The previous volumes in the Heard Them Here First series focused on Elvis Presley, the Ramones and Cliff Richard. Now it s the turn of the New York Dolls. In their original incarnation, the band enjoyed only a brief butterfly lifespan, yet their impact upon popular culture proved enormous. What an entrance they made: an insolent, street-smart rush of cross-dressing glitter boys in towering stack-heeled boots, fuelled by a diet of booze, drugs, 50s doo wop, 60s girl groups, vintage rock n roll, Chicago blues, R&B, Brill Building pop, the Stones and the Stooges. From their earliest days, through to the re-formed band's recent albums, via the solo careers of David Johansen and Johnny Thunders, the Dolls music buffs all paid homage to their influences by peppering their repertoire with impeccably chosen songs from the past. We mark the 40th anniversary of their first album with this collection of 24 vintage originals that inspired the band to record their own renditions. Who knows, the New York Dolls may well have another album in the pipeline. If they do, who'd bet against it containing at least one great old song. One thing's for certain, they sure know how to pick them...

• 1. Seven Day Weekend - Gary (Us) Bonds
• 2. Pills - Bo Diddley
• 3. Don't Mess With Cupid - Otis Redding
• 4. Don't Start Me Talkin' - "Sonny Boy"Williamson
• 5. Bad Detective - the Coasters
• 6. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters
• 7. "There's Gonna Be A" Showdown - Archie Bell & the Drells
• 8. Stranded In the Jungle - the Jayhawks
• 9. Somethin' Else - Eddie Cochran
• 10. Reach Out I'll Be There - Four Tops
• 11. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone - Paul Revere & the Raiders
• 12. Too Much Monkey Business - Chuck Berry
• 13. Are You Lonely For Me - Freddie Scott
• 14. Crawfish - Elvis Presley
• 15. Uptown To Harlem - the Chambers Brothers
• 16. She Wants To Mambo - the Chanters
• 17. International Playboy - Wilson Pickett
• 18. Alcohol - the Kinks
• 19. Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style Again - Bull Moose Jackson
• 20. Who Drank My Beer While I Was In the Rear? - D. Bartholomew
• 21. Out In the Streets - the Shangri-Las
• 22. Piece of My Heart - Erma Franklin
• 23. I Sold My Heart To the Junkman - the Basin Street Boys
• 24. Lipstick, Powder and Paint - Joe Turner