Music for the lowlifes, the sad, and the forgotten

I was having some trouble finding something I felt like posting tonight: I’ve picked up a couple of new albums recently, but they’re things that have been out for a while and have been repeatedly blogged (i.e. Foxboro Hot Tubs). There are basically two solutions when I run up against this sort of poster’s block. I can either root around my hard drive for a live recording or I can root around my apartment for some sort of obscure music.

I chose to pursue option “b,” which may or may not sit well with all of you. I dug around and came up with a 1988 release from a band called The Dogs D’Amour. The Dogs came out of England with a glam look and a Stones-type blues rock sound. Their lyrics, written by band founder and vocalist Tyla, relied on romantic themes and poetic-type lyrics. Tyla was also a fan of author and renowned drunkard Charles Bukowski. “If Charles Bukowski is the prose and poetry of the whores and junkies and lonely hearts, this is their song and music,” wrote Martin Mathis on his Dogs D’Amour tribute page. “Lyrics that romanticize the lowlife, the blue, sad and forgotten.”

In the Dynamite Jet Saloon, was the band’s second official release, and was recorded by what is considered The Dogs’ classic line up: Tyla, guitarist Jo “Dog” Almeida, drummer Bam Bam, and bassist Steve James. This would be the album that more or less brought large-scale attention to the Dogs, although the follow up, A Graveyard of Empty Bottles, would be their best selling.

This line-up lasted two years and three more albums before the band imploded onstage in Los Angeles. Tyla, who had recently split with his wife, slashed his chest with a broken glass bottle and brought an end to the band.

Since that finale, the various members have drifted through various bands, briefly reuniting in 2000 and recording a couple of albums. Tyla has recently toured under the name Tyla and the Dogs D'Amour.

These two songs are the second and third singles, respectively, from In the Dynamite Jet Saloon.

I Don’t Want You to Go.mp3
How Come It Never Rains.mp3

For more information or for the Dogs’ full story, check out either Tyla’s MySpace or Tyla and the Dogs D’Amour.com.

Labels: glam, hair metal, rock

posted by aikin @ 8:34 PM