JOHNNY THUNDERS
In The Flesh (Amsterdamned)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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I know I know: another live Johnny Thunders slab, but hear me out cuz this is a doozy. Recorded at the Roxy in '84, In the Flesh is one of the few (and there are many) live documents coherent enough to pass for a legitimate release, while still maintaining that loose, anything can happen at any time vibe only Johnny could muster. The opening, roaring version of "Pipeline", a tune attempted often but with little success, finally gets proper treatment, and bodes well for the rest of the night/album. Johnny's slurry quips are at a minimum, and the band rips from one tune to another with a hearty, lustful abandon. Thunders barrels through excellent versions of "Personality Crisis", "Born To Loose" and "Dead Or Alive", but it is the tasteful butchery of some radio staples that make this record. "Play With Fire" (intimate acoustic version) and "Midnight Hour" (rousing R&B stomper) get lovely revamps, but mangling "Eve of Destruction" into "Eve of Seduction" (with the crowd singing along) as only Johnny Thunders could, is the easy highlight. As is often the case, the artist had to go and die to make a good record.

© 2000 - John Sekerka