In 1975 the original New York Dolls broke up and guitarist Johnny Thunders went to form The Heartbreakers along with New York Dolls drummer Jerry Nolan.
 
"L.A.M.F." equal Like a Mother Fucker was recorded in 1977 and released the same year in its original form. The mixing of the album was so muddy and disappointing to Jerry Nolan that he quit the band after hearing "L.A.M.F".
 
The record company of Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers soon after collapsed and its only several years later when Jungle Records acquired the rights for this album its discovered that the muddy mix was due to a mastering fault. This is the remixed product and this version of "L.A.M.F" has the subtitle "The lost 77 mixes"
 
Johnny Thunders has been the inspiration of many artists that RevelationZ Magazine covers. Duff McKagan from Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver often mentions Thunders as key inspiration. Guns N' Roses even recorded Thunders' You Can't Put Your Arms around a Memory for "The Spaghetti Incident". Guns N' Roses also played shows with Thunders and Hanoi Rocks did a tour with Thunders. Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe participated on one of Johnny Thunders' records and Monroe paid tribute to Thunders on his "Peace of Mind" solo album.
 
This is the real deal - the original Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers! A full blown punk band straight in your face. They are a bunch of street punks with nothing to loose and it shows. The album is packed with attitude and has several cornerstones with Pirate Love as the definitive album highlight.
 
The Ramones song Chinese Rocks was adapted by Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers and they made this song their own. Born to Loose is another in your face rocker with a catchy rhythm.
 
Despite being a full blown heroin Punk rock band the music of the Heartbreakers was diverse and also had a "commercial" side with It's Not Enough as the best example.  Its Not Enough is a nice breather on a very fast paced record and Thunders' vocals sounds great. The mix of acoustic and electric guitar suits the Heartbreakers.
 
"Born too Loose" displays Johnny Thunders as the artist Johnny Thunders. The best of CD spans through a wide selection of Johnny's career. The main body of the compilation is the songs off "L.A.M.F". The highlights are:
 
The delicate and breathtaking Hurts me, which exhibits a fragile Johnny Thunders. The arrangement is Johnny's voice and guitar only. You Can't Put Your Arms around a memory is another acoustic gem.
 
Johnny Thunders' duet with Patti Palladin Crawfish is optimistic and I am sure that R.E.M. had Crawfish in mind when they invited Kate Pierson from B52s to duet on Shiny Happy People. Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin is just more charming and irresistible.
 
One of Thunders last compositions Society Makes me Sad rounds off the compilation. Thunders became more thoughtful on his later work and basically "Born to Loose" compiles all the essential Johnny Thunders stuff and provides the listener with great insight to what the artist Johnny Thunders was about.
 
Both albums released on Jungle Records come with bonus CDs and extensive booklet. The bonus disc for "L.A.M.F." contains several demos and rehearsals. There are instrumental versions of Pirate Love, Born to Lose and Chinese Rocks. Great stuff for collectors and fans
 
The bonus CD for "Born too Loose" is a real gem with previous unreleased studio tunes and great live performance both electric and acoustic solo performances.
 
Overall the music is still relevant today. "L.A.M.F." is the definitive Johnny Thunders album, since it has a rawness and swagger that you rarely find today. Forget "punks" like Green Day and other corporate Punk Rock bands. Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers were real punks and "L.A.M.F." is a genuine album full of desperation and aggression.
 
Johnny Thunders died in 1991 but his music lives on.
 
Make sure to visit http://www.johnnythunders.info/ for more information on Johnny Thunders and visit Jungle Records, since they have specialized in releasing Johnny Thunders albums 
 

Written by Michael
Friday, February 8, 2008
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Michael: 7/10

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Comment by Stuart (Staff) - Saturday, February 9, 2008

View Profile Comments: 116 Ok I'm gonna be a smart arse here, apologies in advance :) Chinese Rocks was written by Johnny Thunders and Dee Dee Ramone, but the Thunders version is the original recorded version. The Ramones didnt record it till their 1979 album End of the Century (spot the massive Ramones fan here) I've been meaning to listen to Thunders solo stuff for ages as I quite like the first New York Dolls album. Posted by Stuart (Staff) Saturday, February 9, 2008

Comment by Dennis the Menace (Member) - Saturday, February 9, 2008

View Profile Comments: 12 Ratings: 0 Me, too. I was at a concert of the German band Die Toten Hosen one day after Johnny died. The special thing about that evening was that the band had recorded a cover version of 'Born to Loose' along with Johnny several weeks before that concert (find it on the Learning English Lesson 1-album) and still was shocked 'cause of his death. They dedicated the whole evening to Johnny and played many tunes just like Seven Day Weekend, Just Another Girl, Too Much Junkie Business, Sad Vacation, Lonely Planet Boy and of course Born to Loose. They rearranged the lyrics of their own song Das Wort zum Sonntag to pay tribute to one of their main influences. Very emotional evening. Would be an interesting thing to see the renewed version of the Dolls with Sammy Yaffa on the same bill with Hanoi Rocks... Posted by Dennis the Menace Saturday, February 9, 2008