The Only CD You can Currently Find of the Dolls
Pablo De Sevilla | Dallas, TX USA | 10/23/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Doll By Doll exploded and then flared out on the pop/rock/punk scene in the UK between 1979 and 1982. In that short time they produced four albums, all of which are worth a listen on vinyl. Beautiful deep lyrics drawing on poetry and literature, music that varied all over the place, from folk to punk, to pop, to doo-wop, all anchored in Jackie Leven's unbelievable vocals, ranging from sweet falsetto to deep baritone. Most people just didn't "get" them and they never met much success. For those who did "get" it, listening to Doll By Doll was a life altering experience. Mine was listening to Main Travelled Roads and Perfect Suicide. In my view, the only "rock poet" close to Jackie Leven is Jim Morrison.
Now, after a life threatening attack in which his throat was slit, severely damaging Jackie's instrument, his vocal chords, heroine addiction, recovery, setting up a charity, Jackie is back on the music scene with a great set of solo albums. However, Doll By Doll were never issued on CD -- for fans without turntables and no cassettes, all that was left was a couple of guest appearances by fellow Dolls on a couple of Jackie Leven albums. Until now.
This was originally a fan club only release. It's a live performance of most of their first album, Remember. The sound is fairly dead (off the sound board) and you can't hear the crowd at all. However, it's an edgy, dark, aggressive performance, and for those who haven't listened to Remember or Doll by Doll for over a decade, this brings the memories flooding back. Great album, great performance, flat sound, hence four stars. If there's any justice, all the Doll by Doll catalogue would be re-released.
"Walking backwards through the snow, baby please don't you go-oh-oh-oh ..." from Janice -- just utterly beautiful."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1