The New York Dolls were in a bit of a pickle around this time. Although their first album was an instant classic, it sold very poorly, despite praise from critics who recognised the band’s potential. The band sought out a new producer, Shadow Morton and decided for the second album to use some leftover songs, alongside some covers. This album did not fare very well either, and their label Mercury Records dropped them shortly after it was released, which was a sad fate for the New York Dolls. Although this is not seen to be as amazing as their debut album by listeners, it is still seen as a proto-Punk record that is worth hearing. The album was recorded at A&R studios and was released on 10 May 1974. The New York Dolls were: David Johansen (vocals); Arthur “Killer” Kane (bass guitar); Jerry Nolan (drums and percussion); Sylvain Sylvain (guitars, piano and vocals) and Johnny Thunders (guitars and vocals). Let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. Babylon begins with a wolf whistle of sorts and enters into a raunchy and dirty-sounding Rock tune that sounds really cool and excellent. This is much better than expected and it is raw, rocking and driven throughout. An awesome song to hear, this music has genuinely great appeal, especially for Classic Rock fans. In any case, this tune reveals itself to be a magical and catchy piece of music that sounds great. Pounding drums and harmonies are present, just before a rip-roaring guitar solo section that sounds absolutely awesome. This is more expressive and different than The Rolling Stones were, although these guys were no doubt influenced by the Stones. The tune is a really glorious and great piece to listen to, and it sounds musically magical. A top tune about travelling to Babylon, this is an energetic and expressive song that no doubt Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols would have learned as the guitarist from the Sex Pistols. A great tune.

2. Stranded In The Jungle begins with some pounding drums and kookaburra imitations, alongside some monkey impressions. This quickly launches into an excellent tune with some interesting singing and chanting throughout. A quirky and different tune with some awesome guitars to listen to. It quickly changes into a superb change with doo wops, harmonies and some other nicely played saxophone and guitars. It alternates between the main song and the jungle section, the latter of which has some great chanting. Nonetheless, this quirky tune is still worth listening to, despite the fact that it borderlines on self-parody from the New York Dolls. Still, it retains its energy and freshness from over the decades. Some wacky and interesting sounds are present in this song, and the monkey and kookaburra impressions sound surreal. In any case, this music is definitely a winner of a listen. The loud and dirty-sounding guitars throughout are really excellent to hear. An awesome tune, period. This does sound pretty cool from start to finish. Out there.

3. Who Are The Mystery Girls? begins with some guitar harmonics and whammy bar work, before launching into a loud, raunchy guitar section and the rest of the band following. Again, this is a solid listen and it does its best to impress the listener to want to pick up a guitar and play it for hours and hours on end. An enjoyable and upbeat tune with some sexually based lyrics, this is a thoroughly interesting song that still sounds great today. The guitar solo section is impressive and manic sounding. This song and album deserve more credit musically than what it currently has. A powerful and punchy tune with some sexual and violence-based lyrics, set to a genuine Classic Rock backdrop. The song wraps up with repeated lyrics and harmonies, before slowing down and concluding. Awesome. The outro is cool.

4. (There’s Gonna Be A) Showdown begins with some quiet guitars and drums, with some vocals on the top. This is a cover song, but the New York Dolls breathe life into this tune. A good song, this is so far a very awesome and underrated Glam Rock album. This simple and raunchy Rock Music will live on for generations to come, it just sounds absolutely uplifting and top-notch throughout. The electric guitar playing in particular sounds really fantastic, beating anything that David Bowie was doing at the time. A really fantastic and powerful tune, even for a cover song, this has excitement and momentum throughout. It seemed that there was more than meets the eye with these dudes. Sure, a lot of people at the time dismissed these guys as just a joke band in drag, but it is clear that they had great tunes as well. Very wonderful to hear. Uplifting from start to finish.

5. It’s Too Late begins with some nice drumming, and harmonica (unusually for the New York Dolls) and enters into a powerful, punchy and awesome song with a rumbling bassline and proto-Dead Kennedys guitars. This quickly enters into a rough, raw and raunchy piece of Rock Music. This is one of the better songs from this album, and it sounds very sweet and powerfully awesome to listen to. A great song to listen to, perhaps the New York Dolls knew their time was up, given this song and the album title? Regardless, this is a fantastic-sounding song that is a blueprint for the future of music for the rest of the 1970s. A really lively, punchy and top tune that sounds inimitable and wonderful throughout. This music is immortal, it will never die. A fantastic and interesting piece of punchy music to hear. The harmonica throughout this song is an excellent addition to this raunchy, down and dirty Blues-based music. The New York Dolls sound absolutely awesome throughout, and they deliver a great musical statement from start to finish. The guitar playing in particular is awesome. Johnny Thunders, true to his name, makes a deliberate impact on this album. A great listen, once again. It fades out nicely at the end.

