The Dirty Strangers - The Dirty Strangers (1988)

Essentially a Rolling Stones clone, the Dirty Strangers are singer/songwriter Alan Clayton's sounding board as well as his vehicle for showing the world that he knows Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. This is a compilation of 11 tracks from their 1987 debut coupled with eight late-'80s live cuts. At times, Clayton sounds uncannily similar to Mick Jagger; other times, a bit of wise guy Tonio K sneaks into his delivery. Although the inclusion of the Stones' guitarists makes for an interesting footnote, the live tracks recorded with the Dirty Strangers' regular guitarists, Paul Fox and Phil Spalding, demonstrate that the celebrity contribution wasn't musically necessary. This is energetic, gritty, low-down rock & roll that unfortunately never caught on in the '80s, but has aged extremely well.