Dollhouse - Live In Sweden album review

Dollhouse serve up some MC5-approved rock‘n’soul from Sweden

Dollhouse Live In Sweden album cover

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“This is what the MC5 wanted to sound like,” that legendary Detroit band’s late bassist Michael Davis declared after witnessing Dollhouse scorch a stage with their high-energy rock‘n’soul. He promptly flew the Swedish band to the US, produced their 2004 debut album The Rock And Soul Circus and got them supporting the DTK/MC5, which led to Hellacopters’ Nicke Anderson producing Dollhouse’s 2006 second album The Royal Rendezvous.

Dollhouse split after 2009’s Rock & Roll Revival but, still led by testifying singer Chis Winter, have returned with this scathing live album coursing with faves including Rock ‘N’ Roll Fever, Dead Man’s Hand, C’Mon Baby and their incendiary covers of Little Richard and Ray Charles tunes. Crucially, the band sizzle with the kind of frenetic rama-lama which elevated the MC5, complete with epic song endings. Thankfully, Detroit rock has these energised emissaries back to carry its much-threatened torch.

Kris Needs

Kris Needs is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. Previously secretary of the Mott The Hoople fan club, he became editor of ZigZag in 1977 and has written biographies of stars including Primal Scream, Joe Strummer and Keith Richards. He's also written for MOJO, Record Collector, Classic Rock, Prog, Electronic Sound, Vive Le Rock and Shindig!