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The Dead Boys Still Snotty: Young, Loud & Snotty At 40 Review by Gary Hill I've always been a big fan of the original Young, Loud & Snotty album. Has it been 40 years already? That's so hard to believe. Well, apparently it has. And, with this new release, I've learned something new. Apparently that album was intended to only be a demo. The band never planned to release it, but it happened anyway. So, now, with just two original members (Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Blitz) remaining, they have assembled the new version of the band re-recorded it, the way it was intended to sound. Overall, the difference in sound is fairly minor. I can tell the difference, but then again, it's so close that those differences are not all that noticeable. I was a bit worried about how they would sound with out Stiv Bators. Well, I shouldn't have worried. It wouldn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that Jake Hout's vocals are Bators. Yes, he sounds that close. They left off a couple tracks ("Little Girl" - one that never really seemed to fit the album to me - and the mash up of "Not Anymore" and "Ain't Nothing To Do") because they weren't intended to be on the album at all. I have to say that if I have a complaint it's that the album was short to begin with and is now even shorter (just over 25 minutes). I would have been nice if they had included a couple songs to replace those. Still, this new flavor on an old classic is great, either way. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 5 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.

Track by Track Review

Sonic Reducer This comes in much like the original, but sounding meaner. I've always loved this song. In fact, it might be my all-time favorite punk rock song. While the production on this is cleaner, and you can tell that it's not Stiv Bators singing (but only barely), this sounds quite close to the version we all know and love. It still rocks like crazy.

All This and More I think the vocals might be too far down in the mix here at times. Still, this song works well. It perhaps sounds more "different" than the opener did.

What Love Is This is one of my favorites from the original album. This perhaps feels a bit less aggressive. Somehow that really works here. I think I prefer this version to the original. It still rocks like crazy. I like the guitar solo section here a lot.

Not Anymore The guitar soloing really shines on this version. They don't lose any of the cool here. It preserves the original texture in so many ways.

Ain't Nothin' to Do Again, the vocals seem to be a little further down in the mix here. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I mean, on the original they were perhaps a bit too far out front. The later sections of this really seem to surpass the original, particularly the guitar solo section. It's purely on fire.

Caught with the Meat in Your Mouth Now, there's no question that this version is stronger. It might be the most different than the version previously released. I was never a huge fan of the original, but I really like this one. Don't get me wrong, I always liked it, but it was never at the same level as most of the rest of the set. This corrects that problem for sure.

I Need Lunch I think I prefer the original of this. It seemed a bit meaner. It had more of a raw energy. Still, this works well here. This gets a definite parental advisory.

High Tension Wire While the version originally released had a more distorted sound, I think this one allows the vocals to breathe a bit more. Overall, I think that makes for a stronger cut. The original of this one, as much as I liked it, always felt a bit like a "rush job." Of course, now I know that it was. This definitely fixes that problem.

Down in Flames This one feels a bit cleaner in terms of the production, but it doesn't lose anything for that. If anything, the crazed noisy section at the end feels even more jarring because of the contrast.

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