New York Dolls (album)

New York Dolls (album)

New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolleds. It was released on July 27, 1973, by Mercury Records. The album was met with widespread critical acclaim but sold poorly and polarized listeners. The group was an influential precursor to the 1970s punk rock movement.

About New York Dolls (album) in brief

Summary New York Dolls (album)New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolleds. It was released on July 27, 1973, by Mercury Records. The album was met with widespread critical acclaim but sold poorly and polarized listeners. It has since been named in various publications as one of the best debut records in rock music. The group was an influential precursor to the 1970s punk rock movement as the group’s crude musicianship and youthful attitude on the album threatened the prevailing trend of musical sophistication in popular music, particularly progressive rock. The band proved difficult to market outside their native New York and developed a reputation for rock-star excesses while touring the United States in support of the album. In March 1973, the group signed a two-album deal with a US USD $25,000 advance from Mercury. In the years leading up to the album, the Dolls had developed a local fanbase by playing regularly in lower Manhattan after forming in 1971. However, most music producers and record companies were reluctant to work with them because of their vulgarity and onstage fashion as well as homophobia in New York; the group later appeared in exaggerated drag on thealbum cover for shock value. After signing a contract with Mercury, the band recorded their first album with producer Todd Rundgren, who was known for his sophisticated pop tastes and held a lukewarm opinion of the band. Despite stories of conflicts during the recording sessions, lead singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain later said R Dundgren successfully captured how the band sounded live.

According to Sylvain, some of the members of the group had to sign for them because they were not old enough to sign themselves. In October 1972, they opened for English rock band the Faces at the Empire Pool in Wembley. On their first tour of England that year, they enlisted Jerry Nolan as his replacement, while managers Marty Thau, Steve Leber, and David Krebs still struggled to find the band a record deal. After returning to New York, they played to capacity crowds at venues such as Max’s Kansas City and the Mercer Arts Center in what Sylvain called a determined effort to ‘fake it until they could make it’ The group’s first meeting with Mercury executives was in Chicago, when Johansen fell asleep in a conference room while they discussed potential producers. At the meeting, Johansen awoke in a stardard by a musician who had achieved unexpected stardom by 1972. He and Sylvain recalled, \”We just said ‘Hey, maybe this will get us some chicks.’That seemed like a good enough reason.'” The group originally planned to work in the clothing business and opened a boutique on Lexington Avenue that was across the street from a toy repair shop called the New York dolls Hospital, which gave them the idea for their name. Arthur even called his bass ‘Excalibur’ after King Arthur. It was crazy. We acted like we were already rock stars. The group soon began playing regularly and earned a cult following within a few months.