As I recently wrote a post about the varying versions of Iggy and The Stooges' classic Raw Power, I figured it was worth doing one about an album almost as controversial due to it's production issues, and that album would be none other than the sole full-length release by Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, L.A.M.F., which is an abbreviation of Like A Mother Fu..., I'm sure you get the point.
Johnny and Jerry Nolan were founding members of the New York Dolls, but after the Dolls' demise they formed The Heartbreakers with Richard Hell. Hell didn't stick around for too long though and The Heartbreakers carried on with Walter Lure on guitar and Billy Rath on bass. They tried to get a contract for several years with no luck due to their renown junkie status, but when Malcolm McLaren asked them to tour with the Sex Pistols on their Anarchy tour, they happily accepted the offer. Everything would have probably been great if most of the tour hadn't been canceled due to the Pistols' controversial status which left The Heartbreakers pretty close to broke in London, but their manager, Leee Black Childers, convinced them to stick around a while longer as it might be easier for them to get a contract in the UK. Childers' advice paid off and The Heartbreakers landed a deal with Track Records, but that was the beginning of the end.
The Heartbreakers recorded L.A.M.F. and continued to play live while trying to finish the album's mix. It's rather unclear what the issues in the studio were, but months were spent mixing and remixing the album to little satisfaction. Thunders' and his cohorts' drug habits may have been the main reason for the ridiculous length of time it took to finalize the album's mix, and I'm sure anyone close to the band would assume the same, but the album was finally finished and saw release on October 3rd, 1977 much to everyone's relief. Unfortunately though, the first thing everyone noticed was how muddy the album sounded. The mix was immediately blamed and everyone wondered how something so powerful could have been rendered so dull. But that was nothing compared to the next issue, the closure of Track Records. Now The Heartbreakers didn't have a label, their record sounded like crap and they were all nursing ridiculous habits, could it get any worse?
Thunders' and company actually weren't in as bad a situation as it may have seemed at first. They were able to maintain the rights to their recordings due to Track's surprising forwardness regarding their financial status and managed to score an audition with EMI Records. That audition didn't go anywhere though, Lure and Rath decided to call it quits and return to New York and the album remained out of print, so it might as well have been just as bad as it initially seemed. Again, the BIG H probably played a major roll in all of these issues.
In 1984, after gaining some much deserved recognition, Johnny Thunders was asked to remix L.A.M.F. for reissue. Finally the album would see a wide release in the US an internationally, but Johnny seemed to bury most of the album's energy with the nicer, friendlier remixes and a new tracking order. The remix, known as L.A.M.F. Revisited, earned a mixed reputation and L.A.M.F.'s legacy would remain buried another decade. During that time, Thunders' died in 1991 and Nolan in 1992, breaking the hearts of those who knew how much talent and promise they had held. Their deaths, while sad, opened an opportunity to exhume the remains of L.A.M.F. again, and this time it was a success!
In 1994, Jungle Records issued L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes, which contained unused mixes from the original L.A.M.F. mixing sessions. To say it was a revelation is really hitting the nail on the head, as these newly released mixes contained all the energy promised by The Heartbreakers' songs and live performances. The Lost '77 Mixes was also released as a two CD set with the second disc featuring pre-album demos, instrumental backing tracks, alternate mixes and the two demos recorded for EMI after Track's dissolution. All in all, it's essential listening for anyone wondering about the history of punk or anyone that love's real rock and roll.
You can find the two-disc version of L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes on iTunes and the single-disc version on Amazon for digital purchase, but there are still issues regarding the real cause of the muddy sound on the original pressings of L.A.M.F. on Track.
Despite being blamed on poor mixing, it appears the real issue may have been the mastering of the vinyl pressings. Apparently there was a cassette release of the album from the same time as the vinyl's release which supposedly sounds fantastic. I haven't heard the cassette release but I have heard a rip of an original vinyl issue of the album, along with a first-hand account by the kind individual who ripped it, a wonderful guy named JPStooges, that the vinyl was not a cheap pressing. It's also interesting to point out that most of the original album's mixes aren't terribly different from those on The Lost '77 Mixes, although there are minor details which devoted listeners will certainly notice. This does bring up another question though, if the album was poorly mastered but the mixes were fine, why not simply reissue the original mixes rather than alternate versions? The only thing I can assume is that the album masters, if available, would be considered unusable and there may not be detailed information as to which mixes were used, but this is all guesswork and we may never know otherwise.
So, tonight I am sharing a very high-quality MP3 version of JPStooges' rip of his original Track Records vinyl pressing of L.A.M.F., originally credited simply to The Heartbreakers, which of course should not be confused with Tom Petty's similarly named band. In my opinion, the record, while muddy, has probably had it's bad reputation overly reinforced. Yes, it sounds less than fabulous, but I've heard worse and I'm sure many of you have too. The only tweaking I've done to this rip was running the uncompressed wave files I made the MP3s from through iZotope RX's fabulous declicker. No re-EQing of any sort. Also, as I'm sure you've already figured out, if you enjoy this album you should really purchase a copy of L.A.M.F.: The Lost '77 Mixes if you don't already own it, as you'll enjoy it a lot more than this original vinyl version. This version of the album is really important only for completists or for those who haven't heard it yet. And it's worth checking out L.A.M.F. Revisited too, but don't be surprised if you find yourself a little disappointed. If you'd like to read more about the specifics of the album's history you should check out wikipedia's reference page.
Massive thank you to JPStooges for his help! You are the man, man!
The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F.
01 Born Too Loose
02 Baby Talk
03 All By Myself
04 I Wanna Be Loved
05 It's Not Enough
06 Chinese Rocks
07 Get Off The Phone
08 Pirate Love
09 One Track Mind
10 I Love You
11 Goin' Steady
12 Let Go
By the way, please tell me I'm not the only one who finds it ironic that a bunch of heroin addicted rockers who sang about using heroin were signed to a record label named Track?
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