Cherry Red Records / Hear No Evil just released “Dynamite China Years: Complete Recordings 1988-1993“, an 8-CD box set compiling DOGS D’AMOUR complete collection of recordings released by China Records, including two discs of rarities, unreleased tracks, et.
Featuring what most consider to be the classic line-up of The Dogs D’Amour; Jo ‘Dog’ Almeida on guitar, Steve James on bass, the onomatopoeic Bam on drums, and of course fronted by songwriter and singer, the inimitable Tyla, DOGS D’AMOUR destilled the classic rock charm of Hanoi Rocks, Faces, and contemporaries Quireboys.
Propelled by the albums’ three singles ‘The Kid from Kensington’, ‘I Don’t Want You to Go’ and ‘How Come It Never Rains’ edging their way up the charts, when The Dogs D’Amour’s genre-defining 1988 “debut” ‘In The Dynamite Jet Saloon’ (CD2) was released in 1988, it must have looked like the band was an overnight sensation. But this couldn’t have been further from the truth.
The Dogs D’Amour originally formed in 1983, and had already recorded two previous “debut” albums. First was 1984’s now highly collectable ‘The State We’re In’, for Finnish label Kumibeat. Further recordings were made in 1985 and 1986 for Watanabe Records in Japan, and it’s the latter where this collection kicks off. ‘The (Un)Authorised Bootleg Album’ (CD1) was the record originally intended for Japan.
The (Un)Authorised Bootleg Album is a cool look into some shelved tunes meant for a Japanese release. For fans this thing is a goldmine, with more live tracks and B-sides than a DD nut could possibly go for, but a lot of it is for huge fans only, which is the fun of a set like this. Use it to get familiar as a newbie or dive way deep as a fan.
The second set in this collection is the aforementioned ‘In The Dynamite Jet Saloon’ (CD2), bursting with classics. A highly prolific band in their earliest days, ‘Errol Flynn’ (re-titled ‘King Of The Thieves’ in the States) (CD3) was released in 1989 as was the extended mini-album, ‘A Graveyard Of Empty Bottles Vol. 1’ (CD4), a collection of acoustic songs that reached the UK Top 20.
1990 saw the release of ‘…Straight??!!’ (CD5) featuring the singles ‘Victims of Success’, ‘Empty World’ and ‘Back On The Juice’. Unfortunately, and in true rock ‘n’ roll tradition, the band split up on stage in Los Angeles in 1991.
Thankfully the band regrouped for the self-explanatory ‘…More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace’ (CD6) in 1993. This eight CD collection is completed with no less than two discs of rarities, live tracks and B-sides ’Singles, B-Sides & Rarities’ (CD7) and ‘Even More Singles, B-Sides & Rarities’ (CD8), making this the most complete and comprehensive collection of the band’s recordings for China.
Tyla and The Dogs D’Amour will be on the road in 2024 and 2025 to support this release, and keep rocking like they always did.
The albums into this box still sound fresh, timeless rock n’ roll that never gets old.
Highly Recommended
DISC ONE:(Un)Authorised Bootleg Album (1988)
1 Firework Girl
2 Chains
3 Gold
4 Pourin’ Out My Heart
5 Wait Until I’m Dead
6 How Do You Fall in Love Again?
7 Kiss This Joint
8 Heroine
9 Tales Of Destruction
10 Dynamite Jet Saloon
11 Swingin’ the Bottle
DISC TWO:In The Dynamite Jet Saloon (1988)
1 Debauchery
2 I Don’t Want You To Go
3 How Come It Never Rains
4 Last Bandit
5 Medicine Man
6 Gonna Get It Right
7 Everything I Want
8 Heartbreak
9 Billy Two Rivers
10 Wait Until I’m Dead
11 Sometimes
12 The Kid from Kensington
13 The State I’m In
DISC THREE:Errol Flynn (King Of The Thieves) (1989)
1 Drunk Like Me
2 Goddess From The Gutter
3 Hurricane
4 Satellite Kid
5 Errol Flynn
6 Planetary Pied Piper
7 Princess Valium
8 Dogs Hair
9 Trail Of Tears
10 Ballad Of Jack
11 The Prettiest Girl In The World
12 The Girl Behind The Glass
13 Things Seem to Go Wrong
14 Oooh! Baby Glass
DISC FOUR:A Graveyard Of Empty Bottles Vol. 1 (1989)
1 I Think It’s (Love Again)
2 So Once Was I
3 Comfort Of The Devil
4 Saviour
5 Errol Flynn
6 The Bullet Proof Poet
7 When The Dream Has Gone
8 Angel
DISC FIVE:…Straight??!! (1990)
1 Cardboard Town
2 Kiss My Heart Goodbye
3 Lie In This Land
4 You Can’t Burn The Devil
5 Gypsy Blood
6 Empty World
7 Back On The Juice
8 Evil
9 Victims Of Success
10 Flyin’ Solo
11 Heroine
12 Chiva
13 Lady Nicotine
DISC SIX:…More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace (1993)
1 What’s Happening Here?
2 What You Do
3 Pretty, Pretty Once
4 World’s Different Now (Ode To Drug Hill)
5 Mr Addiction
6 Johnny Silvers
7 Cath
8 More Unchartered Heights Of Disgrace
9 Scared Of Dying
10 Mr Barfly
11 Put It In Her Arms
BONUS TRACKS:
12 All Or Nothing
13 English Outlaw
14 No Gypsy Blood ’93
15 Hard To Leave This World
16 When Nobody Loves You
DISC SEVEN:Singles, B-Sides & Rarities
1 King of The Thieves
2 Ugly
3 Billy Two Rivers (Live)
4 Victims of Success (Live)
5 I Don’t Want You to Go (Live)
6 Ballad of Jack (Live)
7 Last Bandit (Live)
8 How Come It Never Rains (Live)
9 Baby Glass (Live)
10 Kirsten Jet (Live)
11 Everything I Want (Live)
12 Heartbreak (Live)
13 Trail Of Tears (Live)
14 Medicine Man (Live)
15 Drunk Like Me (Live)
16 I Don’t Want You to Go (Live)
DISC EIGHT: Even More Singles, B-Sides & Rarities
1 I Don’t Want You to Go (12” Version)
2 Trail of Tears (7″ Version)
3 How Come It Never Rains (7″ Radio Edit)
4 Satellite Kid (Single Edit)
5 She Thinks Too Much of Me (Acoustic Version)
6 Drunk Like Me (Acoustic Version)
7 As the Poppies Fall (Acoustic Version)
8 Things He’d Do (Acoustic Version)
9 Never Had A Girl Who Would Die for Me (Acoustic Version)
10 What’s Happening Here? (Acoustic)
11 Heading for The Target of Insanity
Jo ‘Dog’ Almeida – guitar
Steve James – bass
Bam – drums
Tyla – vocals
turbo
Dogs D’Amour: Dynamite China Years – Complete Recordings 1988-1993, 8CD Box Set
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