On it’s release in 1977, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers’ “L.A.M.F.” had a mastering fault, widely condemned as a ‘muddy mix’. Track Records went bust and the master was lost – so subsequent releases were compiled from outtake or re-mixes. Forty-four years later, the master has been found in an attic, and the classic punk album “L.A.M.F.” can at last be heard as the band and producers intended!
Soon after leaving the New York Dolls, guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan formed the Heartbreakers with Television refugee Richard Hell. Their only album, 1977’s “L.A.M.F.”, is a cornerstone of the New York City punk scene, with songs like “Chinese Rocks” — cowritten by Dee Dee Ramone, whose band later recorded a version — chronicling drug abuse, perpetual disappointment and failure.
Found in an Attic – a punk rock archaeological discovery – a copy master of the original 1977 Track Records tape, without the ‘mud’!
This classic punk album, recorded in London by the New York band featuring two New York Dolls, was always controversial – and not just for the acronym. Upon release on Track Records in 1977, it was widely condemned for having a ‘muddy mix’ – later found to be a mastering fault. When Track went bust the following year, manager Lee Black Childers burgled the office and liberated the tapes – he found everything except the master-tape.
Originally saddled with a muddy, barely listenable mix, the Heartbreakers’ only album has been the center of discussion for decades. One thing is clear: The songs are almost uniformly great, anchored in mid-’70s power pop and on-the-horizon punk rock. Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan cut their teeth in punk pioneers New York Dolls, so the sentiments are genuine. That energy blazes through the opening cut “Born to Lose.”
Subsequent releases were remixed from the multi-tracks or compiled from outtake mixes – the ‘lost ’77 mixes’ in 1994 being well-received and the version most known ever since. A lift from the vinyl didn’t achieve much clarity. Meanwhile, fans found the ’77 cassette version didn’t have the infamous ‘mud’, nor did certain European vinyl matrixes.
In 2020 a chance meeting led to Daniel Secunda’s archives. He was an old-school music biz pioneer who became a Track Records director – and the Heartbreakers “L.A.M.F.” co-producer. Among his many tape boxes were two with no artist name, marked ‘Copy Master 12.7.77’. They turned out to be a crystal-clear “L.A.M.F.”, just as the band and producers intended it.
The Fat Angel Sings 