Johnny Thunders said it best. "You can't put your arms around a memory -- so don't try," the New York Dolls' junkie guitarist warned back in 1978. Maybe he was right. But that hasn't stopped some of his old bandmates from giving it a shot.

Who can blame them? Everybody wants a do-over. Even The Dolls. The original lipstick killers imploded after blasting out two early '70s glam-laced blues-rock gems that set the stage for punk. But like The Velvet Underground and Big Star, they're a band that influenced everybody yet were seen by almost nobody. So when Morrissey asked the survivors to reunite for a U.K. fest in 2004, naturally they took the bait. Naturally, everybody loved them. Naturally, they decided to make the reunion permanent, wrote new songs and made One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This, their first album in 32 years. And naturally, it's a mixed blessing.

How you feel about this disc probably depends on how you feel about reunions in general and The Dolls in particular. If you hate the former (and we do), it's hard to love this CD. But if you love the band (and we do), you can't hate it either. Though you can hate yourself for not being able to love it unreservedly (and we do).

The big problem: This ain't the real New York Dolls. Thunders -- who co-wrote most of their best songs -- ODed in 1991. Meningitis took drummer Jerry Nolan in 1992. Bassist Arthur (Killer) Kane made the U.K. reunion, but died of leukemia weeks later. Singer David Johansen and second guitarist Sylvain Sylvain are the last girlie-men standing, joined here by acolytes like Hanoi Rocks bassist Sami Yaffa (and guests like Iggy Pop and Michael Stipe). That puts them in a no-win situation: If they try to sound like they did 30 years ago, purists will scream. If they don't sound like they did 30 years ago, purists will scream louder.

To their credit, Johansen and Sylvain do a fair job of walking that tightrope between resurrection and reinvention. Half the time, they deftly pillage their platform-heel, feather-boa past. We're All in Love borrows from brash power-chord guitar-rockers like Lookin' for a Kiss and Personality Crisis. Rainbow Store is a girl-group-gone-wild rewrite of Great Big Kiss. Dance Like a Monkey leaves us Stranded in the Jungle again. You can hear echoes of Jet Boy, Trash, Perfect World and other oldies sprinkled into these raucous, retro-rocking tracks like prizes in a box of Cracker Jacks.

The rest of the time, The Dolls borrow from some odd sources. Runnin' Around is a bump-and-grinder a la Hot Legs. Maimed Happiness sounds like Dylan at a '50s sock hop. Gotta Get Away From Tommy has the pumping off-Broadway theatrics of Andrew W.K. Take a Good Look at My Good Looks is a slinky revamp of Beast of Burden. In other words: There's not a lot here you haven't heard before. That includes Thunders' trademark pick-scrapes, divebombs and stabbing licks, which guitarist Steve Conte replicates with reverent precision.

But there are some new touches to the Jack Richardson-produced mix -- big backup vocals that are a little too slick and fancy for The Dolls. Especially when they're set against Johansen's blaring-foghorn pipes and wheezing blues harp, which remain the core of the band's sound. In fact, at 56, the cadaverous singer has never sounded better. He's sharp enough to pen dance songs ridiculing intelligent design, self-aware enough to laugh about "jumpin' 'round the stage dressed like teenage girls, casting our swine before the pearls," and cheeky enough to crack, "why should gay boys get all the good seats?" He's the reason it will please us to remember this album one day. And the reason that ultimately, we're willing to forgive these guys for messing with their legacy, and embrace the notion that any New York Dolls album -- even an imperfect one -- is better than none.

So maybe Thunders was only half-right. Maybe you can get your arms around that memory -- even if you can't really breathe new life into the sucker.

Track Listing:

1. We're All in Love
2. Runnin' Around
3. Plenty of Music
4. Dance Like a Monkey
5. Punishing World
6. Maimed Happiness
7. Fishnets and Cigarettes
8. Gotta Get Away from Tommy
9. Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano
10. I Ain't Got Nothin'
11. Rainbow Store
12. Gimme Luv and Turn on the Light
13. Take a Good Look at my Good Looks