The New York Dolls – All Dolled Up (Music)

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: B     Music Performances: B

 

 

The story of The New York Dolls is one of the great tragedies of Rock and Roll.  The early 70’s were a time when music was trying desperately to redefine itself.  The Dolls were at once the remnant of already passing fads and the herald of a brand new movement.  On the one hand they embodied the rock spirit of the Stones, with many of the same influences and stage antics.  They wrapped this up in the then-current Glam finery, though unlike their androgynous British counterparts the Doll maintained their testosterone.  Musically they were loud and raw, ushering in and influencing the era of Punk, and later, Hair Metal.  This new DVD entitled All Dolled Up collects them in their early prime.

In 1972, Bob Gruen bought a videotape machine and followed the Dolls around.  According to the DVD booklet, the “Sony Portapak was a half inch black and white, mono sound, reel-to-reel battery operated portable video recorder.”  As a result the video and sound quality of this documentary is questionable at best.  As an invaluable piece of music history, that doesn’t really matter very much.  All Dolled Up is not only a history of the New York Dolls, but a look into the era as well.

There are plenty of live performances, including looks into the legendary Max’s Kansas City in New York and the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles. The difference in the East and West coast audiences is profound to watch.  The Dolls hosted a Halloween show at the Waldorf Astoria, bringing the youth culture with them into the staid atmosphere of the classic hotel. A news crew interviews a lot of the audience.  At the time these kids must have seemed like aliens to the general public.  In one news clip included on the disc we see a very young Joel Siegel trying desperately to explain the group.  Though apparent he just doesn’t get it, the clip does show just how radical and scary the Dolls were at the time.

The 1.33 X 1 black and white videotaped image looks about as good as it can in this old format.  We just came across similar footage in the Jimi Hendrix – Live At Woodstock set which was shot on film, but included tape from the same format for comparison.  See that review elsewhere on this site.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is the old monophonic tracks, magnetically taped on those reels.  Analog FM Hi-Fi Stereo or Mono had not come to tape until later in the VHS and Beta consumer era, so this is about as good as it is going to get.  The DVD includes a lot of extras, including an extensive photo section, an interview with Bob Gruen, and two separate commentary tracks, one by Bob Gruen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, and the second by lead vocalist David Johansen.

The Dolls split up in 1975, and although the DVD claims they reunited in 2004, that isn’t exactly true.  Part of the tragedy of the New York Dolls was their self-destructive behavior.  Drugs and alcohol took their toll on them more heavily than many bands.  By 2004 three of the original members, Johnny Thunders, Arthur Kane, and Jerry Nolan, were all dead.  Only Johansen and Sylvain were around to participate in the reunion.  The band was rounded out with other people.  They were poised for greatness then, but fell apart before it could ever happen.  Thirty years later they are seen as the significant influence that they were.

 

 

-   Wayne Wise

 

 

Wayne Wise is a native of Southwestern Pennsylvania currently residing in Pittsburgh.  He has earned a Masters degree in clinical psychology and undergraduate degrees in psychology and history.  He has worked as a freelance journalist for over ten years.  In 1993, he co-created a comic book called Grey Legacy.  In 2002 his first novel, King of Summer, was published.  You can go to www.wayne-wise.com and learn more.