L.a.m.f.: Definitive Edition

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HEARTBREAKERS 'L.A.M.F. - definitive edition' 3 x LP set Three 180g LPs in gatefold sleeve with a 16-page 12 booklet. Disc 1: The original 1977 Track LP restored, with the infamous 'mud' removed. Discs 2 & 3: 13 early demo tracks, including previously unreleased tracks with Richard Hell, plus 21 alternative mixes from the epic 1977 mixing sessions at five London studios. (Also available as 4xCD box set.) The Heartbreakers (Johnny Thunders, Walter Lure, Billy Rath & Jerry Nolan) were at the centre of the London punk scene in 1977, having been invited by the Sex Pistols onto the infamous 'Anarchy Tour'. UK punks treated the US band as rock royalty because of their New York Dolls pedigree. Malcolm McLaren had briefly managed the Dolls in NY. Signing to The Who's label, Track Records, they were treated to the best studios in London to record their only album, 'L.A.M.F.'. But when the LP came out, there was universal criticism of the sound quality. Journalists who had been championing the band such as Jon Savage, Julie Burchill, Nick Kent, Tony Parsons et al criticised the 'muddy mix', and drummer Jerry Nolan left the band because of it. Both Track and the Heartbreakers ran out of money and collapsed when the album didn't sell to expectations. Manager Leee Black Childers broke into the bankrupt Track offices to retrieve the multitracks and mixes (though not the master), leading to efforts to remix in 1984 and recompile the album in 1994. This 'definitive edition' at last restores the original LP, uncovers three early demo sessions from 1976 & 77, and presents a wide selection of the 200 mixes made at five different studios. A 16-page 12 booklet with lurid recollections from guitarist Walter Lure, a detailed Heartbreakers timeline 1975-78, and an introduction by biographer Nina Antonia accompanies it.