Johnny Thunders may either be the cockiest, coolest, guitar slinging ex-New York Doll who inspired a legion of imitators (Steve Cook for one), or the dick who introduced heroin to the London punk scene, sewed bad vibes throughout and ultimately caused the whole scene to splinter, but he did leave behind at least two punk rock classics- You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory being one, and the other being Chinese Rocks. Written by Richard Hell and Dee Dee Ramone, Chinese Rocks was an attempt to write a drug song that was better than The Velvet Underground's Heroin. There followed a bitch and blame session about who wrote what, what Johnny Thunders contributed ('nothing' according to Richard Hell) and much sniping in the way that only punk bands could snipe at each other. What is pretty clear though is that Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers recorded the definitive version.
Not having heard the Johnny Thunders version, I was a little skeptical...but I have to admit, it's a pretty great version. Still, it sounds like a great Ramones cover, so I think I still give the nod to the Ramones' version. Their tempo is a little faster and works better...
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