In 2016, New York's The Fleshtones celebrated their 40th anniversary. They're the only band from the mid 70's downtown scene to remain active every year of their existence. Celebrating this milestone, the band released their twenty-first record, The Band Drinks For Free.
A groovy cover of Ten Years After's "Love Like A Man" (which features guest vocals from Lisa Kekaula of The Bellrays) starts things off confidently enough, and that confidence doesn't seem to let up. The album reveals a few modern-day Fleshtones classics in "Rick Wakeman's Cape", "Suburban Roulette", "Living Today" and "Stupid Ole Sun". The band also cover the forgotten surf-movie ditty "The Gasser" by The Hondells. The band rocks in it's usual way; classic garage rock with stomping beats, fuzztone bass, Farfisa-organ strains all laced with the right amount of harmonica wails.
Lead singer, keyboardist and harmonica man Peter Zaremba (aka the host of Count Zaremba's Crypt on SiriusXM) is in excellent form, as always. guitarist/vocalist Keith Streng, bassist/vocalist Ken Fox and drummer extraordinaire Bill Millhizer, are, as always, never less than excellent.
Yep Roc offers a Bundle which includes the vinyl LP, the CD, an MP3 download code of the album, a 7" single of the non album title track (which for my money is the best song by the band in years) and the album B-Side of "Love My Lover". And the real selling point, for fans of the stealth carrying of liquors is a Fleshtones flask!
New York City's The Fleshtones have been producing their unique brand of "Super Rock" since 1976. Originally from Queens - transplanting to Brooklyn in the early 90's - the band has been the preeminent nuevo garage rock band since the early 80's. Connoisseurs of 60's soul, pop, garage and surf. The band has released Wheel Of Talent, their twenty-second album in total and their seventh since being signed to the wonderful Yep Roc Records in 2002.
There is the very first use of a string section on a Fleshtones album - on the single "Available" (which addresses the gentrification of Brooklyn) and "How To Say Goodbye". Both tracks incorporate them nicely into the bands melodic area. The album's other single ("For A Smile") features girl-group lead vocals from Southern Culture On The Skid's Mary Huff. "The Right Girl" is a British Invasion-styled nugget and features faux-cockney ballad vocals from Peter Zaremba. "It Is As It Was" features guitarist Keith Streng on lead vocals and references the bands biography Sweat: The Story Of The Fleshtones, America's Garage Band (Continuum Press, written by Joe Bonomo). "Roofarama" features a liberal amount of wah-wah guitar and whooping-backing vocals.
"Remember The Ramones" is about that Other band from Queens that The Fleshtones were friends/peers with and the time. "The Clash and The Pistols didn't exist/CBGB's was very loud/Suicide attacked the crowd/I was drinking Remy (Martin) with Marty Thau". The band humorously sings the chorus as "Remem. Ber The Ramones". The band does a Spanish-language cover of The Music Explosion's "I See The Light" (a live version of which previously appeared on their Soul Madrid LP). "Hipster Heaven" bemoans Williamsburg hipsters. Not a new subject for the band (the band's "Take A Good Look" from 2008 and "Haunted Hipster" from 2013 do the same). "Tear For Tear" is my personal favorite track and it closes things out nicely in a soulful way. And it features very nice lead vocals from Peter Zaremba.
The band seems to have refined the sound they established on the trilogy
of excellent albums they released from in the mid 2000's (Do You Swing? from 2003, Beachhead from 2005 and Take A GoodLook
from 2008). The muscular rhythm section of Bill Milhizer and Ken Fox
are well-accounted for. The Farfisa organ of Peter Zaremba is present (albeit sparingly)
as are the garage band backing vocals of the group. The album features guest backing vocals from none other than original Fleshtones bassist Jan Marek Pakulski (who was also on the band's 2001 Solid Gold Sound album). As a longtime-fan, it's nice to see his name grace a new Fleshtones album.
You may have heard Steven Van Zandt sing the praises of The Fleshtones on his Little Steven's Underground Garage program or maybe you heard them on an I.R.S. Records compilation from the 1980's. Either way it's high-time to discover this durable band as this album (as is Beachhead or Take A Good Look) is a nice modern introduction.
Here's the video review:
Thanks to: Yep Roc Records, Cassandra Fowler and The Fleshtones.
