The Fleshtones — Speed Connection II
Author: tracysigler | Posted: February 9th, 2007 | | Tags: 1985, Fleshtones, garage rock, music, rock and roll, super rock, vinyl | 3 Comments »
- Artist: The Fleshtones
- Title: Speed Connection II
- Year: 1985
- Format: Vinyl 12 in.
- Rating (1-10): 6
- Owner: Tracy
- Acquired: 1985 – When I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA
- Keeper: Yes
In general, live recordings are “for-fans-only”, and Speed Connection II from The Fleshtones is no exception. Moreover, I think this record killed their chance to break out to a wider audience in the late 1980s and beyond. I’m no Fleshtones historian but I say all that based on my real world experience from working at a chain record store when this was released. I had been a fan for a while and my perception was that their label IRS really decided to promote this one. Which is too bad because for a lot of people this was the first thing they heard by The Fleshtones. And they did not dig it, they told me. This isn’t the greatest recording ever. The performances are great, but the sound is inconsistent. Also, many of the songs are covers or medleys or watered-down versions of studio tracks. For fans only.
I disagree and agree with you here. I think live albums in general are much better than studio albums. That is music as it should be and now that I have a collection of approximately 3000 or more CDs of live music, I never listen to studio music.
As far as “Speed Connection II” is concerned you are right. It isn’t well recorded and doesn’t capture them at their best.
Good points. Live music in my opinion is best seen in person. Also, I consider studio music a completely different thing. My expectations for each are different and it never bothers when musicians want to make studio recordings that they could never perform live. All that said, I love good live performances, even when they’re on TV. Many times I’ve enjoyed artists performing live on TV when I otherwise would ignore their music if I was listening to the recording via radio or whatever.
This was the first Fleshtones album I ever bought or heard and it made me a huge fan. I saw them at the Vatican in Gainesville later that year; incredible live show. Fleshtones live are just better than the studio work, but that is what they are, a garage band, not hit makers.