DOWN TO KILL
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Free Music Notes for DOWN TO KILL
Free Music Review: all good
Hit: 5 Stars
The studio disk is great, quite different versions of the songs you've heard 5,000,000 times, the live set from '77 can't be beat and the DVD rocks with a couple of very funny scenes and a wicked "Pipeline". Get it if you love rock and roll. Oh, as usual the world's most under-appreciated drummer, Jerry Nolan kicks it. There will never be another band like the Heartbreakers.Free Music Review: Thunder's Rules!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Essential for every Thunders/Heartbreakers fan. Quality is great and the complete Speakeasy is the icing on the cake. You owe it to yourself to have this record. Why these guys aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame boggles the mind.Free Music Review: Enjoyable for serious fans
Hit: 4 Stars
For those interested, here's what this collects:
- CD 1 is a collection of demos and assorted tracks entitled RAW & RARE. It's a hodgepodge that will appeal really only to serious fans; everyone else is just fine with a copy of L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes. For those serious fans, here's what you get:
Tracks #1-8 are demos from a never-before-circulated demo session (to the best of my knowledge) recorded sometime in 1976. The sound quality is good -- not as good as later demos from VINTAGE '77 -- but crisp and clear, if mixed a little muddily. The performance are energetic and loose. The real find here is the only known Heartbreakers' studio version of "Take a Chance". Heard here, it's not hard to see why they didn't choose to revisit it for L.A.M.F. the next year.
Track #9 comes from an earlier 1975 demo session when Richard Hell was still a member of the Heartbreakers. "Flight" is/was a Walter Lure showcase. This 1975 demo session contains the only studio recordings of the Heartbreakers with Richard Hell and is pretty fascinating, but you'll only find "Flight" here. 4 other tracks from this session appear on Hell's Time, and one appears on the Punk Legends: American Roots compilation. Several other tracks -- including an early take of Hell's "You Gotta Lose", and Thunders doing "Pirate Love" and "I Wanna Be Loved" -- circulate in lo-fi among collectors, but have never been released. That's a shame. Oddly, "Flight" (heard here) has better fidelity than anything previous released officially -- is there a complete session in this sound quality waiting for an official release?
Speaking of Walter Lure, track is a 1985 cover of a Rolling Stones song recorded by the Ramones with Walter Lure providing a guide vocal and guitar work. Interesting, but only so-so and definitely out-of-place on this collection.
Tracks #11-12 also feature Walter Lure, but make more sense on this collection. They are from an enjoyable one-off single released under the name "Heroes" in 1978, a band that also included Billy Rath, and feature two songs well-known to New York Dolls/Heartbreakers fans.
Tracks #13-14 date from the December 1977 Heartbreakers' demo session that first surfaced on a Johnny Thunders compilation a few years ago (Born to Loose: B.O.) and were later included on the deluxe L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes reissue. A third track from that session, a cover of "Great Big Kiss", is omitted here, as it was from the L.A.M.F. reissue, too. More oddly, the tracks heard here are presented in a noticeably inferior mix to earlier releases for no good reason. Great tracks, but better heard on one of those other two collections.
- CD 2 contains the complete "Speakeasy" recording. The Speakeasy show was recorded while L.A.M.F. was being recorded (March 1977) and really captures the Heartbreakers at their peak. This material has been released in various places over the years, but I don't believe it's ever been compiled in a "complete" way before. The liner notes claim the entire show has been remixed, too. It sounds great to my ears.
- The DVD is a collection of leftover performances from the Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: Dead or Alive DVD. I've never seen the original DVD, so I can't compare it directly. There are 3 performance segments - the first with the Heartbreakers, the second Johnny solo, and the third with a slimmed-down Heartbreakers. Quality on the first two is quite good, the third not as much. There are some little extras, including a clip from a French film with Johnny in it. Interesting, but I probably won't be watching this DVD again anytime soon.
In summary, CD 2 is definitely the strongest disc of the set, but CD 1 makes a good addition for serious collectors, too.
Free Music Review: A Review of Down to Kill
Hit: 4 Stars
In summary, this is an excellent value, but I was disappointed with the DVD.
Disc 1: Demos recorded in 1976 and 1977 in the States, with some Walter Lure solo thrown in as well. The Heartbreakers demos are basically recorded live in the studio. The most interesting of the batch are Born To Lose, It's Not Enough and Take A Chance. Born To Lose features some different lyrics. It's Not Enough is all electric, and features the vocals up front so it's really easy to understand the lyrics. Take A Chance is a previously unheard Lure/Nolan composition featuring Jerry Nolan on vocals. It wouldn't have sounded out of place on LAMF. It's an entertaining listen, but there's better versions of these songs on other discs.
Disc 2 is the best of the lot: The complete Live at the Speakeasy! Recorded 3/15/1977. The Heartbreakers are on fire this night, and these live recordings sounds a heck of a lot better than the original release of LAMF. This is essential listening in my opinion.
Disc 3: The DVD was all recorded in 1984, except for some of the extras. This is by far the biggest disappointment. The first part is outtakes from Dead Or Alive. On two of the songs the sound is bootleg quality. On the other two the sound is much better, but it's because it comes from the previous night. The singing and playing is clearly out of synch.
Next up is Johnny acoustic in the studio. I'm not particularily a big fan of Johnny's acoustic side, but I like to hear Sad Vacation anytime. Other than that I don't find it interesting. But if you like Johnny's acoustic music you'll like this set. Finally we get some songs recorded live at the Marquee. The Heartbreakers are a trio now, without Walter Lure. Johnny responds by playing some of his best guitar ever. IMO, they should just have shown this whole set and done away with everything else. Instead we get 6 songs, and the first 2 are edited. Here's to hoping that the whole show was filmed and a DVD will someday be released. The extras aren't worth more than one view, except for the french film clip which is worth no view. It's excruciating.
All in all, This is a good mix of material and deserves 4 stars. I'm bummed by the DVD portion, but considering the low cost of the package, and the lack of J.T. live recordings, I think 4 stars is appropriate.