STEVE CONTE & THE CRAZY TRUTH

'Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth' is the self-titled solo project from New York Dolls' post-2004 lead guitarist and songwriter. Solo, that is, in the sense Conte's branded the project with his own name, although there is a distinctly collective effort at work here in the music with fine performances from Lee Kostrinsky on bass/backing vocals and the skilled drumming of Phil Stewart (who also sings backing vocals). That's not to mention a plethora of guest musicians who appear at various points during the album such as the Dolls' David Johansen on harmonica. Similar in one sense to New York Dolls, the music on this album also has a distinct sonic character in its own right and by fuck does it rock. The press release claims "it's the Stooges and the Stones versus Morphine and Tom Waits" with which I would not argue, although the music's main strength, and what engaged my listening attention from the off, is the jam-like essence of the musicians' collective performance which is enhanced by a rough-and-ready, raw and dirty retro-sounding production. Don't get me wrong, the production is not bad in any sense as this is undoubtedly Conte's intended aesthetic, emphasised by a perfectly balanced mix from Niko Bolas (Neil Young; Keth Richards) and mastered by the expert hands of Richard Dodd (Tom Petty; Green Day). It would be difficult to pigeonhole the music on this album into any of rock's many subgenres as it flirts with various stylistic twists and turns, although the bottom line is that this is unpretentious rock 'n' roll from start to finish and cooler than...well, the last cool album you listened to, whatever that might have been. Brilliant stuff.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Varese Vintage

Album

STEVE CONTE & THE CRAZY TRUTH

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

36:28

RELEASE DATE:

30th Nov 2009

TRACK LISTING

1) This is the End
2) Gypsy Cab
3) Texas T
4) The Goods Are Odd
5) Get Off
6) The Truth Aint Pretty
7) Her Highness
8) Busload of Hope
9) Strumpet-hearted Monkey Girl
10) Indie Girl
11) Junk Planet

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"...unpretentious rock 'n' roll from start to finish..."