Jump to content

Beautiful Light

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beautiful Light
Studio album by
Released1994
GenreGarage rock
LabelNaked Language[1]
ProducerPeter Buck
The Fleshtones chronology
Powerstance!
(1991)
Beautiful Light
(1994)
Laboratory of Sound
(1995)

Beautiful Light is an album by the American band the Fleshtones, released in 1994.[2][3] It was regarded as a comeback album.[4]

Beautiful Light was issued in France as Forever Fleshtones, with a different track listing.[5]

Production

[edit]

Recorded in Athens, Georgia, the album was produced by Peter Buck.[6][7] Buck had wanted to produce the band since 1986.[8] He played guitar on the album; Mike Mills played organ.[9] "Whistling Past the Grave" was cowritten by Michael Stipe.[10]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[12]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[13]
Orlando Sentinel[9]
The Tampa Tribune[14]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that the band, "with the help of lean, rootsy production by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, crafted their most earnest release."[12] Trouser Press noted that "'Mushroom Cloud' reconnects the band to the organ-powered psychedelia that has served it well in the past."[15] The Vancouver Sun panned Buck's "thin and even" production work.[16]

Stereo Review determined that "the Fleshtones rise to the occasion with a hunka-hunka burning blues/psych originals and enough garage-bred mustiness to keep things honest."[17] Rolling Stone concluded that, "when the Fleshtones resist the archness that sometimes infects their artful trash, they deliver grins."[18] The Tampa Tribune lamented the "somber mood" of Beautiful Light.[14]

AllMusic called the album "a solid record," writing that "Pickin' Pickin'" "features a fast, scale-climbing bass guitar rounded out by a slick horn section and barroom piano."[10] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide deemed it "a pure pop record."[13]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Mushroom Cloud" 
2."Take a Walk with the Fleshtones" 
3."Beautiful Light" 
4."Big Heart" 
5."Not Everybody's Jesus" 
6."Whistling Past the Grave" 
7."Outcast" 
8."D.T. Shadows" 
9."Pickin' Pickin'" 
10."Pocketful of Change" 
11."Push on Thru'" 
12."Worried Boy Blues" 

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Staszowski, J.J. (Apr 4, 1994). "Eighteen Years, Seven Records, Three Chords". New York. Vol. 27, no. 14. p. 32.
  2. ^ "The Fleshtones Biography". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Krampert, Peter (March 23, 2016). The Encyclopedia of the Harmonica. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 9781619115774.
  4. ^ Stoute, Lenny (22 Dec 1994). "Garage Door-Openers". Toronto Star. p. E12.
  5. ^ "Fleshography". Weekend. New Haven Register. June 5, 1998.
  6. ^ Catlin, Roger (2 June 1994). "Garage Rockers Fleshtones Play Tonight at Toad's Place". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Album reviews — Beautiful Light by the Fleshtones". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 27. Jul 2, 1994. p. 85.
  8. ^ Smallwood, Sue (June 15, 1994). "Fleshtones Absorb R.E.M. Influences". The Virginian-Pilot. p. E7.
  9. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (15 Apr 1994). "A Final Harvest of Spring Albums". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 7.
  10. ^ a b c "Beautiful Light". AllMusic.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 499.
  12. ^ a b "Beautiful Light". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 435.
  14. ^ a b Ross, Curtis (April 29, 1994). "Fleshtones, Beautiful Light". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  15. ^ "Fleshtones". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  16. ^ Monk, Katherine (18 Jan 1996). "And Peter Buck, it's nice that you want to help out young bands...". Vancouver Sun. p. D1.
  17. ^ "Popular music – Beautiful Light by Fleshtones". Stereo Review. Vol. 59, no. 5. May 1994. p. 87.
  18. ^ Evans, Paul (Apr 7, 1994). "Rollin' & tumblin' — Beautiful Light by The Fleshtones". Rolling Stone. No. 679. p. 74.