L.A.M.F. (The Lost '77 Mixes) [Special Edition]

As a founding member of the New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders can rightfully be called a founding father of punk. Leaving the raunchy Dolls in 1975, he soon formed The Heartbreakers, who, in 1977, released their sole studio album,L.A.M.F.. It stands as a prevailing document of the fertile New York scene, and the band’s bawdy, vaguely ‘50s rock-rooted sound — and drug-drenched persona — helped define the American punk style. Songs like “All By Myself,” “Get Off the Phone” and “Baby Talk” join genre classics “Born to Lose” and “Chinese Rocks” as compelling evidence of the Heartbreakers as authoritative purveyors of original punk. Their mosh-worthy take on the Contours’ “Do You Love Me?” and the hook heavy “One Track Mind” show a band with a clear affection for pop, driven in the Heartbreakers’ world by crude, sweat- and grit-soaked guitars. A year after its release, Thunders went solo, and until his death in 1991, he continued to make music and battle drug addiction. The Special Edition collection includes demos, alternate versions and other noteworthy additions.