Morrissey might be a miserable bastard but without him the remaining members of The New York Dolls may never have reformed. This CD&DVD set was filmed at their two comeback shows at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2004 - I was at the 2nd show and this package really does do justice to the gig.

It also turned out to be bassist Arthur Kane’s last ever show - he sadly passed away of leukaemia shortly after the show, and there is a tribute to him from singer David Johansen in the CD booklet.

The CD features 14 of the Dolls’ best known tracks, whilst the DVD features all of these plus a couple of covers, the most notable being "Another Piece of My Heart" and a tribute to Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders in the form of his song "You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory".

With a new album just released and a bit of a resurgence in interest for the Dolls, this is a great package- for fans and novices alike.

****

Review by Nikk Gunns