Search - Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers :: L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes

"Living in a jungle/ It ain't so hard"

Laszlo Matyas | 07/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Heartbreakers were the Ramones with all the cuteness taken out. Their approach to rock 'n' roll was brutal and elemental, a vicious swagger that had more to do with Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, and 60s garage rock than the Sex Pistols. In a way, L.A.M.F. sounds like a punk rock reworking of Exile On Main Street. It maintains that classic's shambling, atmospheric haze, but filters it through distorted power chords, drunken vocals, and drug-fueled desperation. L.A.M.F. is a wild 'n' wooly good time, but it's dark under the surface: It's the sound of a band being swallowed by apathy and addiction, but who're determined to have a good time while waiting for their lives to fall apart. The result? A lot of storming guitar runs, bloody-minded humor, boozed up 50s melodies, and amphetamine garage punk. There are plenty of classics: "Chinese Rocks" is a miserable good time, and "Baby Talk" is the most appealing slab of chaos rock since the Velvet Underground unleashed "Sister Ray." "I Love You" is violent girl-group pop, and "It's Not Enough" is sleazy and catchy and wonderful. It's a damn punk classic, and no decent rock 'n' roll collection is complete without it."

Loonies Ate My Family

Paul Ess. | Holywell, N.Wales,UK. | 12/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'LAMF' is one of those 'seminal' albums, reverentially whispered about and discussed in hushed, worshipful tones. Laid down as influence to everybody from the Pistols to Snow Patrol and hundreds beyond, but it's a sad, rather disconcerting stat, that here on our very lovely new Amazon pages, it's garnered a paltry 14 reviews,(15 if you count this one, providing I tow the line and don't get all rebellious and start gobbing and swearing) while poser-appeasing nonsense like the hugely disappointing 'London Calling' accumulates a massive 450 or so. There's just no justice in the world.



'LAMF' is a rollicking power-house of an album, a force of nature. Johnny Thunders has an inimitable guitar style (though, significantly, Steve Jones' wall of noise for the Pistols bears noticable resemblance) and here beats the idea to submission.

Ear-tremblingly loud riffing, hotter than molten bitumen. You can gleefully detect slivers of Richards and from further back, little shards of Wray and Berry deep in it's worrying decibels. It's a wrist-slashingly potent statement, as positive and inspiring as all its gleaming ancestors.



'LAMF' transcends stoopid labels like 'punk' and 'new wave'. It's one in the eye for those obsequious, unimaginative squirts obsessed with categorizing and pigeon-holing everything that's not already dispassionately tagged up.

It sounds eerily fresh and new, it still has enough power to re-start a small planet but it appears classier than it's modern offspring. Still manages to be casually, disdainfully more impressive than it's prodigious but regrettably common-or-garden descendants.



Respect to original producer Speedy Keen and re-mixers Jungle Records for making the whole caboodle sound more electrifying than it's ever done. Good lyric booklet too, with useful comments by singer/guitarist Walter Lure.



There's a thought; Lure, Rath, Hell, Thunders - what kind of degenerate would have role-models like these...?

I'd be worried how they turned out...."

Punk, rock'n'roll and boogie rock. 85/100

dfle3 | Australia | 10/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
This is a review of the two cd edition which this site doesn't seem to acknowledge, although I do think that the cd that this review is linked to is the same one I bought from this site. What made buying this cd 'do-able' was the fact that you hear the first version of "Chinese rocks" on this album. When I heard this song for the first time on the 2 cd Ramones' anthology, I immediately loved it. The Heartbreakers are a band which, like Australian band Radio Birdman, often get labelled "proto-punk". In the case of both of these bands, I'm happy to call both of them "punk" although they do make music which transcends that boundary. They're punk enough, in any case. The sound quality on this cd is excellent. Musically, the songs range from punk, to rock'n'roll to boogie rock type of songs. Occasionally lead singer Johnny Thunders wears his Mick Jagger/Rolling Stones influences on his sleeve...or vocals, to be more precise.





The best song:





Chinese rocks - has some heavy metal type lead guitar flourishes in this song. There's not much difference between this version and the Ramones' later version. Former Heartbreaker Richard Hell did an inferior version of this song during his time in this band...well, it wasn't really a punk song the way he sang it. Check out the Hell anthology "Spurts" for his version. Anyway, this is a catchy song with a great riff. On the last six seconds of this track you hear a click...would have been good to have had that removed for this version. I listen to cds on headphones, so it might be less noticeable on loudspeakers. The lyrics to this song are grungy and anti-glam.





On second listen, the next best songs were:





All by myself - not a bad song...catchy, with a swing to it. Sometimes bassy, it has a catchy chorus too.



Get off the phone - one of the punk type songs on this album. Has a punk style bass run and the guitars have a punk tone to them as well. Has a jitterbug type vibe to it and the lyrics, sung at speed, gives it a punk vibe too.



It's not enough - catchy track, with Jagger-ish singing. The guitars have a country flavour to them. Bass noticeable and the track is also noteable for the good guitar solo in it.







Best after that:







One track mind - guitars sound punk/fuzz-rock. The guitar solo is pure punk. The verses are catchy in this song and I really like the cool drum fills at the start and later on.



I love you - has more Mick Jagger type singing. Drums have a nice tone to them and the track is sort of boogie rock.







The rest of CD 1:





Born to lose - qualifies as a punk song, I think, with the guitar sound and vocals. Rooted in 1950's style rock'n'roll, it has punk attitude in its lyrics too: "Nothing to do, nothing to say". Guitar solo featured.



Baby talk -like much punk, it draws on 1950s rock'n'roll forms. Has a very interesting drumming pattern. The guitar solo is also 50's style and the riff is catchy too. Features backing vocals.



I wanna be loved - maybe you could call this a "rock-a-billy" type song. The guitar riff seems to be a variation on the preceding track, I think.



Pirate love - a hard rock song rooted in the 1950's style. One of those "boogie rock" type songs I alluded to earlier. Think Status Quo and AC/DC type boogie rock. Good bass guitar in this song...run and riff, perhaps.



Goin' steady - has a bassy rhythm which is very familiar, I think. Not sure, maybe Ramones did this song too? Or maybe I'm thinking of a surf-rock type of song which this song reminds me of. Not sure.



Let go - a 50's style rock'n'roll song. On the second cd, this song sounds more rockabilly. And the track length is also a bit dodgy...the digital counter lists it at 3:17 but it seems to run at 2:24...not fresh in my memory, so I'll just have to note the disparity here.



Can't keep my eyes on you - more boogie rock. Also sounds like a Status Quo type song.



Do you love me? - a punk cover version with Jagger type vocals.







The 2nd CD:







Of particular interest on this cd is...





London Boys - The Sex Pistols wrote a song called "New York" which was a king-hit on the band "The New York Dolls", which had Johnny Thunders as a member. Thunders takes the opportunity to reply to this attack on this song, with The Heartbreakers. He has a terrific handle on the English "Yob" type of character...the song sounds like a chant you'd hear at a Manchester United v Liverpool F.A.Cup final encounter. Thunders can also be said to be impersonating The Sex Pistols' lead singer Johnny Rotten in this song. Personally, I would have liked this song to be a bonus track on the 1st cd. Last week I reviewed The Sex Pistols debut album which has their attack on The New York Dolls ("New York") on it. That's a good song in itself. Thunders' track is also stinging in intent and execution.



The rest...lots of alternative versions and instrumental versions (and out-takes) of the songs from the first cd. I liked "All by myself" the best the best from it, then "It's not enough", which has a country flavour to it, Jagger-ish vocals and a nice ringing tone to the duelling guitars. "One track mind" isn't a bad song either...good drum intro, good guitar solo and a good singing rhythm too. In general, the second cd had a "Once bitten twice shy" vibe to the material (hopefully I'm reading my notes right here! Been a little while since I listened to this). There is one 'new' song on the second cd: "Too much junkie business" which is cautionary tale on the dangers of drugs. Has good guitar solos in it.





Recommedations:







New York Dolls - New York Dolls. Thunders' first band, I think. Reviewed it here recently. It's rock'n'roll and boogie type rock. A very good album from "Frankenstein" onwards.



Radio Birdman - Radios Appear. Contemporaries of The Heartbreakers and Australian punk pioneers The Saints. Very good debut album which has some jazzy type tracks on it, which fans of The Stooges "Fun House" may enjoy.



The Saints - (I'm) Stranded. The next punk album off the rank after the Ramones' debut. The most seminal of the early punk albums, I think.



The Damned - Damned, damned, damned. The first of the British punk bands to release an album. Good, pub rock based punk...quite laddish too."