The first come back album from the New York Dolls was so ugly on the outside that I didn't really give the music any chance. That being said, Cause I Sez So is equally disgusting. But I really wanted to give the music a fair shake. And I did - until I got to the end of the disc. But let's do this sequentially.

The title track begins the album and comes off sounding like a Guns 'n Roses cover band. A good one, but that doesn't make the '80s inspired guitar solos sound any better. Of course without the Dolls, there wouldn't have been any hair metal nonsense to refer to here. So in addition to helping create the codified world of punk, David Johanssonn can be seen as a forbearer of dudes with spandex rocking technically difficult solos in front of thousands of people. Great.

His voice, here, is a bit deeper and even fuller than on the classic Dolls' recordings from the '70s. Johansson wasn't ever known for his range - but he was a performer. Being given the chance to top off a buncha middling rock tunes, though, doesn't benefit him.

Even with only Johansson and Sylvain Sylvain on guitar leftover from the original line up, the band - or at least its name persists. The Johnny Thunders pretender that previously toured with the band on their Camel cigarette sponsored tour a few years either has been replaced or has toned it down to only a mildly laughable point. The musical variety has increased, though. The band works out a slowed down Bo Diddley beat on "My World" to decent affect, but it just doesn't recall the past glory of this act. I guess I didn't expect it to, so I can't be disappointed.

"Ridiculous" suggests that, perhaps in the future, Tom Waits might be a good fit as a producer. The track sits in roughly the same territory of the Diddley beat from a few tracks back. Of course, it's ironic that the Dolls would title a song in such a manner considering their audacious disregard for decorum. But the best way in which to look at this disc - or the last one for that matter - is that it keeps Sylvain employed.

While Johansson has been able to keep himself relatively busy over the last three decades, Sylvain can't claim film credits and the like. So, I'd rather tolerate a slew of worthless New (Age) York Dolls' albums than hear about him living in squalor.

What no one should tolerate, though, is the piddly re-working of "Trash." Again, finding the Dolls in a much expanded musical settings on this disc with everything from a straight blues to rockabilly style is entertaining if not desirable. But to take a classic and turn on the downtown reggae fandom isn't acceptable. Even if the band was able to work out the rhythm, the song would still be less than desirable. But the fact that the result sounds like a group of fifty year old accountants in Tacoma working out Bob Marley covers is more than enough reason to stay away from this disc. And I'm pretty sure you can pick up Rock 'n Roll for a few bucks less than this tripe.