For a band with only two studio albums, the only reason to buy a compilation like this is for otherwise-unavailable material. Fittingly, when this compilation was first announced, it was supposed to have five previously unreleased tracks. But when ROCK & ROLL finally appeared that number had been whittled down to three. It's a shame, because all of the bonus tracks are good, particularly "Lone Star Queen", which is arguably as great as anything else the Dolls ever wrote or recorded.

(Still missing-in-action is the outtake of "Great Big Kiss" recorded during the TOO MUCH TOO SOON sessions that appeared on the 1985 compilation NIGHT OF THE LIVING DOLLS, which has never re-appeared anywhere since).

The bonus tracks are really the only thing this compilation has going for it (and a slightly longer version of "Stranded in the Jungle", with a few extra bars added at the very beginning, something not noted in the liner notes). The two Dolls studio albums were produced *very* differently, with the debut having a dense, murky mix and TOO MUCH TOO SOON having a bright, treble-y mix. This seemed to stump the compilers of ROCK & ROLL, who barely make any effort to mix up tracks from the two albums. Instead, they essentially took both records, dropped almost all of the cover material, and put them on a single CD in a running order almost identical to the original LPs with a few bonus tracks thrown in. First, uniformly dropping the covers really does an injustice to the Dolls ability to "own" a cover, with "Pills" probably being the best example - a track who performance is superior to many of the Dolls' own compositions. Second, if this compilation is basically just 80% of each studio album, for the average fan it makes more sense to simply buy both original albums on CD, especially as they tend to be priced at "budget" prices. A Dolls collection without "Pills", "Showdown", or "Bad Detective" definitely isn't complete, while only serious fans probably need the bonus material found here.

If the compilers of ROCK & ROLL had really wanted to dedicate a compilation to the Dolls, they would have been better off with a two CD set that included remastered versions of both original studio albums with any bonus material appended to the end of each disc. That's something I could give 5 stars to.

Released a decade ago, "Rock 'n' Roll" remains - for better or worse - the best single New York Dolls compact disc. If the reader has a turntable, by all means track down "New York Dolls" (1973) and "In Too Much Too Soon" (1974) - the band's two studio albums are both classics, and you'll get the original running order, fab graphics, and analog sound. And posthumous releases such as "From Paris With L-U-V" and "A Hard Night's Day" (two of the best) offer much terrific music to those familiar with the Dolls' albums. But at this late date - and with a surprisingly smart and potent 'reunion' album out this week - neither of the original band's classics have been remastered for CD since the early days of the format, and this 20 (21 in fact) track compilation beats both in terms of sonic impact. The debut, especially, suffers a significant loss of grunge in its feeble and thin transfer to digital.

As already described by others, "Rock 'n' Roll" has 10 out of 11 tracks from the debut (Bo Diddley's "Pills" is missing), and 7 out of 10 from the second album (including a longer 'Stranded In The Jungle' but excluding marvelous covers of Archie Bell & The Drells, Sonny Boy Williamson), and for a single cd, that's about as good as it can get however we might quibble about what was not included. This set is intelligently put together, and a generous 79 minutes. As far as rarities are concerned, in addition to the aforementioned 'Stranded...' there is the amazing, truly blissful opening instrumental 'Courageous Cat Theme' from the "Too Much..." sessions, and it's a classic on the order of Johnny Thunders' 'Pipeline,' a swinging, rock-out blast. Two others are Paul Nelson-produced demos from '74, the Stax classic 'Don't Mess With Cupid' and a Johansen/Thunders original, 'Lone Star Queen.' Both are solid and enjoyable, but obviously not intended for release. Yet the mixes are fine and any Dolls fan will be glad to have them in addition to this great band's all-too-slim body of work. The final rarity is an unlisted radio spot.

So, until someone gets the wise idea of remastering the original albums, this is the Dolls cd to get, and the band remains - however misunderstood in their own time - among the very best and brightest American bands to come out of the 1970s.

Rock n' Roll is a nice collection of New York Dolls music.

Not only are the tracks remastered but they've included a few unreleased ones as well (Courageous Cat Theme, Lone Star Queen). A cool booklet with a lot of information is

included with the CD. It's a shame this disc wasn't that well

publicized when it firsy came out. The disc sold poorly and their only two studio albums have never been digitally remastered. The only thing missing from this collection is the New York Dolls anthem PILLS!

Strongly recommended.

This is what compilations are supposed to be. Great track selection, nice liner notes, cool pictures and previously unreleased tracks that don't sound like they should have remained unreleased.

While they were influencing everyone from Kiss to the Sex Pistols, the Dolls in their time were just all about high-energy, fun rock and roll with more than a hint of danger and swagger.

Unfortunately, despite the otherwise faultless track selection, "Give Her a Great Big Kiss" and "Showdown" are inexplicably left off, forcing me to keep my old cassette version of "Night of the Living Dolls." Those are two of my favorite NY Dolls songs ever, so I have to deduct one star. Still, this is highly recommended.

They were of the Velvet Underground's lineage. They predated The Ramones, and were one of the few bands that Johnny Rotten acknowledged as an influence on The Sex Pistols. (I can't help but wonder if the the cover art of a crosseyed, busty blonde holding two pistols isn't a deliberate reference, but I doubt it.) The New York Dolls were the bridge between the hardline, anti-hippie New York scene of the 60s and the hardball, anti-hippie New York punk scene years later. This compilation bears testimony to the profound influence they had on later punk, although they themselves were not shackled to that image or self-conscious attitude. They were gratefully grafted to the simple term that perfectly suits the name of this collection: rock & roll.