6. Puss ‘N’ Boots begins with some loud singing, and dirty electric guitars and enters into a solidly sexual song that sounds really great. A cool, memorable and interesting song that tells the story of the ladies of the night. This music has some interesting guitar playing and harmonies in the style of The Beach Boys, which is a bit different. The guitar solo present is absolutely fantastic, showcasing what a great-sounding Gibson Les Paul can do. Indeed, this music is a serious winner to listen to. A delicious sounding and warped tune that has a definite good groove to it. The New York Dolls had many great songs on their first two albums, and this is direct proof of that. An awesome and lively listen from start to finish. A really awesome tune. Worth hearing every moment.

7. Chatterbox begins with a count-in and quickly enters into a good song with some high-octave vocals from the New York Dolls. This is an iconic song for fans of the Glam Rock band to listen to. It’s a mockery, but a good one at that. One can easily listen to this tune and hear where the first wave of Punk musicians got their inspirational music from. Nonetheless, this does sound impressive and amazing throughout. The music is insanely lively and powerful to hear. A really sensational and great tune to listen to, the New York Dolls were more than just cross-dressing men, they could Rock out, too. Excellent song with memorable guitar playing throughout.

8. Bad Detective is a cover of a song by The Coasters. It begins with a gong hit, and a mock East Asian riffing piece. Soon enough this enters into a piece that references China and Hong Kong with some interesting lyrics throughout. This strange and wacky tune sounds like a very uplifting and punchy tune that is stripped down and powerful Rock Music that sounds really fantastic to hear. An underrated gem of a song, the East Asian-styled guitar riff returns before the song continues on with blazing glory. An awesome tune that deserves to be heard by others more often, the New York Dolls were extremely good at their craft. This is very, very good. The music is decent and interesting enough to listen to and enjoy, with some screaming towards the end. The song finishes with some guitar riffs and another gong hit. Sweet.

9. Don’t Start Me Talking is a Sonny Boy Williamson II cover. It begins with loud guitars, harmonica and pounding drums. It launches into a fantastic piece of music that comes alive and powerfully in a New York Dolls-styled approach. Extremely awesome and interesting listening throughout, this music is a warped yet welcome listen in an old school Rock Music way. Extremely cool, there is a harmonica solo towards the midsection of this song. This is descriptively sweet and beautiful. Descending piano then occurs, and this tune launches into further action. Johnny Thunders is an underrated guitarist, period. He plays like a madman on this tune, soloing away like crazy. It gets fairly noisy towards the end and sounds absolutely awesome. A great cover song that sounds very punchy and lively throughout. Great stuff, through and through.

10. Human Being is the final song of the album, running for nearly six minutes in length. It begins with some loud and dirty guitars, leading into a gloriously powerful and unique listen. The tune itself is direct, powerful and amazing, with some awesome call-and-response guitar playing. This is sensationally good and the music sounds really punchy and completely different to most music before or since in music history. A really great and awesome tune to listen to, this song is a winner. Not a bad track is present on this album, and this music works some considerable magic throughout for that specific reason. A fantastic listen, this music is as powerful as a punch in the face. It has some excellent worth as a song and we are fortunate that the band recorded this as they knew that the end was nigh for them as a band. A strong and powerful tune. In the second half is an extended jam with saxophone, duelling guitars and drums in the background. The New York Dolls sound really amazing, even today. The singing resumes as we gradually approach the end of this song. Johnny Thunders can play a mean guitar, too. Period. This tune continues on to the jam section returning, and the saxophone present is beautifully glorious. Think along the lines of Roxy Music musically, and you are halfway there. This fades out the main jam, just leaving multitracked horns to conclude with. A nice touch.

This album is one of the most underrated Classic Rock albums in the history of music. It sounds great, has some impressive playing (including the seminal legendary guitarist Johnny Thunders) and more importantly, deserves more praise today than it ever had in the past. Rock Music was about to develop into Punk Music in the late 1970s, and this album is one of the primary influences behind the latter movement. Should you listen to this album? If you like Rock Music of any sort, you will not want to miss this out. Fans of Psychedelic Music and Electronic Music will not enjoy this, however.

One of the most underrated Rock Music albums to date.

9/10