No, really dude!! This is an incredible record!No! Seriously!! So what if the cover is cheap rip-off of Sticky Fingers and they didn’t really know what an umlaut was, but this by far their best and most FULL LP of music (Dr. Feelgood is close, but the AA therapy vibes make it kind of a somber affair) Still confused? OK I will try to defend it. First of all, Too Fast For Love is the best record that The Runaways never recorded, with a slutty mixture of Van Halen and the Dead Boys pessimism for good measure. It’s the record The New York Dolls would’ve made if the David Johansson didn’t care about blues. (their penchant for post apocalyptic androgeny was probably an attempt to actually be The NY Dolls, L.A version). It’s negligent mixing (why is that cowbell mixed so HIGH?!), cheap and tinny delivery (was all the sounds filtered through a Peavey practice amp?), and amateurish subject matter (“is she hot?/well yeah, she’s hot!) only add to it’s punk rock charm. This is Dee Dee Ramones middle eight on “53rd and 3rd” stretched out over an entire record, with cheap sex, mascara, and an enforced lack of hygiene to compound matters. Songs like “Starry Eyes” and “Merry-Go-Round” reek of sweaty leather and used needles and when the Crue implore you to “Come On And Dance” I think might be a metaphor for something nastier. The swinging medallion is “Live Wire” their first single and highly recommended home-made first video, which showcases the relative strengths that each member had at the time (and probably, ever). That song is glam, punk, metal and whatever else Nikki could throw in. For these reasons, my adolescent imbibing of this classic is one of the reasons I started playing music in the first place and I can only be thankful for that..
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