David Johansen Albums (8)
What The Critics Say
When one looks back at David Johansen's body of work, it's not difficult to get the feeling you're watching an actor who has slipped in and out of a number of character roles over the years; there was the trashy glam punk libertine of his New York Dolls days, the swaggering hard rock belter on his '70s and '80s solo albums, the over-the-top devotee of vintage-nightclub sounds known as Buster Poindexter, and now the grizzled bluesman who cuts pared-to-the bone acoustic sessions with his band the Harry Smiths. Shaker is Johansen's second album with the Harry Smiths, and the set list is comprised of vintage country blues classics made famous by the likes of Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, and Charley Patton (one notable exception: "My Morphine" by Gillian Welch, which fits in seamlessly into the mix). As with much of his material from the past, the theatricality of Johansen's performance is certainly evident here, though given the purposefully sparse musical arrangements of his band, it stands out in a different degree of relief; Johansen avoids an overtone of minstrelsy as he assumes the role of an aging bluesman, but ultimately he sound like an actor on-stage giving a performance as a bluesman rather than the vintage blues singer himself. That's not to say, though, that Johansen doesn't find something pure and honest in these songs; he's always been a con brio performer, and if his touch is sometimes broad, it's also passionate and sensitive, and he doesn't over-play so much as give a dramatic reading that would befit an actor who must balance restraint with the need to communicate with the last row of the balcony. The result is a collection that honors the tenor of the classic country blues recordings while adding a tone that is pure David Johansen, and not only is his delivery strong and compelling, but his voice is more supple than it has been in years, while his musicians back him up with subtle fire. While dozens of modern blues artists have stumbled while trying to re-create the sound of the past, David Johansen has taken a genuinely different approach to that idea, and on Shaker the results are impressive indeed. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'David Johansen & the Harry Smiths'
Release Date 3/28/2000
Tracks 13
Label Chesky
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With this album, David Johansen embarks on what could possibly be the fourth phase of his career. His first three, of course, were his tenure as lead singer of the punk rock group the New York Dolls, a solo career as a mainstream rocker under his own name, and a lengthy stint as his nightclub singer alter-ego Buster Poindexter. Like that last manifestation, the "David Johansen and the Harry Smiths" act is one developed in New York clubs that has now spread to a recording. Inspired by the celebrated 1997 reissue of the Anthology of American Folk Music, a sprawling compilation of '20s and '30s country and blues recordings assembled by musicologist Harry Smith, Johansen and a quartet dubbed "the Harry Smiths" developed a repertoire of songs from the Anthology along with blues and folk-blues songs by the likes of Lightnin' Hopkins, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi John Hurt, and threw in songs Johansen had occasionally performed in his other careers -- Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talking," which the Dolls used to perform, and "Somebody Buy Me a Drink," which Buster Poindexter was known to warble now and then. The resulting set, reproduced on disc here, is a good mixture of material effectively performed. Johansen, of course, has a gruff, deep voice well-suited to blues songs and a bravura personality that can put across some of the showier numbers. Blues purists may be offended at the idea of Johansen inventing a bluesman character to sing such songs, but, as the use of his real name indicates, this is intended to be a more serious undertaking than the essentially comic Buster Poindexter show. The singer's adoption of this material is no more or less valid than that of any other urban white performer of the last 40 years, and you can hardly dismiss this as a commercial sell-out. On the contrary, the versions are low-key and true to the originals. It remains to be seen whether David Johansen will succeed in reinventing himself yet again, but on the evidence of this album, there's no reason why not. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Sweet Revenge'
Release Date 4/22/1997
Tracks 12
Label M.I.L. Multimedia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
