BEEN ROCKIN' it for 21 Earth years, have the Fleshtones. Yeah. It's another Yank underground sensation thing.

But, boy, they're cool, with their two-minute-plus, '50s vibed bare-bones rock'n'roll sounds and rib-tickling lyrical scenarios. 'l'm Not A Sissy' has vocalist Peter Zaremba bawling memories of being the school wimp. 'God Damn It' finds him bitchin' off on the quicksand nightmare of trying to stay financially afloat in the music biz, while top cut 'Smash Crash' is the heartbreak tale of your girlfriend changing the lock... and finding your record collection is trapped inside!

The Feshtones: a band who know their priorities. We like that. [Ray Zell]

Rigsby

Hey ! bare with me on this one... I'm trying to figure out where to start - it could be the time I saw the Fleshtones at the Z33 club in Zurich, Switzerland, back in '87, the only show I've ever been to where the singer got the whole audience to sit cross-legged on the floor, while the rest of the band, including the drummer hauling and banging his bass drum, waded into the audience for one of their numbers. Or the time, sometime in '84 when I strolled proudly out of a record shop clutching a copy of the Fleshtones 'Blast Off' cassette only album, on ROIR. Their brand of be-bop B52's rock'n'roll inspired by all those obscure Fifties & Sixties r'n'r bands that only a band like the Fleshtones could be bothered to re-discover. They won me over instantly. Or how about the present - Pete tells me the spankin' new 'tones CD landed on my hallway carpet sometime last week - Wow ! To be honest I've sort of ignored them for the past 7 years, keeping an eyeball on the occasional review, but going nowhere further. Until now that is. Well no real change on the music front, just pure fun, slinky, sassy grooves, that offer nothing in the way of ground breaking innovation. What the hell ! Since when was that required to be able to tap your feet ? For me, the 'tones will always be a live band; of the five LP's I've got of theirs, the 3 live ones bear testimony to their energy & knack for producing some great music. But the studio stuff is equally entertaining & worth checking out. Now will someone please tell me how to do the Mash Potato ??!! [Tom C]

Troll

FLESHTONES 'more than skin deep' CD, the band were formed in 1976, they play a kind of laid back, garage rock&roll, the sound on the lp is brilliant, you can believe it was recorded in a run down studio in a cellar somewhere, on some dodgy old equipment that hasn't been used for 20 years. They also manage to capture the group of mates going for a jam kinda sound. Imagine the doors maybe being fronted by johnny thunders and that'll give you some idea.

Real Overdose

... the press release is right, there no doubt are plenty of people who know the name but have never heard the FLESHTONES, who don't realise they were playing at CB's with the RAMONES and the DICTATORS over twenty years ago, and who've never experienced their primitive beating and CRAMPS-ish vibe. It's not exactly the kind of thing that waters our grass but it's got more of an authentic garage feel and nod to the 60's than Lux and co have managed for a while, sounding more like they should be on Crypt. If you're into this kind of SEARCHERS - meets - SHADOWS OF KNIGHT thing then FLESHTONES gotta be top of the pile. [Tard]

Wigout

Garage rock 'n' roll is not usually the sort of thing I spend much time listening to so when I got this through the mail I wasn't exactly cock-a-hoop. I was pleasantly surprised however as this is pretty damn good. The vocals are spot on, the tunes are catchy and overall it's a fine album. So if you fancy a change from the usual punk rock fair you can do a lot worse than getting hold of this.

Metal Hammer

Although this lot formed way back in 1976, they didn't manage to get their debut record out until 1982, the start of a pretty weird recording history, indeed. More peculiar still, they guys don't really fit into any particular punk style or scene. And this is their major strength, because what stands out most notably is their ability to write some truly amusing, stomping rock 'n' roll. It's all amazingly laid back, nicely sloppy and features a welcome smattering of saxophone and harmonica to get the party going. Nice one. [EB]

Q

Bellicose guitarisms from veteran New York garage rock quartet.

