New York's The Fleshtones
are one of the longest-running CBGB's era bands. They've continued
for the last 39 years (since 1976) without a single year of
inactivity. Their blend of freakbeat soulful garage rock has always
resonated with live audiences throughout the world. In 1980 they
signed with Miles Copeland's legendary I.R.S. Records. They released
two magnificent studio albums (Roman Gods and Hexbreaker),
two EP's (Up Front
and American Beat '84),
about a dozen American and European singles and two live albums;
Speed Connection: Live In Paris 85 and
Speed Connection II:
The Final Chapter(Live In Paris 85).
The
album was recorded live at The Gibus Club, Paris, France on March 7,
1985. The band were booked to play nine shows at the club over a
two-week span, in two segments (March 5–9 and March 13–16). The
band had recorded the first show (March 5, 1985) and - at the urging
of the French division of I.R.S. Records' vice-president (and
original Police guitarist) Henri Padovani - subsequently
rush-released it to sell at the venue during their two-week stay. The
record was titled Speed
Connection: Live In Paris 85
(ILP 26412) and was only released in France. The cover art was by
famous French illustrator Serge Clerc. However the band was unhappy
with the record as lead singer Peter Zaremba had a severe case of
laryngitis the night that show was recorded.
The
band owed the American I.R.S. Records one more record to fulfill
their contractual obligations. In September 1985 the label released
Speed Connection II - The Final Chapter (Live In Paris 85)
- a recording of their third night (3/7/85) at the Gibus Club.
"Return to the Haunted House" was actually a studio
recording with canned applause taken from the live album Rock Will
Never Die by Michael Schenker Group. The same recording also later
appeared (minus the canned applause) on the Angry
Years 84-86
compilation album on Impossible Records in 1993. The cover artwork
was by organist and lead singer Peter Zaremba. Both albums were
produced by ex-Strangelove Richarard Gottehrer of “I Want Candy
Fame, who had also produced albums by The Go-Go's & Blondie.
The
album contained many cover versions of songs by other artists.
"Trouble" and "Haunted House" by The Kingsmen,
"Wind Out" by R.E.M., "La La La La Reprise" by
The Blendells, "When the Night Falls" by The Eyes, "Twelve
Months Later" by The Sheep (who were actually The Strangeloves
under a pseudonym) and "Hide & Seek" by Bunker Hill.
In critical terms, Speed Connection
really only hints at what a Fleshtones show was like in the 1980's
(as sadly the horn section hasn't really been a fixture of live shows
since the mid 90's). Peter Zaremba's laryngitis is only partially to
blame for the lack of success of the record. A comparatively limp recording is
basically what mars the proceedings. Speed Connection II is
far and away the superior of the two recordings. Although both albums have nearly identical tracklistings, everything sounds slightly better on SC:II and Zaremba's voice is in fine, wild form. The band is tight
as it generally always was at the time (and still is for that
matter). R.E.M.'s Peter Buck makes a special guest appearance on two
songs on guitar and the horn section sounds nice and appropriately
sloppy. The album received uniformly excellent reviews at the time of
its' September 1985 release but the label did literally nothing to
promote it.
I'm
wondering if this is the best starting place for a Fleshtones novice
to start looking into what the band sounded like in the 1980's. This
is possibly the best representation of the band's live prowess. As it
has a loose, sloppy and sweaty soundtrack to a mid 80's party appeal.
Here's The Video Review:
Special Thanks: Joe Bonomo & No Such Thing As Was, Maxwell Max, Robert Barry Francos and Zorro Zero & The Warlocks.
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