“ I don’t know where I’m goin, I don’t know where I been.”
- John Anthony Genzale, Jr. -
Poor Johnny. You taught yourself to play the best caveman guitar this side of Keith Richards, climbed up and out of Queens, New York, tortured yourself with drugs and drink and died under a table in New Orleans and became a punk Jesus. How many rebel kids have rocked t-shirts with your skinny sad face on them? How many leathers had your pins? How many people wanted and still want to die the same useless way you did? For Rock and Roll?
A lot. From The Dolls to Gang War to The Heartbreakers to his solo work with everyone from members of Thin Lizzy to Die Totenhosen(?), Thunders put out a lot of work and touched a lot of peoples lives. Unfortunately he is remembered now more for his chemical intake and his death then his work. Why? Because people are fucking stupid.
I picked up this tribute “I Only Wrote This Song For You” fully expecting it to be full of that type of drug revering, live fast die young bullshit, but it turns out to be the opposite. The songs on this disc are lovingly done by people who knew John Genzale, people like Arthur Kane, Patti Palladin, The Ramones, Wayne Kramer; people who worked with him, hung out with him, grew up with him, not people enamored with the Thunders image. They celebrate his life through these songs rather than his death. The standout song is done by Johansen, Thunders’ singer from the New York Dolls days. It sounds very much like Johansen is singing directly to his friend. I have listened to a lot of stuff over the years, but something about this collection is effecting, it’s a downer but a good one, sort of. Like a good wake. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of weak songs on this album, some people just missed the mark, though they meant well. But, like Thunders said, you can’t throw your arms around a memory.
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