Customer Reviews

In the Flesh

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a diehard Thunders fan and must have 20 subpar live performances on CD, both commercially released and bootleg. From the Heartbreakers to Gang War to the Living Dead, it is nearly impossible to find a show where he sheds his junkie stumble-bum persona. Well my friends, this is IT!

He is about as close to sober as he can be and performs like his soul is on the line. No blathering between, or in the middle of songs. There is nothing embarrassing here at all and it is such a pleasure to hear. For all the critics who tossed him away as another Rock and Roll junkie, well this is a big middle finger to all of you! J.T. as 100% Maximum Rock 'N' Roll Animal!!!!

The recording quality is great and the performance is among the best live sets you'll find in his massive catalog. You WANT this. Ask your mommy for it, steal it...hell, do whatever you have to do to get this CD.

UPDATE: THIS SHOW IS NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD!! "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory", Thunders, Kane & Nolan!!

I stopped going to Johnny Thunders' shows some time in the mid-80s when it seemed each performance was sadder and more macabre than the previous one: Thunders would start a familiar Dolls/Heartbreakers/solo song, stop singing, and/or playing after a verse or two, and leave (usually) Jerry Nolan alone at the drums while one of rock 'n' roll's great unrepentant geniuses abused, or deflected abuse from, an increasingly frustrated, or voyeristic (and ever diminishing) audience. "In The Flesh", a live set from 1987, is as potent as other reviewers here indicate, and took me by surprise.
The added pathos comes from the fact that the three ex-Dolls captured rocking the house - Thunders, Nolan, and Arthur Kane - are all dead. But tight, loud, and hot versions of "Pipeline," "Blame it On Mom," "Personality Crisis" a hard, bluesy, and passionate "Sad Vacation," and the closing "Born To Lose" will blow away all doubters. Thunders sings with fire and soul, a far cry from the dissipated moments issued during his lifetime on the live portion of "In Cold Blood," or "Stations Of The Cross." "In the Flesh" also captures marvelous rarities like "Ain't Superstitious," (based on the Jeff Beck Group version on "Truth"), "In the Midnight Hour" (inspired!), and a medley of "Too Much Junkie Business/Pills" that never falters.
The acoustic segment in the middle is touching and powerful, and when after a brief snippet (unlisted) of "It's Not Enough" he says to the audience "I'm gonna bring the boys back on," you sense both his slyness and vulnerability. He does, of course, but not before the crowd cheers him on to two more solo performances, including a terrific take on the Stones' "Play With Fire."
If you're new to Thunders, get those Dolls albums (on vinyl, as the cds need to be remastered), the classic solo debut "So Alone," and the Heartbreakers' "L.A.M.F." There are other gems, like the acoustic studio set "Hurt Me," but this fine cd - with terrific notes by "Creem's" Bill Holdship - proves that even fifteen years after the Dolls came to our attention, and long after many had written him off, Thunders (and Nolan, who was his perfect foil, and held it all together) could still sing, play and rock with the very best.

In 1987, relatively late in his career, Johnny Thunders went to L.A., and with fellow former New York Dolls Jerry Nolan and Arthur Kane, recorded one of his best-ever live sets.

Johnny begins and ends with a couple of his signature tunes. The opener is a blistering "Pipeline"; capping things off, he wrings the life out of those opening chords to introduce "Born to Lose." In between is an acoustic interlude, and more notably, Johnny lets loose full-throttle electric blues on the lesser-heard covers of "I Can Tell," "Superstitious," "Green Onions," and "Midnight Hour." Johnny Thunders, the 1970's glam-punk, could play the blues.

An aside: There's a video of this performance floating around, too. Johnny Thunders was a unique artist, mesmerizing, and every inch a rock star.

With alot of live recordings, the listener deals with terribly recorded music. The band might be on, but the person doing the recording is not. No bass, no drums, tinny guitar etc... With Johnny Thunders it's just the opposite. There are dozens of soundboard quality recordings available, but very few where Johnny is lucid enough to give a quality performance. This album, recorded at the Roxy in 1987, is rarity in that the sound quality and Johnny are both firing on all cylinders. The band features 2 of Thunder's former New York Dolls bandmates; the late Jerry Nolan (arguably punk rocks greatest drummer)and Arthru "Killer" Kane on bass. Any rock fan needs one Johnny Thunders live album in their collection and this one will do just fine.
But let me warn you, once you hear Johnny...there's no going back.
Rock on & R.I.P>

Michael Gross' review convinced me to buy this. Like him, I also own a gazillion live Johnny Thunders CDs, ranging from sensational to shambolic. I knew Johnny, and saw the Dolls from the very beginning. I also stopped attending his shows in the mid '80's. I couldn't stand watching voyeurs rooting for him to die onstage, and him seeming to oblige. That being said, In the Flesh is 60% of the New York Dolls blazing through a mixed bag of old R&B chestnuts, Dolls and Heartbreakers tunes, and a stellar acoustic set by Johnny. Jerry Nolan was one of rocks best drummers, and he is slamming away, keeping everyone on point. You can actually hear Arthur Kane playing the bass, which was rarely the case on the Dolls albums, and he does a solid job. But it's Johnny on fire. He is wailing - both vocally and sonically. From a blistering Pipeline to Ain't Superstitious ala Jeff Beck to Green Onions and The Midnight Hour, he's at the top of his game. I especially enjoyed the acoustic set of Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory, Eve of Seduction (Destruction,) Lonely Planet Boy, Marc Bolan's The Wizard, ending with the Stones Play with Fire. This one is definitely worth the money. RIP Johnny, Jerry, Arthur.

A damn good set late in Johnny's life. With Jerry Nolan (who propels "Can't Keep My Eyes" nicely), Arthur Kane (who took several deep breaths), and Barry Jones as the Walter, Johhny Thunders flies through his usual set with unusual elan. Nice versions of "Pipeline," "I Can Tell," and "Born To Lose" are joined by such rarer tunes as "The Midnight Hour" and "Lil' Queenie." After so many slur-fests, it's nice to hear Johnny on for a rare night.

Has a few moments that are great, but the moments where he's slurred by dope give the understanding why he's not discussed in the same breath as Clapton, Hendrix, etc. Great choice if you're a fan, as I am.