New York Across the Water

Dancing Backwards in High Heels--New York Dolls--Narrows alum David Johansen, along with the other original Doll, Sylvain Sylvain, and other players gathered recorded this in Newcastle, England and mixed it there and in California.

But from note one it sounds New York, circa 1966, in the lyrics, in the noisy reverb-soaked production, and as they show their devotion to girl groups like the Shangri-Las, particularly in their backing vocals. Check out the video for "Fool for You Baby (Dom Dom Dippy). "

At this writing they're touring with hair metallers Motley Crue and Poison, two groups who borrows their looks if not their sound from the Dolls. A quick comparison: the Dolls in 1973. Fast-forward a decade and a half for Poison.

A clangy, goofy recording (lyrics like "Mello like a cello like Pablo Casals" and "I'm so fabulous, you're Las Vegius") that, in parts, sounds straight from a soundtrack of a "hip" 1960s movie. Garage rock, replete with a farfisa organ. Nobody makes records like this.