AMG Review of New York City Rock N Roll

Alex Henderson
All Music Guide

Upon seeing the title New York City Rock n Roll, one is inclined to think of rockers who came out of the Big Apple in the '60s and '70s -- people who range from Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground to the New York Dolls, the Dictators, Kiss, Blondie, and the Ramones. One thinks of punk fans packing ~CBGB's during the Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter years, or folks filling ~Max's Kansas City back when N.Y.C. really was as dysfunctional and crime-ridden as it was depicted in the Rolling Stones' "Shattered" and the 1976 movie #Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese's crowning achievement). But New York City Rock n Roll isn't a compilation of classic recordings from the '60s and '70s; assembled by promoter Steven Blush, this 2003 release turns the spotlight on 22 young bands that were active on the Big Apple club scene in the early 2000s. A variety of rockers are heard on Blush's compilation, and the influences range from punk, metal, and hard rock to power pop and glam rock; the things that most of the bands have in common is a sense of trashy, slutty, decadent, hedonistic fun. New York City Rock n Roll never tries to be introspective, and in that sense, the disc is far removed from the sort of intellectual serious-mindedness one associates with Creed, U2, or Live. Much of the time, a beer-soaked, party-like atmosphere permeates this disc; that holds true whether you're being reminded of the Pretenders on Go to Town's "Devastating," Aerosmith on Pisser's "Wifey," or Kiss on the pop-metal-ish "Luv NYC." Not everything on New York City Rock n Roll is mind-blowing; there are excellent tracks as well as songs that are merely competent. But all things considered, Blush's compilation paints an attractive, enjoyably gritty picture of the N.Y.C. rock scene in the early 2000s.