David Johansen's 1982 live album Live It Up gained the former New York Dolls frontman some well-deserved radio and MTV airplay for his medley of a trio of hits by the Animals, but it wasn't enough to keep him from being dropped by the CBS-distributed Blue Sky label, and he cut his fifth solo set Sweet Revenge for an independent label. While Johansen and co-producer Joe Delia built most of the songs on Sweet Revenge around synthesizers, the album's sleek sound unexpectedly agreed with Johansen's tough but emotive vocal style, and the album's insistent pulse on tunes like "Big Trouble" and "Heard the News" feels like a nod to the electronic hip-hop sounds that were sweeping New York City in 1984 (when this was recorded), while "King of Babylon" is a more explicit homage to rap, with Johansen sounding more than comfortable dropping rapid-fire braggadocio. Johansen also makes room for his more contemplative side on "I Ain't Workin' Anymore" and "In My Own Time," as well as cutting loose with the rock & roll on "Too Many Midnights," and while the set closer "N.Y. Doll" is a disappointment (and has nothing to do with his old band), overall this was Johansen's most personal and reflective album since his 1978 solo debut, and boasted a gutsy immediacy that most of his previous solo work lacked. Keep an ear peeled for backing vocals by future Bruce Springsteen bandmate and domestic partner Patti Scialfa. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When David Johansen's initial solo albums failed to click with the mainstream record-buying public, he turned to live performing with a vengeance; Johansen once described his career in the early '80s as "traveling around the country in a Dodge RAM van with about six guys...(on) our typical day, we would get up, travel 400 miles, open for a heavy mental act in a hockey rink, get back in the van, travel 400 miles, sleep, get up and do the same thing again." Recorded in early 1982 as Johansen was touring in support of Here Comes the Night, Live It Up captures the sound of a well-oiled road band who've learned to work the crowd and give kids the guitar-fueled bombast they came for while trying to make room for a bit of their own personality in the process. Johansen's vocal style is more of a fierce bellow than the more exacting studio work he was doing at the time, but he sounds as passionate and committed as one might hope for from a guy plugging his way through a two-night stand in Boston, and while the crowd sometimes sounds more familiar with the covers (such as "Build Me Up Buttercup," "Reach Out I'll Be There," and a medley of Animals hits) than Johansen's originals, he delivers cult favorites like "Frenchette," "Donna," "Funky But Chic," and "Personality Crisis" like a champ. However, Johansen's band is another matter; while they never sound less than professional and enthusiastic, the streetwise spunk of the early David Johansen Group has been replaced with faceless arena rock chops, especially David Nelson and Huw Gower's lead guitars. Significantly, Live It Up earned Johansen the closest thing to a hit his solo career would produce when the Animals medley went into frequent rotation on MTV, but it's worth noting that he began formulating his second career as Buster Poindexter not long after this. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Here Comes the Night'
Release Date 1/1/1981
Tracks 11
Label Blue Sky
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On his first two solo albums, David Johansen sounded like he was trying to walk a fine line between recapturing the glorious chaos of the New York Dolls and creating a sound that better reflected his own individual personality (and might sell a few records in the process). The first half of that equation fell by the wayside while Johansen was recording his third solo set, 1981's Here Comes the Night, which plays more like a conventional hard rock album than David Johansen or In Style, especially when Blondie Chaplin cranks up his guitar on "My Obsession," "She Loves Strangers" or the title cut. However, it doesn't play that much like a conventional hard rock album; few acts reaching for the masses arena-style would have included a neo-samba number like "Marquesa De Sade" (complete with traditional Latin production), the calypso flavored "Rollin' Job," a beatnik homage like "Bohemian Love Pad," or name-checked Vincent Price on "Suspicion." Some of the more playful or willfully eccentric moments on Here Comes the Night seem to anticipate the Buster Poindexter persona Johansen would adopt later in the decade (without the aural wink and nudge), though for the most part the production and arrangements seem to run counter to his occasional bursts of creativity. Johansen's vocals are powerful and full-bodied on Here Comes the Night and there are a few fine tunes here, especially the nightlife homage of the title cut, the atmospheric "She Loves Strangers," and "Heart of Gold," a heartfelt ballad Johansen revived on the first Buster Poindexter LP. But for anyone who remembered Johansen's best work, Here Comes the Night was a real letdown despite its periodic flashes of excitement. [In 2007, American Beat Records reissued Here Comes the Night on compact disc with a bonus track, an alternate take of the title tune that was recorded during a 1982 concert in Boston. The track, which previously surfaced on a rare single, is a nice addition for completists, but it doesn't add a tremendous amount to the album, though the new version sounds better than most of the worn vinyl copies still circulating.] ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
