New York Dolls - The Second Disc

Let Him Run Wild: Rhino’s Record Store Day Slate Includes Brian Wilson, David Bowie, The Doors, Talking Heads, Black Sabbath, Joni Mitchell, More

February 4, 2026 by Joe Marchese | 8 Comments

Today’s the day! The Record Store Day list is here, ramping up anticipation for the annual event which takes place at brick-and-mortar stores on Saturday, April 18. As expected, Rhino is leading the RSD pack with a whopping slate of over 50 titles scheduled to arrive in independent shops everywhere. The label has brought out many of its heaviest hitters, including David Bowie, The Doors, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Grateful Dead, Rod Stewart, Talking Heads, and Brian Wilson, among others. Head over to RecordStoreDay.com for the complete list of participating stores (and…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Box Sets, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

The Weekend Stream: March 8, 2025

March 8, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week’s offerings are particularly reflective, packed with tributes and goodbyes (both editorial and musical) and a little dust of new Disney magic. Dolly Parton, “If You Hadn’t Been There” (Butterfly) (iTunes / Amazon) On her first day in Nashville at the age of 18, a rising country musician named Dolly Parton had a chance encounter with Carl Dean, owner of a local asphalt business, at a laundromat. In 1966,…

Categories:

The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Country, Electronic, Pop, R&B/Soul, Soundtracks

Tags:

Badfinger, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, David Johansen, Dolly Parton, Joey Molland, Kenny Rogers, Levert, New York Dolls, Rachel Zegler

Ace Round-Up, Part One: Spotlight on “The Chips Moman Songbook” and “Jon Savage’s 1972-1976”

August 31, 2021 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Ace Records has had quite a 2021, from collections spotlighting the songs of Lou Reed and Donovan through this past week’s releases from Petula Clark, late producer Norman Whitfield, and the ladies of Motown. Today, we’re taking a look at a pair of recent releases from the venerable label. Lincoln Wayne “Chips” Moman (1937-2016) may never have become a household name, but the music he helped create certainly did. A guitarist, producer, songwriter, and engineer, Moman pioneered the sound of Stax Records before forming his own American Sound Studio in Memphis. Ace…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Alice Cooper, B.J. Thomas, Cher, Chips Moman, Dana Gillespie, David Bowie, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Lou Reed, New York Dolls, Various Artists, Willie Nelson, Yoko Ono

Wake Up You Sleepy Head: “Oh! You Pretty Things” Collects 66 Glam Rock Nuggets

April 12, 2021 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

Oh! You Pretty Things: David Bowie’s 1971 song became an anthem for the glam era: “Don’t you know you’re driving your mothers and fathers insane? Let me make it plain, you gotta make way for the homo superior…” Bowie’s alien persona – androgynous, dangerous, sexy, and flamboyant – connected with youth and caused a stir among their parents. The song’s title has now been adopted by a new 3-CD box set from Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint. Alas, “Oh! You Pretty Things” doesn’t appear anywhere on the collection. If Bowie’s recording couldn’t be…

Categories:

News, Reviews

Formats:

Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Dana Gillespie, David Bowie, Electric Light Orchestra, Hawkwind, Lou Reed, Mick Ronson, New York Dolls, Roxy Music, Sparks, The Kinks

Endless Party: Cherry Red Collects New York Dolls’ Demos and Live Shows on “Personality Crisis”

June 13, 2018 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Call them hard rock, call them proto-punk, call them glam-punk or a combination of the three, but when The New York Dolls burst onto the downtown Manhattan scene in 1971, they were unlike any other band in town – or perhaps on the planet. The Dolls – lead vocalist David Johansen, rhythm guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, lead guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan (who replaced the late Billy Murcia) – might have emerged as a response to the studied musicianship of so-called progressive rock and the bright, sanitized…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Personality Crisis: “Lipstick, Powder and Paint” Reveals New York Dolls’ Inspirations

October 9, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

“While I was layin’ in a hospital bed/A rock ‘n’ roll nurse went to my head/She says, ‘Hold out your arm, stick out yo’ tongue/I got some pills, boy, I’m ‘a give you one!” It was no surprise that The New York Dolls – crown princes of debauchery, seventies-style – would include a cover of Bo Diddley’s oddly jaunty 1961 single “Pills” on their 1973 debut album. While The Dolls – lead vocalist David Johansen, rhythm guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, lead guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan (who…

Categories:

News, Reviews

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

New York Dolls, Otis Redding, The Four Tops, The Shangri-Las

Out of the Shadow(s): Morton’s Story Features Shangri-Las, Vanilla Fudge, New York Dolls

September 10, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

A scrappy street fighter with a knack for teenage melodrama, George “Shadow” Morton lived with a “self-invented mythology,” in the words of Jerry Leiber. But his work with The Shangri-Las, Janis Ian, The New York Dolls and many more solidified Morton’s place as a real-life “leader of the pack.” Ace’s new anthology Sophisticated Boom Boom: The Shadow Morton Story (CDTOP 1369) brings the songwriter and producer out of the shadow and into the (spot)light. In a 1968 Time Magazine blurb:, Morton once claimed, “I am the greatest producer in the business. I…

Categories:

News, Reviews

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

New York Dolls, Shadow Morton, The Shangri-Las, Vanilla Fudge

Kick Out The Jams: Omnivore, Rhino Team for “CBGB” with The Police, Talking Heads, Television, MC5

August 5, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Though CBGB closed its doors at 315 Bowery on October 15, 2006 following a concert by Patti Smith, the legendary New York club never truly disappeared. Though plans to open a new location in Las Vegas fell through – some might say, mercifully! – Hilly Krystal’s famous club has survived in spirit. CBGB Radio launched in 2010, the CBGB Festival of music hit the Big Apple in 2012, and the original awning even migrated to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This October, CBGB gets another lease on life with the…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

New York Dolls, Talking Heads, The Police, The Velvet Underground

Culture Factory Reveals “Supreme” Slate with Motown, James Taylor, Robert Palmer and More [UPDATED]

March 28, 2013 by Joe Marchese | 33 Comments

supremes cream of the crop paper sleeve1

UPDATE: In the days since this article has been posted, Culture Factory has revised the street dates for all of the titles mentioned here. See below for corrected information as of March 28, 2013. ORIGINAL POST OF 3/25: Since its inaugural wave of releases in 2011, the Culture Factory label has carved out a niche in the catalogue field. Artists such as Robert Palmer, Hot Tuna, Paul Williams, Bob Welch, The Flamin’ Groovies, Sylvie Vartan, Rare Earth and The Motels are all among the recipients of the Culture Factory treatment. The label’s…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

New York Dolls, Robert Palmer, The Supremes