The Fuzztones are celebrating their fortieth year as a band with a new tribute to New York, the city where the band formed in 1980. The new album, titled simply NYC, is a celebration of New York and the music that has come from that city, with the band covering the material of other New York artists, including the Ramones, The Cramps, New York Dolls and The Fugs. The band has gone through several changes in the four decades of its existence, and is now made up of Rudi Protrudi on lead vocals, guitar and harmonica; Lana Loveland on organ, piano and vocals; Marco Rivagli on drums and vocals; and Eric Geevers on bass and vocals.
NYC opens with a seriously good and original take on “New York, New York,” the song originally recorded by Liza Minelli, but most famously done by Frank Sinatra. Interestingly, Frank Sinatra recorded his rendition in 1980, the year the Fuzztones were formed. It seems like an older song, doesn’t it? Anyway, this rendition by the Fuzztones has a fantastic energy, and is delivered with a steady beat holding things together and moving everything forward. I also dig that serious, passionate vocal performance. These guys are honestly celebrating New York, even if the track begins and ends with the sounds of sirens. Hey, that makes it real, right? The band follows that with a cover of Wayne County’s “Flip Your Wig,” a seriously enjoyable tune. I think that “flip your wig” is an expression we should use more. Fuzztones do a great job with this song, giving it a bit more of a 1960s sound. As with the original version, the instruments grow quiet for the line “You’re wearing everything but a lampshade.” And I like how the drums support the line before it, “I can’t believe you walk the streets like that.” This track is a lot of fun. Then Fuzztones give us a cool rendition of The Cramps’ “New Kind Of Kick,” a song included on that band’s 1983 album Off The Bone. It opens with the line, “Life is short, filled with stuff.” Indeed. I really like the bass line of this version, and of course that organ. “I’m looking, I’m looking, I’m looking for something I ain’t had before.”
Fuzztones deliver a completely wonderful version of The Ramones’ “53rd & 3rd,” a song about a popular spot to pick up male prostitutes in New York. Fuzztones give it more of a delicious 1960s sound. The backing vocals repeating the song’s title remind me of some of the early work by The Who. And that psychedelic guitar near the end reminds me a bit of Tommy James & The Shondells’ “Crimson And Clover.” In addition, the lead vocals are just exactly perfect. This for me is one of the disc’s highlights. I absolutely love what these guys do with this song. That is followed by “Psilocybe,” which has a wonderfully frightening and twisted vibe, a darker sound. Then “Skin Flowers” comes bursting in with a wonderful and bright energy. This is a song by the Fugs, from early in their career, originally appearing on that band’s 1966 self-titled LP. This is another fantastic track, featuring some good stuff on harmonica. And then at one point there is a rock and roll guitar part that would make Chuck Berry smile. Pure fun, this one.
Fuzztones also give us an interesting rendition of Dead Boys’ “High Tension Wire,” giving it more of a garage sound than the original punk recording. Though Dead Boys were part of the New York scene, the members of this band were actually from Cleveland. That’s followed by a cover of New York Dolls’ “Babylon,” from the 1974 album Too Much Too Soon (originally titled In Too Much Too Soon). This one feels like a fairly straightforward rock song, with a heavy groove. And then we get what is probably the most surprising choice of the album, “Transmaniacon MC,” a song by New York band Blue Öyster Cult, but about the ill-fated Altamont concert in California. This song opened Blue Öyster Cult’s first album, a self-titled LP, and it’s a pretty damn good song. I haven’t listened to Blue Öyster Cult lately, and don’t own that first album, but based on this song, I might have to pick up a copy at some point. This track has a good deal of hard rock power. That’s followed by “The Man In Me,” a song originally recorded by John Collins Band, and included on the compilation 1976 Max’s Kansas City, a record that also included Wayne County’s “Flip Your Wig.” Then we get a good, solid rendition of Mink DeVille’s “Let Me Dream If I Want To (The Amphetamine Blues),” here titled “Let Me Dream.” I appreciate this song’s repetition of its title line, “Let me dream if I want to,” a line that has a lot of appeal to me.
It’s been more than twenty years since I’ve done LSD, and I’m not sure it would be such a good idea in this current climate, but there are certainly times when I just want to see a different reality. Anyway, “Microdot” is an interesting song. It’s a variation of “Chinese Rocks,” which was written by Dee Dee Ramone and Richard Hell, and originally recorded by The Heartbreakers, and then later by The Ramones. In this version by Fuzztones, which has more of a 1960s vibe, Chinese rock becomes microdot, with the lines “I’m living on a Chinese rock/All my best things are in hock/I’m living on a Chinese rock/Everything is in the pawn shop” becoming “I’m tripping on a microdot/Can’t tell what’s real and what’s not/I’m tripping on a microdot/Everything is in the head shop.” Fuzztones then give us a second song by Dead Boys, “Not Anymore,” which is actually from the same album as “High Tension Wire,” Young Loud And Snotty. This one has some serious lyrics, such as these lines: “I’m so hungry, I don’t care/Let me lay down for a little while/In a warm dry place/Give me a quarter for the movies all night/I gotta keep awake/Afraid of sleeping and freezing to death.” The Fuzztones’ version is a bit breezier, seeming to be delivered at a quicker pace, with more energy. I really like what they do with it. That’s followed by a fun rendition of “You Gotta Lose,” a song written by Richard Hell, and recorded by both Richard Hell And The Voidoids and The Heartbreakers. I particularly like the organ on this version by Fuzztones. This album then concludes with a cool cover of Patti Smith Group’s “Dancing Barefoot,” originally included on the 1979 album Wave.
CD Track List
- New York, New York
- Flip Your Wig
- New Kind Of Kick
- 53rd & 3rd
- Psilocybe
- Skin Flowers
- High Tension Wire
- Babylon
- Transmaniacon MC
- The Man In Me
- Let Me Dream
- Microdot
- Not Anymore
- You Gotta Lose
- Dancing Barefoot
NYC was released on CD and vinyl on October 16, 2020 on Cleopatra Records.
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