1979 - Sharp and smart: Lester Bangs listens to "In Syle", second solo album by former New York Dolls' vocalist David Johansen, and he's not impressed. Richard Avedon's shots don't help either.
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| 1979 - David Johansen - IN STYLE [Epic] |
[ENGLISH TEXT BELOW]
… le New York Dolls avevano STILE, una dote naturale che nessuno ti può dare - erano l'originalità incarnata.
Nella MODA, al contrario, ci trovi solo una manica di stronzi che ti dicono come vestirti e comportarti in ogni circostanza.
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| 1979 - David Johansen by Richard Avedon front cover |
[David Johansen] sembrava facesse qualsiasi cosa senza il minimo sforzo, compreso essere un sex symbol. Ovviamente meno sex symbol voleva apparire e più lo diventava. Alcuni dicevano che non sapesse cantare, ma così provavano solo quanto poco sapessero di rock'n'roll.
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| 1979 - David Johansen by Richard Avedon back cover |
Coloro interessati alle improvvise svolte in carriera, qui troveranno materiale interessante, ma per chi ama David sarà triste in maniera cosmica. Ha confuso la MODA con lo STILE e ha consentito che lo impacchettassero in maniera da risultare imbarazzante se non addirittura rivoltante.
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| 1979 - David Johansen by Richard Avedon lyric sheet |
So benissimo che il primo album non ha avuto molti riscontri, come pure mi é noto che a David piaccia vestirsi bene e nemmeno mi sfugge che ha sempre voluto farsi fotografare da Richard Avedon. Quello che non mi aspettavo da una personalità unica come la sua, era un album di rock omogeneizzato con tratti che vanno dagli Stones a Springsteen …
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| 1979 - Oh my: what I've done! David Johansen by Richard Avedon |
… spero infine che questo disco, e il suo attuale modo di essere, rendano David una star. Mi auguro raggiunga la fama. E spero che, una volta raggiunta, abbia ancora qualcosa da dire. E anche che appaia più felice di quanto Richard Avedon lo possa far apparire.
[Estratti da The Grooming Of David Johansen - Pubblicato dal Village Voice, September 3, 1979 - Ristampato su Mainlines, Blood Feasts, And Bad Taste - Anchor Books 2003].
- Immagini da: WAX.FM
More from Avedon:
…the New York Dolls had style, which is something you can only possess in and yourself - it's originality, attitudinal distinction physicalized. Whereas fashion is just a bunch of assholes telling you how to dress and in fact conduct yourself in every area.
[David Johansen] seemed to do everything perfectly with zero strain, including being a sex symbol, and naturally the less effort you put into sex the sexier you're gonna be. Some people said he couldn't sing, but they thereby proved how little they knew about rock'n'roll ...
There's something starting to happen here that's fascinating to the connoisseur of career twists and cosmically saddening to anyone who loves David: he's confused fashion with style, and let himself be packaged in a way that's embarrassing if not emetic.
I know the last album didn't get any airplay, just like I know that David likes sharp cloths with pockets full of spending loot, and that of course he always wanted his picture taken by Richard Avedon. What I didn't expect from somebody as unique as davis was an album of homogenized formula rock from Stones to Springsteen …
… this album and his current grooming may help make David Johnasen a star at last. I still hope he gets there. I hope that when and if he does he's still got something to say. And I hope he looks happier than Richard Avedon could make him.
[Snippets from "The Grooming Of david Johansen - Originally published by the Village Voice, September 3, 1979 - reprinted on Mainlines, Blood Feasts, And Bad Taste - Anchor Books 2003]
- Images from: WAX.FM
More from Avedon: