A music publication put together with genuine understanding, sincerity and utter belief. We bring the scope and knowledge of old fanzines and specialist rock titles to a larger readership.

Shindig! Issue #158 – The Fleshtones

PHIL SUGGITT penned an excellent article on THE FLESHTONES’ in issue #158. In this extract from the piece the band’s 1985 live album is remembered 

 

A live album seemed an obvious move. Building on their popularity in France, The Fleshtones were booked in 1985 for a run of dates over a two-week period at the Club Gibus, in Paris. The plan was to swiftly record the first live show, tape and mix it at a local studio the next day, press it in Amsterdam the next, and have it printed and ready to sell in the club before their residence finished. This was an ambitious plan in the pre-digital age. Despite the best efforts of engineer Jim Ball and producer Richard Gottehrer, the project was beset with problems. The gig was below par, as the band hadn’t shaken off jetlag and Peter’s voice was shot. The Paris studio available was small and poorly equipped, and there was only a four-hour window to mix and overdub. The result was disappointing for all concerned. Ball regretfully summed up the project. “Speed Connection is what it is: a testament to how to do a record in a week.” The set, mixing popular cuts from the early albums, was far better on subsequent nights, but a great opportunity to capture the live magic had been missed.

“Our live shows and records are two different animals,” says Peter. “There are a few reasons for this, the most obvious being that a record does not miraculously transport the actual band into your living room. There’s a lot you don’t see, and a lot that happens by chance and chaos that just won’t happen once the music is fixed on a recording. Also, we came to doing all this by way of being big fans of records. We tend to envision our songs as completed records way before we get anywhere near a recording studio. This kinda cuts producers out of the loop. Ultimately, we want our records to sound like records we love. Someday maybe we’ll make a really ‘live’ sounding record, but of course that will be fake.”

The set always includes some impressive cover versions, drawn from over 250 they have played over the years, almost every song that made you shake your hips. “A favourite that is guaranteed to get a crowd going is ‘Alright’ by The Coastliners, which is still included in all out live shows. An interesting note is that however successful the cover, we tend to drop it as soon we find out another band is covering it as well, so don’t tell us about some band covering ‘Alright’.”

The Fleshtones can also draw on a hefty back catalogue of self-penned songs. “We’ll toss off one of our very first songs (it’s on our first aborted LP Blast Off) ‘How I Feel’ when we all get really worked up,” says Pete. “We also do old songs like ‘Shadowline’ and ‘Hexbreaker’ if people request them.”

To read the full article order Shindig! issue #158 here

Facebooktwittermail

17 thoughts on “Shindig! Issue #158 – The Fleshtones”

  3. This is the correct weblog for anyone who desires to seek out out about this topic. You notice a lot its virtually onerous to argue with you (not that I actually would need…HaHa). You positively put a brand new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just nice!

  5. Somebody essentially help to make significantly articles Id state This is the first time I frequented your web page and up to now I surprised with the research you made to make this actual post incredible Fantastic job

  7. you are really a good webmaster. The website loading speed is amazing. It seems that you’re doing any unique trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you have done a excellent job on this topic!

  9. Thank you for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I’m very glad to see such fantastic info being shared freely out there.

  11. excellent points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What would you suggest in regards to your publish that you made a few days in the past? Any certain?

  12. obviously like your website but you have to check the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth nevertheless I will certainly come back again.

  13. Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the web the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

  15. Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a entertainment account it. Glance complex to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we keep in touch?

  16. Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too wonderful. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to keep it sensible. I can not wait to read far more from you. This is really a tremendous website.

  17. Wow, awesome blog layout! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for? you made running a blog glance easy. The full look of your web site is great, let alone the content material!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *