Record review:New York Dolls, "Live at the Fillmore East"

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By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / GZO

3½ stars

The New York Dolls Mach II — original members David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain along with a trio of newcomers — tear through a set that’s a mix of Dolls classics such as “Trash,” “Looking For A Kiss” and the propulsive Bo Diddley cover “Pills” along with a pair of new songs, including the entertaining “Dance Like A Monkey.”

Recorded at the Fillmore East last December, it’s a smokin’ slab of live rock ’n’ roll that proves, once again, that the Dolls are a great band.

Was “Live At Fillmore East” necessary just four years after “Return of the New York Dolls: Live From Royal Festival Hall”? Probably not. But it’s a better, more cohesive, propulsive set than the reunion concert that also featured late Dolls bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane. He doesn’t get mentioned on the new record. But Johnny Thunders is the subject of the closer, an acoustic-starting take on “Lonely Planet Boy” that has both Johansen and Sylvain singing and pours out the emotion along with the rock ’n’ roll.