(Raven Australia)

www.ravenrecords.com.au

Gather ‘round, kids, Uncle Blurty's got a story to tell you. Once upon a time there were these seven-inch black plastic discs with big round holes punched in the middle. They were called "singles," and if you placed them on a spinning device known as a "turntable" and then aimed a sharp-pointed object known as the "needle" or "stylus" directly at the surface of the rotating single, strange, unruly, primitive musical sounds known as "rock and roll" would subsequently emanate from your home stereo speakers and fill the room with joy - or disgust, depending on whether or not your parents happened to be there.

Those of us who loved and collected singles would keep our most cherished ones in a box placed upright on a shelf or table beside the stereo; we'd add to and subtract from the box on a regular basis, with the changes reflecting our evolving (or in some instances, devolving; hello, ‘60s garage reissues on 45!) tastes. Now, if any of you reading this are confused, think of that box of singles as my generation's equivalent of your iPod playlist; admittedly smaller in quantity, title-wise, but one which I'm pretty sure had a far higher play ratio (we called that "spins"), which of course translates in quantitative terms as pretty fucking far out, ace!

And for yours truly, among my fave platters, there were none more fucking far out than, or for that matter, which stayed in my box longer than, three by New York's Fleshtones: "American Beat" b/w "Critical List," their first, released in 1979 on subterranean indie label Red Star; plus "The World Has Changed" and "Shadow-Line," both from '81 and sharing the same B-side ("All Around the World") and issued by the U.S. and U.K. branches of the A&M-funded I.R.S. label, respectively. Not to put to fine a point on matters, but back in the day, pretty much anybody who came to visit me, if they hung around long enough, would eventually get to hear some Fleshtones. I've faithfully followed the group for over three decades now, and while they've had their ups and downs, they're still out there, performing their patented brand of "Super Rock" - their most recent releases were 2008's Take A Good Look and Stocking Stuffer (both Yep Roc), and the current lineup of Peter Zaremba (vocals, harmonica, organ), Keith Streng (guitar, vocals), Bill Milhizer (drums, vocals), and Ken Fox (bass, vocals) is presently on tour in Spain, with a short Midwest trek in late May and early June due. Visit the band's website "The Fleshtones Hall of Fame" if you dare; other goodies are found at their MySpace page.

Meanwhile, there's the not-so-insignificant item It's Super Rock Time! The I.R.S. Years 1980-1985, a 25-song chronicle of the ‘tones' initial burst of glory with I.R.S. Covered are various singles and EP tracks along with choice cuts from 1982's Roman Gods, 1983's Hexbreaker and 1985's two live-in-France Speed Connection LPs. Cruelly, the ultra-rare Red Star 45 mentioned above is not present, but no matter - this is as fucking far out a compilation as you'll find nowadays. It naturally covers a lot of the same ground as the out of print 1989 I.R.S. compilation CD The Fleshtones Living Legends Series, but given that it includes the live material and sports vastly superior remastered sound, feel secure that it will be well-worth your hard-earned dough.

Tune-wise, It's Super Rock Time! kicks off in glorious fashion with the thumping, twanging, echo-drenched "The Dreg," one of those archetypal "intro" type numbers that sets up a delicious form of melodic and rhythmic tension, not to mention lyric tension wrought by the hypnotic invocation "she keeps climbing/higher ‘n' higher," for what's to come. And come it does, for in short succession the listener is thrown headlong into an R&B/garage shakedown where fratboys and punks alike blissfully do the Pony and the Pogo alongside one another. "The World Has Changed" is a harp-fueled, kinetic anthem; "New Scene" is a fuzztone-and-organ laden romp; "Screamin' Skull" is a horror-rock, no schlock, singalong for sax, organ and guitar; "Shadow Line" is a sensual, throbbing, "hey!"-punctuated slab of swaggering minimalism; "Hope Come Back," likewise, is twitchy and witchy and boasting a call-and-response motif that gets way under your skin; "Ride Your Pony" simultaneously updates and pays tribute to the original Lee Dorsey dance party vehicle; I could go on. Bottom line: in these tracks culled from the early days of the Fleshtones' career, the five live cuts included, one detects the passing of the torch from such ‘60s legends as the Standells, Seeds, Kingsmen, Wailers and Sonics, done with reverence and taste but infused with just enough unhinged panache (can panache be "unhinged"? I digress...) to mark the performers as seasoned denizens of NYC's downtown punk milieu.

As outlined in archivist and compiler David Laing's copious liner notes gracing the 12-page booklet, although the Fleshtones never stormed the charts like some of their I.R.S. labelmates (i.e., Go-Gos, R.E.M.) - they were college radio mainstays, but the closest they came to a commercial success was with a remake of "American Beat" titled "American Beat ‘84" which appeared in the Tom Hanks film Bachelor Party - they nevertheless wielded a heavy influence. From peers like the Dream Syndicate, Nomads and Hoodoo Gurus to today's crop of garage maniacs (Laing singles out in particular the Dirtbombs, Detroit Cobras and Reigning Sound), you can hear traces of that primal-yet-tuneful Super Rock sound churning around in the mix. It's a timeless sound, in fact, and listening to this CD now takes me back 30 years, leaning over my turntable and watching a seven-inch black plastic disc start to spin, and anticipating the rush and the buzz that awaits me.

Come to think of it... I believe I shall go transfer all 25 tracks to my iPod RIGHT NOW. They are, after all, pretty fucking far out.

Standout Tracks: All of ‘em, bubba! But for you iTunes-inclined cherry-pickers, allow me to recommend "The Dreg," "The World Has Changed," "Screamin' Skull," "Shadow Line," "Ride Your Pony," "The Theme From ‘The Vindicators'" and "Watch This" (live). Hope that helps. Now get to super-rockin'! FRED MILLS