So Alone

Though Johnny Thunders was a mess while recording So Alone, it was his defining moment. The album sports the same four-chord junk and sass he brought to The New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers, and he lights it up on “Leave Me Alone,” “Dead or Alive," and especially “London Boys”—a vicious Sex Pistols dis that, funnily enough, finds the Pistols’ Paul Cook and Steve Jones backing him. The Dolls retread “Subway Train” is surprisingly great, as is his toast to girl groups, "(Give Him A) Great Big Kiss.” But what make this album a classic is the underbelly of darkness (“Ask Me No Questions,” “Downtown”) and the real honesty in “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory,” a tender song of regret later covered by many (including Guns ’N Roses and Giant Sand) and featured prominently in a Sopranos episode and Scorsese film. A young Steve Lillywhite (U2, Rolling Stones) provided producer oversight. That was no easy task, considering the musical guests of rowdy up-and-comers and toxic avengers, including Chrissie Hynde, Phil Lynott, Peter Perrett, and Steve Marriott.