Written, recorded, mixed, mastered and pressed in the time it takes most rock bands to apply their foundation and assemble their Class A drugs paraphernalia. More Than Skin Deep continues The Fleshtones' 20-year quest to ensnare the perfect thrashing caveman rock beat. At the epicentre of a thriving underground scene (dB's, Bush Tetras etc.), they have hoovered up a colourful collage of influences from surf guitar to rockabilly, Phil Spector, Dictators, New York Dolls and The Ramones, and then spewed it all out in a frothing, unsophisticated barrage of gormless, geeky five-star rock 'n' roll petrol. Sniffily disdaining the involvement of Los Angeles sessioneers, Fleshtones' songs - I'm Not A Sissy, God Damn It, and Dance With The Ghoulman are glorious slash-and-burn jukebox anthems. [Paul Davies]

Ripple

I don't know about you but I enjoy a little time travel every now and then. See, one minute I was lying on the bed with my telly tubby (look, it's not what you think) and the next I'm standing in CBGB's, hotbed of New York underground scene, and the year is 1976. The dress code is skin-tight black leather (oh yes), the wall drips with condensation and sweat, and I'm unable to prevent myself bouncing joyfully to the good-time garage rock 'n' roll of the Fleshtones.

Owing a large debt to the trash-boogie of the New York Dolls and the straightforward punk attitude of the Ramones, the band seem destined to fall apart, lie dormant through most of the 80s, only to take their brand of amphetamine rock into the 90s, sounding completely out of time yet thoroughly vibrant. Probably.

Unfortunately, after 13 songs and 35 minutes I'm transported back to my room, standing in a ridiculous rock-god pose, (with Laa-Laa as guitar), to the great amusement of my house mates. Bugger. [Phil Ascott]

VFTB

What the fuck is this? Fleshtones? More like Rolling Stones. The album title is rather apt as the songs get right under your skin so much that they gnaw at the bone. Avoid like the plague. [SC]

Nothing's Cool

The fleshtones have been peddling their good time rock 'n' roll for aeons now (they're the kind of people who call blokes 'cats') but their spirit has never been blunted. 'More than skin deep' is more than mere hackneyed retroism - 'laugh it off' is the pretty things brought up to date while 'dig in' is pure nomads swagger and run it up the flagpole gusto. Pretty darn good actually.

Happy House

The Fleshtones are a true rock and roll outfit and their sound has been as varied over the years as the rectal excretions of a sick dog. This, their latest release, has a very strong tendency towards the sound of the Rolling Stones meets the Cramps and all those fluffy 70s New Wave bands in a love sick suicide attack. Plenty of gutsy full on sounds including fine harmonica and sax provide cool numbers like God Damn It, I'm Not A Sissy, and I Wanna Feel Something Now. Top stuff.

Suspect Device

Jesus, I'd forgotten about these guys and at first I thought this was maybe a 'Greatest Hits' package. But no, this is a brand new album from these old timers and I can't believe how fucking great this is! I must admit I never really listened to them much before but I found this to be a breath of fresh air with it's 60's garage punk style, great lyrics and a knack of knocking out a great tune, love the mono recording too ...change the balance and you have 3 albums in one! Excellent.

Nosebleed

The Fleshtones have had somewhat of an erratic career since their formation in 1976, so it's surprising to find them, not only still alive in 1998, but signed to EPITAPH. Weird or what??? Strictly for fans of 60's beat punk and Flamin' Groovies rock 'n' roll, but somewhat of a gem for said fans. [Boz]

Vision-On

Where the hell have these punk pioneers been for the last god knows how many years? If you want full on blasting hardcore, you're looking in the wrong place. If it's mid-paced rocking you're after, the job's a good one. Really, the Fleshtones play a kind of edgy early 70's pub rock that's pretty cool and different but won't kick-off any revolution in '98.

No Barcodes Necessary

Arguably not very punk, if you ask me. I'm left wondering why the hell Epitaph have released this. Then again, they released the Cramps, who play the same genre and also come from the same CBGB's scene of the mid to late 70's. So what do we have here then? Well it's danceable, funky, r'n'b, surfy and very catchy. You know those big band type groups that flow like a train and play the type of music you see on something like come dancing, well it's got that jive man. The surfy guitar licks just melt me. 'I Wanna Feel Something Now' could easily rouse any of the sexiest Stone's songs, brilliant beat. In fact most of the songs on this have an awesome beat and you can tell they are veterans. I'll not try to bluff anyone, because I don't think everyone will enjoy this. You'd best hear it first before you consider anything.

No Reason