Tony Valentino - Dirty Water Revisited

Tony Valentino was the original guitarist. and one of the co-founders, of The Standells, considered by many as one of the originators of garage rock.  His new album, Dirty Water Revisited includes rerecorded versions of eight of their classic songs along with two new originals.  According to Valentino, he got the inspiration from Rick Springfield, who was a frequent customer of a Bellisimo, a restaurant he owned.  Rick told him he was going to re-record all of his hits so he would have control over them again, and since The Standells were in the same boat, he decided to do that too.  Valentino sings lead on one track and plays guitar, harmonica and some keys, while his band is rounded out by Gary Kaluza on bass and rhythm guitar plus lead vocals on two tracks, Duane Walder on drums and lead vocals on seven cuts, and Ziro E on keys.  The album kicks off with the one-two punch of the classic “Dirty Water” and “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White” and continues with tracks like the more soulful “There Is A Storm Comin’”, the stomping “Why Did You Hurt Me”, hard charging “Riot On The Sunset Strip” and the fast-paced “Love Me”, making this a fun and infectious collection that maintains that raw, ragged edge of the originals, but gives them a bit of a modern day spin.  The musicianship is outstanding throughout and Valentino’s guitar and organ playing show he hasn’t lost his mojo.  As for the originals, “Vicki” is a classic garage rocker, while “I’m A Sexy Punk Rocker” is pure early Iggy Pop style punk at its finest, and based on how good these two originals are, I'm hoping there is an album full of new songs somewhere in our future. 

(Big Stir Records)