaborators are featured on.
The album opens with the original album version of Cool Operator which always stands out as one of the only times Johnny tried to play reggae and makes a decent enough fist of it. To make sure no one wants to describe it as being "cod" it also acts as a definition of the man himself as an effortlessly Cool Operator. Alone In A Crowd, meanwhile, has always been a great plaintive song that speaks to the alienation and loneliness you can feel even while being surrounded by hundreds of people.
I'm Confronted is a demo from Actress, the band that became the New York Dolls. It sounds better than it did on the Actress album I own as well as sounding ahead of the times as it's more like the Heartbreakers than the Dolls. Great Big Kiss is a well-chosen cover and this version from the Riverside demos is a little bit rawer than the original album version and previously featured on the Best of Born To Loose making it a nice choice of version.
The Heartbreakers' Pirate Love is the restored version that just shoves those guitars in your face and sounds every bit the classic it is. I love how upfront the bass is compared to the first version I bought on cassette years ago. Flight is taken from the SBS demos and the LAMF definitive version and it's easy to understand why it didn't make the cut first time round as it's rough around the edges. Walter Lure's vocals are OK but seem to be missing something even if the guitars sound fantastic.
The Instrumental demo of Get Off The Phone comes off like the Ventures on speed. It's great all that's missing are the words. Take A Chance, also from the Jay Nap sessions, has a lighter feel than the original version and the rhythm section sound like they want to be playing Rumble by Link Wray which is no bad thing. They take One Track Mind out of the closet and use the lost 77 mixes version with those pin sharp guitars that obliterate everything in their wake. Magnificent, perfect punk. Born to Loose is another Jay Nap sessions version and is all cleaned up and yet still as sleazy as Soho used to be with Johnny's guitar doing some incredible things which is why I'm sat here singing along to it though you really don't want to hear me sing.
All By Myself sounds like the gang having a blast as usual; great real punky pop. As ever Can't Keep My Eyes Off You is a wonderfully salacious tune/come pick up line on here in the lost 77 mixes version. They have the rough and ready Riverside demo of London Boys too: the great riposte to the Sex Pistols' New York, all out sneering condescension par excellence.
The first CD closes with two songs from Bootlegging the Bootleggers: a full-on hiss-covered version of Pipeline that kills even though it's drowning in hiss and surely these days could have been cleaned up a tad. The hiss continues on a nicely sloppy version of In Cold Blood where Johnny sounds like he is staggering around close to the mic but not always on the mic though Alison Gordy's back-up vocals sound brilliant as always.
The second disc opens with an unreleased live version of Little Bit Of Whore recorded in Switzerland in 1985. It sounds like they are ripping up the place and Johnny is in fine form: a great version of this message song.
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The Riverside demos version of Too Much Junkie Business with Walter Lure on main vocals from the Down To Kill box set always feels a bit toned down compared to some of Johnny's own versions of it but still the sneering vocals and matter of fact telling of what happens to junkies always works as a salutary tale for anyone thinking of becoming one.
The hiss returns for a nice acoustic version of Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory: a song that should have been a hit for Johnny especially considering how many people have now covered this classic song. We then get the standard album versions of I Only Wrote This Song for You and Billy Boy both of which I love and if you don't own Que Sera Sera, then why not?
I've always loved Johnny and Patti Palladin's version of Can't Seem To Make You Mine and that doesn't change. It still sounds superb and shows how to make a great cover version even if Patti's yelps seem a bit buried in this mix. The live version of Blame It On Mom from Switzerland in 85 has a good spacious echoey feel to it and the band sound pin sharp too.
The acoustic version of Sad Vacation is full of regret while Johnny strums along. It's a fitting tribute to yet another dead friend, in this case Sid Vicious. The last of Johnny's own songs on this soundtrack is Endless Party from Que Sera Sera and as ever is a great party anthem for the non-stop partying rock and roll Johnny of legend.
The Soundtrack then features the 6 songs from various old band mates and collaborators, starting with Thunders' old guitarist Stevie Klasson's excellent Looking For Johnny. It feels all grizzled and downbeat as he gives us a tour of Johnny's old haunts. Damn, his guitar still sounds incredible. Then, up strolls Vic Godard to give us his tribute song Johnny Thunders with all the attitude of a great Johnny Thunders tune. It tries to explain just why we all love Johnny so much.
Cold Wind by Jan Stenfors is another heartfelt tribute and is full of memories of hanging out with Mr Thunders. This has a good mix of acoustic and electric guitars. Then we get the Bermondsey Joyriders' excellent recent single Johnny Thunders was A Human Being. The Bermondsey Joyriders feature Johnny's old drummer Chris Musto but the song is a great tribute and perfectly gets the Thunders feel and insouciance just about spot on. The single was a must have and this slightly different version is great too.
Everything then wraps with Members supremo JC Carroll's 2 contributions Quaaludes and Red Wine (which sounds like a Johnny Thunders guitar solo) and Mandolin Memories which sounds like it's an out take from Que Sera Sera. Both are very cool indeed and well worth hearing.
I have to finish by saying I love this soundtrack and the film it goes with and both are really well worth owning. Find out more at Jungle Records online
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