l.a.m.f.

The Heartbreakers first and only studio album suffered from terrible mixing; but the brash and blurry blast of rock and roll was a powerful statement of the power of punk. The band began in New York in 1975 as a kind of punk rock supergroup with Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan from the New York Dolls, Richard Hell from Television and Walter Lure from the Demons. Hell would leave to form the Voidoids and be replaced by Billy Rath. Notorious for their drug problems, the Heartbreakers had trouble getting a record contract in the US; but Malcolm McLaren invited them to join the Anarchy tour with the Sex Pistols and other UK punk bands like the Clash, the Damned, and the Buzzcocks. The tour was cancelled and the band was stranded in Britain, where they decided to stay. After some live shows, they were offered a contract with Track Records. With Johnny Thunders and Walter Lure on vocals and guitar; Billy Rath on bass; and Jerry Nolan on drums and vocals, they began recording demos at Essex Studios with producer Speedy Keen and then switched to the Who's Ramport Studios with Daniel Segunda and Mike Thorne. During the sessions Pete Townshend invited them to be extras in the movie version of 'Quadrophenia'. The mixing of the tracks took place over several months with band members bringing the tapes to various studios to try a new mix. The final mix that was released was deemed sub-par by just about everyone who heard it, although the cassette version somehow came out better than the version on vinyl. Nolan soon quit in disgust over the sound of the album. 'L.A.M.F.' stands for "Like A Mother Fucker", which was a gang tag in New York City. It has been remixed and re-released many times and remains a punk rock classic.






'L.A.M.F.'

full album:



 

0:00 Born To Lose
3:06 Baby Talk
5:28 All By Myself
8:19 I Wanna Be Loved
10:55 It's Not Enough
14:54 Chinese Rocks
17:47 Get Off The Phone
19:47 Pirate Love
23:42 One Track Mind
26:15 I Love You
28:38 Goin' Steady
31:21 Let Go