The moment when the New York Dolls hit the Big Apple’s teeming music scene in 1971/72 has been immortalized not only by filmmakers and music historians but also in the hearts and minds of every garage/punk rock music fan. For good reason too, the moment crystallized a monumental shift in American music, and proclaimed the rise of a young, charismatic guitarist/performer/songwriter whose impact would extend throughout the next two decades to come. His name was Johnny Thunders and a brand new CD box set, entitled From The Beginning To The End, chronicles his career, first his early rise to power with the pre-Dolls project Actress through a late ‘70s solo gig at Max’s Kansas City to his final recordings made just prior to his untimely death in 1991.
The real gem of the box set is the final disc, which features several ultra rare demo recordings that legions of Thunders’ collectors have prized for years. In his final days, as the years of hard and wild living had started to catch up, a cash-strapped Thunders made a deal with his then manager Jeff Grabow to whom Thunders was indebted. In exchange for money owed, Thunders gave Grabow a set of tapes that would constitute the final recorded output of one of rock music’s generational talents. Now, these recordings have been collected on Finally Alone: The Sticks & Stones Tapes, a title that nods towards Thunders’ first solo album So Alone, and made available in the box set as well as released on digital platforms today! Stream/download your copy HERE
The entire From The Beginning To The End 3CD set comes in a clamshell box with each disc housed in its own full-color sleeve and packaged with a gorgeous full-color 28-page booklet featuring loads of photos and liner notes from music journalist Dave Thompson. All in all, this is a compilation that deserves a place in the collection of any self-respecting music fan.
From The Beginning To The End will be available everywhere April 7 but you can order your copy today!
Track List
DISC 1: Actress – Birth Of The Dolls ’71
1. That’s Poison
2. I Am Confronted
3. It’s Too Late
4. Oh Dot!
5. I’m a Boy, I’m a Girl
6. Coconut Grove
7. Take Me to Your Party
8. Oh Dot!
9. It’s Too Late
10. We Have Been Through This Before
11. Why Am I Alone?
DISC 2: Live At Max’s
1. Intro: Ask Me No Questions / The Wizard
2. Pipeline
3. (I’m Not) Your Stepping Stone
4. Great Big Kiss
5. The 10 Commandments Of Love
6. These Boots Are Made For Walking
7. Like A Rolling Stone
8. Endless Party
9. Pills
10. (I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
11. Personality Crisis
DISC 3: Finally Alone: The Sticks & Stones Tapes
1. Help The Homeless
2. Disappointed In You
3. Nine Lives
4. Glory, Glory
5. Some Hearts
6. A Lie On You
7. In God’s Name
8. Jungle Love
9. Bring It On Home
10. What’s Going On
11. Another Girl Another Planet
12. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory
BONUS TRACKS
13. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory (The Courettes Mix)
14. Wild Horses
15. Dead Flowers
16. Crime Of The Century
17. Automatics feat. Johnny Thunders – Wild One