David Johansen's first solo album was a triumph, a savvy blend of the New York Dolls' swagger and a more conventional but no less idiosyncratic hard rock style that left plenty of room for Johansen's eclectic musical outlook. Unfortunately, it didn't sell, and for his second post-Dolls release Johansen and producer Mick Ronson aimed for something with a bit more polish and a better chance of getting onto the radio. The result, 1979's In Style, earned the wrath of many New York Dolls fans for the disco pulse of "Swaheto Woman," the slick R&B accents of the opener "Melody," the dandified reggae beats on "She Knew She Was Falling in Love," and a general lack of emphasis on straight-ahead rock and roll. However, time has been kind to the album; Johansen sings as well as he ever has in the studio on these sessions, and given his well-established enthusiasm for vintage soul, he brings a hard-won, bluesy compassion to the more dance-oriented material, while "You Touched Me Too" is a subtle but clear homage to the girl group sounds that had always been one of Johansen's clearest influences. There are a couple potent rockers on the album, most notably the hard-edged "Wreckless Crazy" (the one moment that truly emulates the Dolls) and the aggressive, passionate "She," and the epic closer "Flamingo Road" manages to sound street-smart, stylish, and deeply personal all at once. In Style may have started out as an effort to sell David Johansen to the mainstream audience, but by the time he was done, he'd made an album that managed to reflect his heart and soul nearly as well as his debut, even if the music didn't connect quite as well. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'The David Johansen Group Live'
Release Date 1/1/1978
Tracks 18
Label Epic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Nine tracks from this July 21, 1978, concert at New York's Bottom Line were released as a promotional LP at the time, but this 1993 CD is the first time the entire concert was released. If this had been available commercially at the time, as opposed to 1981's comparatively limp live offering Live It Up, it might have changed the direction of David Johansen's commercial fortunes, it's that good, a Frampton Comes Alive of New York glam-punk. Johansen is always an engaging live performer, but he was absolutely on fire this night, and all 18 tracks are absolute scorchers. Split about equally between solo songs, New York Dolls classics ("Looking for a Kiss," with guest guitar by former bandmate Sylvain Sylvain is particularly brutal) and a wild selection of covers ranging from Sandie Shaw's "Girl Don't Come" to Bonnie Tyler's then-current hit "It's a Heartache." The highlights are a two-part "Personality Crisis" that's as good as any version he ever recorded and a punked-up version of the Supremes' "Love Child" that's the only non-icky version of the song in existence. Powerful, funny, and rocking, this is essential for all David Johansen fans. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
David Johansen's self-titled solo debut bears a closer resemblance to his work with the New York Dolls than any of his subsequent recordings, but the former Dolls singer cleverly crafted an album that played to his former band's strengths while establishing an identity of his own and delivering a set of tight but powerful hard rock. Where the Dolls were frequently sloppy and poorly focused (if often gloriously so), David Johansen rocks with a cleaner but equally emphatic guitar attack (courtesy Johnny Rao and Thomas Trask), while Johansen's vocals are noticeably more powerful and sharper than his earlier music. Johansen's songs are more straightforward and less campy than his Dolls tunes; while "Funky But Chic" would have done his old glam buddies proud ("Mama says I look fruity, but in jeans I feel rotten"), the celebration of the fair sex in "Girls" and "I'm a Lover" cuts his former sexual ambiguity to the quick, and the tough rock & roll good times of "Cool Metro" and the girl-trouble commiseration of "Pain In My Heart" show Johansen could move into more conventional lyrical territory without losing his swagger or street smarts along the way. And while the Dolls didn't leave Johansen much room for slow songs where he could wear his heart on his sleeve, "Donna" and "Frenchette" allow him to do just that, and remarkably well. David Johansen in some respects seems like a deliberate attempt to sidestep much of the baggage that weighed down the New York Dolls in their bid for rock stardom, but at the same time its celebration of women and good times isn't simple or without its own appreciation of good danger, and it rocks out with a New York street vibe that has a life of its own; it's still Johansen's best solo work to date. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
