Summary
So Alone is the debut solo studio album by Johnny Thunders, then leader of the Heartbreakers and formerly lead guitarist for New York Dolls. The album was released on 6 October 1978 and was produced by Thunders and Steve Lillywhite. So Alone was preceded by the singles "Dead or Alive" and "You Can't Put Your Arms Round A Memory", the former originally being omitted from the album and later included as a bonus track on the 1992 reissue. The album featured Heartbreakers-members Walter Lure and Billy Rath, as well as several guest musicians, including Phil Lynott, Steve Marriott, Paul Gray, Peter Perrett, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Mike Kellie, Patti Palladin, and Chrissie Hynde.
| So Alone | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 6, 1978 | |||
| Recorded | January–June 1978 | |||
| Studio | Basing Street Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:16 | |||
| Label | Real Records (UK) Sire Records (US) | |||
| Producer | Johnny Thunders Steve Lillywhite with special thanks to Steve Jones and Peter Perrett Joe McEwen, Ira Robbins (reissue) | |||
| Johnny Thunders chronology | ||||
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| Singles from So Alone | ||||
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Background and overview edit
After recording L.A.M.F. with the Heartbreakers, Thunders returned to the studio and recorded his first solo album, So Alone, from January to June 1978. The album contained a mix of original songs, tracks regularly performed live by the Heartbreakers, and covers, including the Chantays' surf classic "Pipeline," the Shangri-Las' "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", Otis Blackwell's "Daddy Rollin' Stone", and New York Dolls' "Subway Train".
The song "You Can't Put Your Arms Round A Memory" is considered by many to be Thunders' signature song, and has later been covered by Guns N' Roses, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Ronnie Spector with Joey Ramone, and Nick Oliveri with both Queens of the Stone Age and Mondo Generator.
The track "London Boys" was written as an answer song/diss track from Thunders aimed at the Sex Pistols who had recorded a song called "New York" on their album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols a year earlier, in which they anachronistically attacked Thunders's band New York Dolls for being rip-offs.[1] Former Sex Pistols-members Steve Jones and Paul Cook play guitar and drums on the track respectively.
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Classic Rock | [3] |
| Mojo |  [4] |
| Q | [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| Select | 5/5[7] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[8] |
| Uncut | [9] |
So Alone was released in October 1978 to good reviews from critics.[10] Trouser Press noted that the album was "Thunders at his best", while Classic Rock called it "spectacular" and the pinnacle of Thunders' solo career.[11][12] Music critic Robert Christgau named the album one the few import-only records from the 1970s that he loved but omitted from Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies.[13]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Johnny Thunders, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pipeline" | Bob Spickard, Brian Carman | 2:21 |
| 2. | "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" | 3:45 | |
| 3. | "Great Big Kiss" | George "Shadow" Morton | 3:22 |
| 4. | "Ask Me No Questions" | 3:33 | |
| 5. | "Leave Me Alone" | 2:47 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Daddy Rollin' Stone" | Otis Blackwell | 3:20 |
| 7. | "London Boys" | Thunders, Walter Lure, Billy Rath | 2:50 |
| 8. | "(She's So) Untouchable" | 2:54 | |
| 9. | "Subway Train" | Thunders, David Johansen | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Downtown" | Thunders, Johansen | 3:13 |
| Total length: | 32:16 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Dead or Alive" | 3:13 | |
| 12. | "Hurtin'" | Henri Paul Tortosa, Thunders | 3:06 |
| 13. | "So Alone" (Outtake) | 4:54 | |
| 14. | "The Wizard" (Outtake) | Marc Bolan | 3:22 |
| Total length: | 46:51 | ||
Personnel edit
- Johnny Thunders – guitar (all tracks), vocals (track 2–10), producer
- Koulla Kakoulli – vocals (track 9)
- Patti Palladin – vocals (track 3, 9)
- Chrissie Hynde – vocals (track 9)
- Peter Perrett – guitar (track 2, 4, 8, 9), vocals (track 2, 4, 9)
- Steve Jones – guitar (track 1, 3, 5–7)
- Walter Lure – guitar (track 3)
- Henri Paul Tortosa – guitar (track 9)
- Phil Lynott – bass (track 1, 5–7, 12), vocals (track 6)
- Paul Gray – bass (track 2, 4, 8–11)
- Billy Rath – bass (track 3)
- Paul Cook – drums (track 1, 3, 5–7)
- Mike Kellie – drums (track 2, 4, 8, 9, 12)
- Steve Nicol – drums (track 10)
- John "Irish" Earle – saxophone (track 3, 8, 9)
- Steve Lillywhite – piano (track 3), producer, engineer
- Steve Marriott – harmonica, keyboards, piano, vocals (track 6)
- Technical
- Ira Robbins – producer (reissue), liner notes
- Joe McEwan – producer (reissue)
- Lee Herschberg – remastering
- Mike Beal – artwork
- Peter Gravelle – photography
- Molly Reeve-Morrison – project coordinator
- Bill Smith – art direction, design
References edit
- ^ "Sex Pistols Versus the New York Dolls - the Lyrics".
- ^ Claps, Andy. "So Alone – Johnny Thunders". AllMusic. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ Fortnam, Ian (July 6, 2016). "Johnny Thunders – So Alone album review". Classic Rock. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ Cameron, Keith (August 2016). "Johnny Thunders: So Alone". Mojo. No. 273. p. 108.
- ^ "Johnny Thunders: So Alone". Q. No. 104. May 1995. p. 134.
- ^ Evans, Paul; Scoppa, Bud (2004). "Johnny Thunders". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 814–15. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Perry, Andrew (November 1992). "Johnny Thunders: So Alone". Select. No. 29. p. 96.
- ^ Simmons, Doug (1995). "New York Dolls". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 269–70. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ "Johnny Thunders: So Alone". Uncut. p. 124.
So Alone is a narcotic Neverland, starring ex-New York Doll Thunders at his most defiantly derelict.
- ^ McStea, Mark (2022-11-10). "The life and times of Johnny Thunders: the New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist who crystallized the essence of street-cool rock 'n' roll". Guitar World. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Robbins, Ira. "Johnny Thunders". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ Fortnam, Ian (2016-07-06). "Johnny Thunders - So Alone album review". Classic Rock. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "The Guide". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved March 30, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.