![]() Their sophomore offering was a unique collection of covers and demos, but neither record was a smash hit. The follow-up album was Too Much Too Soon (1974), produced by Shadow Morton of the Shangri-Las fame. Furthermore, mainstream hard rock fans might have hesitated to admit liking the Dolls, let alone buy their records. The Dolls' daring fabulousness was evident on the cover of their debut self-titled 1973 album produced by Todd Rundgren, featuring the band resplendent in make-up, coiffed hair, and women's clothes – which reminds us that gender-fluid imagery is common in the 21st century, but men wearing women's clothing in public back then might have been grounds for arrest. Their radical fashion, moves, and music must have been like seeing rock and roll for the first time. ![]() Few of us have had the opportunity to see the original New York Dolls perform except on television programs such as The Midnight Special, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, Germany's Der Musikladen, and the UK's The Old Grey Whistle Test. ![]() Unfortunately, all of this is relegated to 1970s musical lore. Johansen was at the center of everything with Factory starlets Holly Woodlawn, Ingrid Superstar, and Penny Arcade. ![]() And they had the influence of Andy Warhol's Factory across Union Square Park from Max's Kansas City, where the Dolls hobnobbed with artists and scene makers. The Dolls were a glam street gang more like the MC5, the Stooges, and Alice Cooper than Roxy Music, Marc Bolan, and David Bowie. When the New York Dolls hit the scene, their sound was the antithesis of Beatlemania, the singer-songwriters of Laurel Canyon, psychedelic San Francisco, and British art rock. Those credits would give anyone eternal bragging rights, but at age 21 Johansen joined the New York Dolls in 1971 to push cultural, visual, and musical boundaries far beyond their solemnly artsy counterparts in the Velvet Underground. Whereas tourists might have seen drugs, crime, and danger in the East Village of the late 1960s, young Johansen emerged during one of the most fertile periods in downtown New York: he worked in avant-garde theatre at the Mercer Arts Center, hung out at the Chelsea Hotel, gleaning knowledge from the older residents, knew activist Abbie Hoffman, and participated in Play-House of the Ridiculous. The film traces Johansen's journey full circle, from growing up in an opera-loving household on Staten Island and playing in teen bands, to his early experiences in Manhattan’s East Village, to reuniting the remaining members of the New York Dolls at the behest of Morrissey for the 2004 Meltdown Festival in London, and back to playing small rooms as a man in his spiritual and intellectual prime gained from a lifetime of experiences. Scorsese weaves through live performances, anecdotes, archival footage, and interview segments by Johansen's stepdaughter, Leah Hennessey. Don't worry, "Hot Hot Hot" (1982) is not included in the set. The last surviving New York Doll appeared as alter ego Buster Poindexter, sporting his trademark pompadour but singing the songs of David Johansen. In the documentary Personality Crisis: One Night Only (2022), co-directed by David Tedeschi and now streaming on Showtime, Johansen receives the star treatment with exquisite film and sound quality to record his January 2020 residency at the Café Carlyle, marking Johansen's 70th birthday and his 50th year in show business. At first glance, Johansen might seem unlikely to be included in that company, but he is an essential cultural and musical link to a long-gone time in New York City. How does one capture the life of David Johansen, front man for the New York Dolls and later a solo artist? It's a massive feat best left to master storyteller Martin Scorsese, who finally turned his camera on the legendary downtown artist, adding him to the roster of other Scorsese subjects: The Band, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.
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