Billy Rath passes

[Dave W]

Johnny Thunders' Bassist Billy Rath Dead At 66

I thought L.A.M.F. was a great album despite the mixing problems. The cassette version was much better for some reason.

[uwe]

For anyone connected to the Dolls/Heartbreakers scene, he reached an almost biblical age though 66 is still no time to go. New York bands have a short life span in more ways than one.

I'm too much a David Johansen fan to rate Thunder's, uhum, "singing" over his, but I liked LAMF too. Never thought it that punkish though, it was typical NYC urban street credibility/garage rock to me or: like a very badly produced NYD LP (and that is saying something, the NYD albums weren't already that great production-wise). Hitting the right vocal notes just a tiny bit more often would have helped that recording's success too. In my humble opinion of course.

[Dave W]

I never thought the Heartbreakers were a punk band. Just plain old rock 'n' roll.

[Nocturnal]

I never thought the Heartbreakers were a punk band. Just plain old rock 'n' roll.

Agreed. I saw Johnny Thunders live back in the 80's and I agree that his "singing" was not one of his strengths.