Thunders @ Club Citta: DVD!

Sunday, August 3rd 2008

The doctor who did Johnny Thunders' post mortem revealed that the singer's internal organs were "all purple". Tons of drugs and alcohol he had taken eventually ruined his body and took his life away - that's how the true natural-born rock & roller Johnny ended his life. The only thing that supported Johnny and his body was probably just his own will to "rock 'til he drops", literally.

Ever since his first Japan tour in 1985 Johnny Thunders has left many legends as an extraordinary live performer here in Japan. No one, however, would have thought that this Japan tour in April 1994 would be the last goodbye from the singer to rock'n'roll junkies all over the world...

On April 23, after he came back from Japan tour, Johnny went to heaven at a hotel in New Orleans where he had always longed to be, at age 38. The immediate cause of death was apparently OD, but also he had been diagnosed as having fatal leukemia, left with just a few months of life.

His final tour of Japan included 3 days, in Tokyo, Kawasaki and Osaka. His acoustic live footage from Osaka has already been released on "Hurt Me More" (which was reissued on CD as part of "Accoustic Thunders"), while the Kawasaki Club Citta show was published on CD in Japan as "Saddest Vacation Act 1&2". Regrettably both titles have been discontinued.

Much to our surprise, however, the Club Citta show was re-released on DVD in Japan as "Who's Been Talking? Johnny Thunders In Concert" last autumn.

The classic titles featuring sax and female choruses as rearranged by The Oddballs, an R&B style new group, are superb recordings that must have given Johnny fans tons of expectations of his new direction. But Johnny was Johnny, after all. He is a man with a bare pale face, staggering and strumming his beloved Gibson Les Paul Junior in TV colour (but actually he played Les Paul Standard on those three days recorded here), stuttering his lyrics which somehow told of his enormous passion - he was truly the last fallen angel loved by millions.

All in all, we just want to tell how extraordinary this CD release of the Club Citta show is. Johnny had a close friendship with Kiyoshiro Imawano, with whom he played together on the album "Covers" by the artist's band RC Succession. On the DVD you can see Johnny calling up Kiyoshiro on stage (he was there to check out the gig in private) to join Johnny on "Gloria", "Born To Lose" and "I Wanna Be Loved" with his blues harp. The power of the two sparks and brings the entire gig to its peak.

And Johnny's performance is just in sync with his new band The Oddballs, who seems to add more entertainment kind of feel to his music. The band actually revealed Johnny's true roots - blues and R&B, which in itself is rare, and makes this show all the more special as the bible for anyone who has interest in Johnny the rock'n roller.

So, here's Johnny's last stand in Japan. Everytime you listen to this CD, his lyric of "Born To Lose" - 'Hey, I was born to lose' - rings heavily in deep hollowness.