Fleshtones "Hitsburg Revisited" 1999***

I remember first seeing The Fleshtones at the AN Club in '98. I had heard a few of their records and went in expecting to have a rockin' good time. You see The Fleshtones may have burst out of the New York punk scene of the 70's, but they were never angry or aggressive. Their music was rooted in Rock'n'roll and Soul tradition, played in a nervy and animated manner, as if they were determined to get everybody to dance - or, in any case, bounce around like a rubber ball thrust to the wall with maximum velocity. And, let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed. They played a highly energised set, connecting with the audience and acting like a real party band. During the encore they left the stage (not that AN really has much of a stage to separate bands from the audience) and started walking around the club, playing. Even the drummer took a piece of his set with him, banging on it while he was making the rounds. Round and round they went, until they were up the stairs (AN is a deeply underground club, in more senses than one) and out on the street. They had to unplug the guitars, of course, but they took the party to the street and, before I could follow them out of the club, they disappeared. I left thinking: now these guys know how to throw a rock'n'roll party better than any other band in the business! "Hitsburg Revisited" (the sequel to 1996's "Hitsburg") is one of their more party-oriented albums, as it contains revved-up covers of vintage R'n'Roll and R&B artists that influenced their sound.
Most of the songs, even those by famous artists, are relatively unknown (the mark of a good covers album) and originate from the 50's or early 60's. Often they improve on the originals: The Stylistics' "Rock and Roll Baby" was a tepid soul number which they turned into a rock scorcher reminiscent of Wooly Bully, and Eddie Cochran's "Little Lou" was one of his weakest songs. Mel Torme's "Comin' Home Baby" is the only famous tune here, and The Fleshtones' rendition is more groovy and less manic than most of the songs here. Other highlights include their versions of Andre Williams' "Going Down To Tia Juana", Frankie Avalon's "Don't Stop Now", and The Young Rascals' "Find Somebody". "Keelee's Twist" is a groovy instrumental, "Voodoo Voodoo" a punky attempt on LaVerne Baker swampy R&B, and "Take My Love" sports a manic blues harmonica. "Soul City" is a song written by Lou Reed in his songwriter-for-hire days before Velvet Underground. "Tearing Me Apart" fits well with the the rest, despite being written by a contemporary band to the Fleshtones (Canadian punks Teenage Head, in 1979). "I'm Over Twenty-Five (But You Can Trust Me)" is a barrel of laughs. Written by Sammy Davis Jr in a pathetic attempt to reach to the "flower power" generation (can you imagine Sinatra doing that?), the original was so inadvertently funny it didn't even need Zaremba to adopt such a camp singing style. The album ends with one of the strongest numbers, The Fleshtones'own garage soul raver "Hitsburg USA". It is a testament to the band's songwriting ability that they could match -and even surpass- the artists that influenced them, and it was to become a staple of their live repertory. Judging from recent youtube clips, 17 years after I first saw them, the band still rocks, so if they come your way this is one party you don't want to miss!

**** for Comin' Home Baby(Mel Torme), Don't Stop Now(Frankie Avalon), Take My Love I Want to Give It All to You (Little Willie John), Going Down to Tia Juana(Andre Williams), Find Somebody(Young Rascals), Tribute to Hank Ballard/Switch-A-Roo(Hank Ballard), Tearing Me Apart(Teenage Head), Soul City(Hi-Lifes), Hitsburg USA

*** for Rock and Roll Baby(Stylistics), Little Lou(Eddie Cochran), Voodoo Voodoo(LaVerne Baker), Keelee's Twist(Joey Dee & The Starlighters)

** for I'm Over Twenty-Five But You Can Trust Me(Sammy Davis Jr)