Plasticland — Wonder Wonderful Wonderland

• Artist: Plasticland
• Title: Wonder Wonderful Wonderland
• Year: 1985
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1985 – Mother’s Records?
• Keeper: No

I think the pic I took of this record is a little out of focus. Or, maybe it’s just the psychedelic hangover I have from Wonder Wonderful Wonderland by Plasticland. I never have played this record much, but I thought I would like it more than I did. And I gave it at least a couple spins all the way through on both sides. Wonder Wonderful Wonderland has its moments, but I just can’t get into it, again. There are other “neo-psychedelic” records in our collection that I think have held up better.

The Hives — The Black and White Album

• Artist: The Hives
• Title: The Black and White Album
• Year: 2007
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: All of us
• Acquired: 2008
• Keeper: Yes

I want to be in The Hives! The suits alone are enough incentive for me, but the music on The Black and White Album makes the dream of band membership irresistible. I like all their records but this is the best one yet. The Hives have that essence rare that reminds me of The Fleshtones: familiar but fresh, fun but not dumb, and always rocking even when the music is low key. At times this record is more punk than punk rock and more funky than funk. I can’t get enough of it. I’m probably playing it, in its entirety, at least five times a day. It’s hard to pick favorites but one standout is the fast rocking “Won’t Be Long.” It has a glockenspiel riff that is a perfect layer of icing atop a multilayer rock and roll cake, like the recorder solo in “Wild Thing” by The Troggs.

Visit their site, buy their music, watch the videos, see them live. Look for me playing glockenspiel in the back.

Everyone’s a loser in the modern world
Look at all the sad and gloomy little boys and girls
I know all you got is troubles all you got is woes
Shake the chips off your shoulders here’s how it
goes…
Whoooo Hoooo!

“Well All Right!” – The Hives

The Tell-Tale Hearts – The Tell-Tale Hearts

The Tell-Tale Hearts - The Tell-Tale Hearts

• Artist: The Tell-Tale Hearts
• Title: The Tell-Tale Hearts
• Year: 1984
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1984 – Not sure where, probably mail order from Voxx Records.
• Keeper: Yes

I can’t believe The Tell-Tale Hearts still exist as a band, but they do have a MySpace page. So, at least you can go hear what I’m talking about. I used to love this stuff, and I still do. By “this stuff” I mean bands in the mid-1980s that were making music like, and even dressing like, proto-punk bands from the mid-1960s. That may seem a little corny in retrospect, but how is it any different from Interpol sounding like Joy Division? Or any of the numerous “post punk” bands on the scene the last few years? I love this self-titled record. My favorite track is the hyper-speed punked-out celebration of being in love titled “It Came to Me.” The Tell-Tale Hearts were, maybe still are, one of the best of this fun music scene. I don’t play this record much, but I always enjoy it when I do.

Various Artists — Back from the Grave Volume Four

Various Artists -- Back from the Grave Volume Four

• Artist: Various Artists
• Title: Back from the Grave Volume Four
• Year: 1984
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1984 – Mail order?
• Keeper: Yes

The ultra-cool Crypt Records put out the Back from the Grave series in the 1980s. I have a few records from the series and this is the first one I came across. These records are compilations of relatively obscure 1960s garage rock bands. Many of these groups, despite that they often wore matching shirts or suits, can, and should, be considered the original punk rockers. This stuff had a pretty solid cult following in the 1980s. There were even quite a few new bands at the time emulating the sound and look of the originals. The Fuzztones, Nomads, Vipers, Lyres, and Chesterfield Kings are some of the better-known ones.

If you study the album cover you’ll notice the ’60s punk rock zombies are back to take over. Robin is driving the Batmobile dragging Cyndi Lauper(?), Boy George and Prince. Hippies, joggers and break dancers are all getting their comeuppance.

I find it interesting now, looking back, that less than 20 years after this music was new that there was such an interest by some folks in the 1980s. Maybe it was a reaction to the glut of synth music at the time. Is it possible this niche guitar rock revival eventually went more mainstream in the form of “grunge”? Anyhow, I find it hard to imagine that right now in 2007 there will be a revival of underground late 1980s music. This ’60s garage rock was special, from a special time right before music got a little less fun. It reminds me of the movie Animal House. It came out in 1978 and was set in 1962, only sixteen years earlier. But think about how different those periods were. Would a movie today set in 1991 seem that distant?

The Sonics are by far the best-known band on this record. My favorite track is the extra-fuzzed out “Flash and Crash” by Rocky and the Riddlers.

The Fleshtones — Fleshtones Vs. Reality

• Artist: The Fleshtones
• Title: Fleshtones Vs. Reality
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records and Tapes in Hampton, VA
• Keeper: Yes

My memories of Fleshtones Vs. Reality are fuzzier than those of the records The Fleshtones made before it. I remember the songs, just not note-for-note. Must’ve been busy that year. I did get to see the boys that same year at the great ol’ 930 Club in D.C, at its original location on F Street. Check out the ticket stub below, only $8! In 1987! That was half a lifetime ago for me, oof.

Anyhow, this record seems a little more mature, in a good way, but the good time music is still what it’s all about. Also, the horns seem bigger and badder than before. As I have said a few times before you can’t achieve maximum rock and roll, or Fleshtones’ “Super Rock”, without horns. I like all the songs, and my favorite is probably “Way Up Here” with that sweet sounding recorder riff. Side two has another Fleshtones-style club banger in “The End of The Track”, complete with wailing alarms and sirens. And this concludes the posts of official Fleshtones records… or does it?

The Fleshtones — Speed Connection II

• 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.

The Fleshtones — American Beat ’84’

• Artist: The Fleshtones
• Title: American Beat ’84’
• Year: 1984
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1984 – No clue where
• Keeper: Yes

Yeah, I don’t get the extra apostrophe after the 84 either, but I’m going with it since it’s that way all over the record. Some might call a four song record an EP; IRS calls it a “Maxi Single.” The Fleshtones’ “American Beat ’84′” is a solid song, well-constructed and perfectly played like all their work, but it has a slight sheen of cheese. I think it was featured in the soundtrack to the Tom Hanks’ movie Bachelor Party. I never saw it. Someone check that for me, please, thanks. “Super Hexbreaker” is what it sounds like, a remix, but it’s slightly less super than the original. “Mean Old Lonesome Train” is interesting because it’s more bluesy than usual for The Fleshtones and guitarist Keith Streng sings. What Keith may lack in natural vocal ability he more than makes up for with intensity and enthusiasm, a trade I’ll take every time. The standout for me is “Hall of Fame.” There are more hooks in this one song than most full length records. It’s a Fleshtones version of a “club banger” circa 1984, not that anyone would’ve called it that back then.

The Fleshtones — Hexbreaker!

• Artist: The Fleshtones
• Title: Hexbreaker!
• Year: 1983
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1983 – Not sure
• Keeper: Yes

Hexbreaker! Even the title of this album is cool. The super rock continues on their second full album, and this time it’s even more eclectic. There’s everything from the silly, but fun, “Screamin’ Skull” to the mid-tempo heartbreaker “This House Is Empty” (one of my favorites). The Fleshtones even get philosophical on “Burning Hell” and I don’t know if that, or the fact that they did with a soul-powered dance freak out number is more surprising.

I have deep, and very fond memories of listening to this in high school. I know every note of every song. I’ll say it again: I wanted to be Peter Zaremba. I love all the songs on this record but it’s the title track, “Hexbreaker!” that really tears the roof off.

Listen, are you ready everybody? Yeeaahhh!
Are you ready for SUPER ROCK time? Yeeaahhh!
Are you ready for communication? Yeeaahhh!
Well I think you’re ready for the HEXBREAKER! baby come on… Yeeaahhh!

Fleshtones — Roman Gods

• Artist: Fleshtones
• Title: Roman Gods
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1982 ? No idea where, just glad to have it.
• Keeper: Yes

Thanks to my friend John Hurlock and his older brother Mike I was exposed to the Fleshtones early on. They were one my favorite alternatives to the alternative bands of the 1980s. Not that anyone used the word “alternative” back then, but you know what I’m saying. These guys were essentially rock and roll (a high compliment) at a time when a lot of non-mainstream music was anything but. The Fleshtones called it “Super Rock.”

The Fleshtones did have a 1960s vibe but their sound was unlike anything before, or since. I think they are one of the most under-rated bands ever. The music was fun but not silly, the lyrics smart but not pretentious, and they put on a helluva show. I was lucky enough to see them a number of times, always in small venues. I even got to talk to my hero Peter Zaremba, the lead singer. He also hosted the coolest show ever on MTV, The Cutting Edge. I’ll admit it, I wanted to be Peter Zaremba. I even grew my hair like his. If only I could do that now.

Roman Gods is an excellent album, one of the most played records in my collection. My favorite song is Shadow-line. I have a lot more Fleshtones records, but I haven’t kept up with the band for a long time. That’s dumb. I’m going to catch up on what I’ve been missing.

They are still kicking it. Read more about the Fleshtones. (I wrote this while playing the album. Every few songs I increased the rating. By the end of Roman Gods it was clear, this can only be a “10.”)

The U.V’s — Dropping Bombs

The U.V.s -- Dropping Bombs

• Artist: The U.V’s
• Title: Dropping Bombs
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 4
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989 – At our store RIP records in Norfolk, VA
• Keeper: No

The U.V’s (and that’s exactly how they spell it on the cover) are a band I know little about. All three songs on this record are incredibly boring. On “Dropping Bombs”, “Real World”, and “Deepest Blue” the band just plods along like any neighborhood garage band, with no energy and vocals, well, that go with the music. Since they are Australian, I think, I’m sure my expectations were high when I first got this.