DOGS "Legendary Lovers" 1983

"Pub rock influenced me in a way of keeping on making short songs with really fast tempos but that’s what we had been doing from the beginning. As an example, the song "Here Comes My Baby" on the Dogs’ second record was written in ‘73 and it’s a really short and fast one." (Dominique)
In July of 1983 the band recorded the Legendary Lovers lp, which was released later in the fall. This one is almost certainly their second best out of the whole catalog. It’s much more of an updated garage rock sort of sound without the punk overtones that marked their best record, Walking Shadows. Vic Maile produced the record and given his background with bands like Dr. Feelgood, the Vibrators, the Inmates, the Godfathers, and Eddie and the Hot Rods, he seemed like a more sympathetic choice than reformed AC/DC knob twiddler Tony Platt had been on the previous album. Legendary Lovers rolls from strength to strength, with the poppy "Little Johnny Jet" and "Everything But Love" leading off, the moodier "Never Come Back" following that, then the middle-eastern sounding "Secrets" (later to be the second single from the album), the ringing glam-rock guitar intro and power pop hooks of "I’m Just Losing That Girl", and the rocking "Can’t Find My Way". "Maureen" has a fifties rocker feel with some sax charts filling out the background – it was the choice for the single. Strangely enough, the flip of this 45 became the home for the lp’s title track, which was left off the album because the version recorded in the studio didn’t measure up to the standard they’d hoped for it. "Be My Lover" has some brilliantly original guitar bits that give it a haunting and memorable feeling. The album closes out with "I Got Somebody", another track that merges glam and garage in a way similar to "I’m Just Losing That Girl". In summary, Legendary Lovers is an outstanding album, and anyone who’s been enthralled by mid 80s Australian garage rock bands would find this to measure up to the best work out of that scene. It’s loaded with classic tunes and great playing. Others certainly thought so… in fact a very good Swedish guitar rock band liked it so much they named themselves for the album.
Dogs:
Dominique: chant/guitare, Antoine: guitare, Hugues: basse, Mimi: batterie
recorded at Jackson Studios Rickmansworth / Produced by Vic Maile

traxfromwax:
1. Little Johnny Jet 2. Everything but love 3. Never come back 4. Secrets 5. I'm just losing that girl 6. Can't find my way 7. M.A.U.R.E.E.N. 8. If you don't want me no more 9. Bird doggin' 10. Be my lover 11. I got somebody