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The latest CDs reviewed

NEW YORK DOLLS
New York Doll: The Story of Arthur "Killer" Kane Optimum ***

Some bands have all the bad luck, some bands have stupidity stamped all through them, and one of the most unluckiest and most stupid were the New York Dolls (three of the original members of the proto-punk band died because of hard drug use). Mind you, two members just about pulled through, singer David Johansen and bass player Arthur Kane, but it was the latter who turned out to have the worst luck. Kane latterly converted to the Mormon faith, and the initial premise of this insightful, often poignant documentary was to highlight his new-found religious leanings. Then in early 2004, Morrissey - curator of that year's Meltdown Festival in London - asked NYD to reform. Cue a healthier return to rock'n'roll and a potentially lucrative middle-aged existence for the remaining members. Poor old "Killer" Kane, though - he died of leukaemia before the rebirth of the band, which is now on a successful reunion tour (and which comes to Dublin on October 20th). Tony Clayton-Lea

VARIOUS
Shadowplayers - Factory Records & Manchester Post-Punk 1978-81 LTM ****

It seems we just cannot get enough of what happened when two Manchester mavericks and music fans set up a record label in 1978. While many have charted the label's successes and failures in print and on film (Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People remains the most entertaining to date), director James Nice takes a closer look at the initial post-punk spark that persuaded Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus to turn their Factory club into a record label. Facts and fictions abound as two dozen of the main players, sidemen, bystanders and band members give their take on what happened. Wilson, as you would expect, has all the best tales, but he's run close in this regard by New Order's Peter Hook. It helps, of course, that both were at the heart of the main events of those years (Joy Division's tragic demise and New Order's early days), but there is just as much fascinating detail to be found about those madcap, euphoric early days in conversations with Section 25, designer Peter Saville and Factory mainstay Vini Reilly. www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk  Jim Carroll