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Cause I Sez So

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Cause I Sez So
Studio album by
New York Dolls
ReleasedMay 5, 2009
StudioUtopia Sound Studio
GenreGarage rock
Length46:26
LabelAtco
ProducerTodd Rundgren
New York Dolls chronology
One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This
(2006) 		Cause I Sez So
(2009) 		Dancing Backward in High Heels
(2011)

Cause I Sez So is the fourth studio album (and second after their reunion) by the New York Dolls. It was released on May 5, 2009, by Atco Records. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren, who also produced their self-titled debut album. One of the songs, "Trash", is a reggae-style remake of a song that originally appeared on their debut album.[1] The album peaked at number 159 at the Billboard 200.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.3/10[3]
Metacritic73/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The A.V. ClubB+[5]
The Austin Chronicle[6]
Boston Phoenix[7]
The Daily Telegraph[8]
MSN MusicA−[9]
PopMatters7/10[10]
Record Collector[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Spin5/10[13]

Cause I Sez So was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an average score of 73, based on 17 reviews.[2]

Michaelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club found the album "life-affirming" overall,[5] while The Daily Telegraph critic Andrew Perry said the Dolls are "in rude creative health" on their "tidiest [album] ever, and their most contemplative".[8] The Boston Globe's Jonathan Perry regarded it as "classic New York Dolls" full of "heart, soul, and swagger", and concluded, "Johansen's bowery rasp still has the texture of old shoe leather, but against improbable odds and the ravages of time, it somehow works beautifully."[14] While surprised at the band's newfound appreciation for "a range of rock styles so disdained by punk", Andy Gill of The Independent believed the album is "far better than we had any right to expect".[15] Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau conceded it is the first of the Dolls' albums that is "less than epochal", but ultimately observed redeeming qualities:

Not all the tunes are surefire. Its garage-rock derivative is several degrees bluesier than the permanently exploding protopunk they reprise on the closing 'Exorcism of Despair' just in case you forgot the thrill. And the Buddhism is more overt: post-flagellant culture, existence as a temptation, 'Offering the modern crowd an absolute/Worthy of its nothingness.' Just in case you forgot the frame of reference, however, there's also a skanking remake of 'Trash.' And in the end David Johansen's lyrics somehow combine extreme skepticism, metaphysical despair, romantic agony, rock-solid agape and luv l-u-v.[9]

Steve Kandell from Spin was more critical, disregarding Cause I Sez So as "all fun and harmless garage blooze ... ultimately as trifling as their '73 debut was essential".[13]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by David Johansen & Sylvain Sylvain, unless otherwise noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cause I Sez So" 3:06
2."Muddy Bones"David Johansen, Sami Yaffa3:00
3."Better Than You"David Johansen, Steve Conte3:22
4."Lonely So Long" 4:05
5."My World" 3:26
6."This Is Ridiculous"David Johansen, Steve Conte3:15
7."Temptation to Exist"David Johansen, Sami Yaffa, Steve Conte4:02
8."Making Rain" 4:06
9."Drowning" 3:32
10."Nobody Got No Bizness"David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain, Steve Conte2:58
11."Trash" 3:52
12."Exorcism of Despair" 4:17
13."Lipstick, Powder & Paint" (iTunes bonus track)Jess Stone4:17
Total length:46:26

Personnel

[edit]

New York Dolls

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2009) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 188
US Billboard 200[17] 159

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "New York Dolls announce "Cause I Sez So"". Punknews.org. 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  2. ^ a b "Cause I Sez So by New York Dolls Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "'Cause I Sez So by New York Dolls reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Deming, Mark (2009-05-05). "'Cause I Sez So - New York Dolls". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
  5. ^ a b "A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
  6. ^ Savlov, Marc (May 8, 2009). "New York Dolls - Music Review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  7. ^ Tamarkin, Jeff (April 28, 2009). "New York Dolls | 'Cause I Sez So - CD Reviews". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Perry, Andrew (May 4, 2009). "New York Dolls: Cause I Sez So, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (June 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved March 10, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  10. ^ Burson, Harry (7 May 2009). "New York Dolls: 'Cause I Sez So < PopMatters". Popmatters. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  11. ^ Needs, Kris (June 2009). "New York Dolls - Cause I Sez So". Record Collector. No. 363. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  12. ^ Hoard, Christian (May 1, 2009). "'Cause I Sez So | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Kandell, Steve (May 2009). "Reviews - New York Dolls: Cause I Sez So". Spin. p. 94. Retrieved March 10, 2020 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Perry, Jonathan (May 4, 2009). "New York Dolls, 'Cause I Sez So'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  15. ^ Gill, Andy (May 1, 2009). "Album: New York Dolls, Cause I Sez So (Atco)". The Independent. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: Nadanuf – Michael Nyman". zobbel.de. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  17. ^ "New York Dolls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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