New York Dolls - "A Hard Night's Day" CD, Album, 2000 (Norton Records)

Perfection.  Paul Nelson when he signed the New York Dolls to Mercury he brought the band to a studio, and in one night recorded 21 songs as demos, to be picked upon by producer Todd Rundgren, at a later date.  These recordings are the best representation of the Dolls.  The band is sloppy in parts, but it is also part of their genius in that they had amazing songs, and their covers they did at the time, represented their trashy aesthetic and love for vintage rock n' roll.  It's interesting to note that the Dolls must have liked British Invasion bands like early Who or The Kinks, yet all their covers are American, based on the blues, or Atlantic Records-era rock recordings, or Chuck Berry.  So in a nutshell, the ultimate American rock band.

When I first heard the Dolls, which was their first Mercury album, I thought to myself, 'yes.'  At the time, The Stones were creatively spent, and there was a need for a younger band with great songs.  The Dolls were it.  On the other hand, the commercial music world disagreed with me.  Still, history will show that The Dolls were very much part of their decade, and the songs they wrote "Trash," "Personality Crisis," "Frankenstein" and others, were rooted in their social lives at the time.  It's a great snapshot of New York City subculture at work.  And "A Hard Night's Day" is very much that photograph or series of photos conveying the energy, sound, and genius of that time.

The Dolls wrote songs that were observational.  In that sense, they resemble Ray Davies of The Kinks.  Or even early Bowie.  David Johansen is a brilliant lyricist and through his solo career one can see that he is also a great music historian, but the same can be said for Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain as well.   And the rhythm section of Jerry Nolan (great drummer) and Arthur Kane were extremely important to their overall sound.  So to me, a perfectly balanced band.  

Paul Nelson captured the excitement much better than the official two studio Mercury albums.  This album is an important document but beyond that journalistic/studying approach, this is music to celebrate an independence that was greatly needed at the time.  

Halfnelson (Sparks) - "Halfnelson" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1971 (Bearsville)

The first time I heard Sparks' music was in 1974, and the album "Kimono My House."  It was like someone shot me in the heart, and I survived the bullet wound.  One of the few albums that had such a strong effect/influence over me, that to this day, is hard to shake off.  Once I bought this album, I immediately tracked down the first two Sparks' albums.  Both (all) are excellent.  

"Halfnelson" is Sparks, but before they changed their name due to Albert Grossman's request to do so.   A good record company/manager type of decision.   Halfnelson (Sparks) from the very beginning showed an off-beat vision of pop.  The genius level of Ron Mael's songwriting was apparent from their first album.   "Wonder Girl" "Fletcher Honorama," and others show a sophistication that's a mixture of wit and the perfect melody.  Russell Mael's songs were a total winner as well.   Also when we think of Sparks, we mostly focus on Ron and Russell Mael, but in the early days, before they hit the U.K. (Kimono and afterward) they were a functioning five-man band. One can't ignore the importance of Earl and Jim Mankey, as well as the drummer Harvey Feinstein.  A perfect unit at the time who found the perfect producer Todd Rundgren.  As the producer, he kept the Sparks/Halfnelson eccentricity in place and allowed a sense of exploration within the band's arrangements and sound.  The album to me is very tight as if it was recorded in a room with no windows, and therefore perhaps they were stranded in the studio, with nothing to do, but to make this fantastic album.  

Listening to this album in 1974, (and recorded/released in 1971) it struck me as a work of originality, and it was like getting music from Mars from actual Martians.  I always felt Sparks were outside artists, in the sense that they didn't belong to any scene or music moment.   One can think of them as the Los Angeles band or glam (Kimono), but the truth is they went beyond those categories.  Love the band, is Los Angeles.  The Beach Boys are Los Angeles.  Sparks live in Los Angeles, but the music they made came from another world or culture.  European perhaps?   They could easily be a band from France, Germany or Sweden.  Ziggy Stardust came from Mars, but Sparks/Halfnelson actually do sound they came from another galaxy.  

It is now 2017, and they are still that band from 'somewhere' else and are releasing provocative and excellent music.   

On a side note, I did write a book "Sparks-Tastic" (Rarebird Books) about my experiences of seeing this band play 21 concerts in London, each show devoted to one of their albums.  It was a life-changing experience for me, and, hopefully, my book expressed that sentiment as well as the adventure.