New York Dolls give Todd Rundgren another chance

I've just picked this up from Glitzinet - 35 years on the New York Dolls have brought in Todd Rundgren to produce their next album. As noted on Glitzinet, Rundgren's work on their debut album is the subject of much debate. Regardless, it's great to see that another album is in the pipeline.

See also:
The New York Dolls - One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This
Nina Antonia - The New York Dolls: Too Much Too Soon
Johnny Thunders - So Alone
Motorcycle Boy - Popsicle

Sloppy seconds and filthy thirds

A quick scan through the albums featured so far shows a pretty high number of debuts. In some cases these have been sole-releases. There is of course the well-known concept of second album syndrome. Bear in mind that a newly-signed band will have a well-established set of songs that will usually become their debut album, with a few b-sides thrown in for good measure. They are then sent out on tour - at the end of which the record label will demand a follow-up (unless the first album completely bombed or the band imploded). Only they haven't had time to write any new songs. There might be a few old tunes knocking around, but if they weren't used on the first album they're likely to be - at best - second-rate.

The Black Crowes were famously derisive of the Quireboys after the US rockers turned around The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion in eight days, while Spike at al spent a year on Bitter Sweet and Twisted. It must be noted however that neither album was as good as its predecessor.

But not every band has fallen after the first hurdle. Here's a wholly personal and non-exhaustive selection of superior non-debuts:

The Stooges: Fun House
Taking its title from the nickname given to their living quarters (essentially a shooting gallery), 'Loose', 'T,V. Eye' and '1970' form the backbone of an album that manages to be dirtier even than their 1969 debut.

The Only Ones: Even Serpents Shine
The debut may have had 'Another Girl, Another Planet' but its follow-up is the more consistent.

Jacobites: Robespierre's Velvet Basement
The self-titled debut is largely unlistenable. The ambitious follow-up (originally planned as a double-album but trimmed down on initial release) sees ex-Dogs D'Amour guitarist Dave Kusworth take his place as equal alongside Nikki Sudden to better effect.

Hanoi Rocks: Back to Mystery City
The debut was great, but Oriental Beat was patchy. By their third album Razzle had replaced Gyp Casino and Back to Mystery City gave them their big - and ultimately ill-feted - break.

Redd Kross: Third Eye
Previously discussed here, this was the Macdonald brothers fourth album. Although that's perhaps being a bit generous towards 1982's Born Innocent.

Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street
Perhaps the best exception to the rule. This was their 10th album, and was the fourth in a series of excellent releases going back to Beggars Banquet.

See also:
Albums I still listen to 15/20 years on ....

The Nymphs - self-titled

Before the world was given Courtney Love and Hole we had Inger Lorre and The Nymphs. The story of Lorre and her band is pretty screwed-up, and although loaded with many of the usual tales of excess (such as the infamous story where, after constant frustration with their label, Geffen, Lorre urinated over A&R man Tom Zutaut's desk), it has more than its fair share of personal disasters, such as the death of Lorre's boyfriend Chris Schlosshardt, bassist in the Sea Hags, her subsequent time spent in rehab and the ill-feted friendship and musical dabblings with Jeff Buckley. Even now the problems continue - Inger Lorre was planning to perform live on November 13th but that's been cancelled due to hospitalisation.

There's an excellent write-up on the Nymphs over on Sleazegrinder.

For anyone who missed them (and I feel fortunate to have caught them at the Marquee on their 1992 tour), they were for a short while one of the most talked about bands on the circuit. Their one album, The Nymphs, eventually came out after much wrangling and, most significantly, their record label taking away the producer, Mike Clink, to work on GnR's 'Use Your Illusion' albums (hence the desk incident). At times very dark, almost gothic, its mix of glam, punk and grunge makes it one of the more interesting albums of the early 90s. Samples can be heard at http://www.myspace.com/thenymphsrock.