FDF Volume 2 Issue 138: Flesh for Lulu - Long Live the New Flesh

By: March

Album - Long Live the New Flesh
Artist - Flesh for Lulu
Key Players - Nick Marsh - vocals, guitar, harmonica, tambourine. Rocco - guitars, vocals. Kevin Mills - Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards. James Mitchell - drums and percussion, vocals, keyboards. Derek Greening - additional guitars and vocals.
Produced By - Mike Hedges


Release Date - July 1987

What caused me to blow off the dust? - I've sort of had this cd in the back of my mind to give the once over to. This week it just got picked. There was no underlying reason for it being this week vs last week vs next week.

Overview - This is the fourth full length album from the UK based band "Flesh for Lulu". Considered an alternative/goth band they'd toil for a few years underground before the song "I Go Crazy" was placed on the "Some Kind of Wonderful sound track and the band would garner about as much success in the US and overseas. After a few more records the band would be dropped from their label and dissolve soon after.

FDF Comments (aka the songs) - "I Go Crazy " opens up with a seemingly electric drum click into some simple keyboards before the guitar sort of crunches over the top. They sing the chorus before the verse and the verse is sung in a deeper baritone. The bass line from Mills is pushed up in the mix, but the keyboards and drums are the showcase before the guitar on the chorus. Marsh has sort of a deep drawl at times that adds to a quirky sound. Its a fun tune, and easy to hear why it was a "bigger" single for the band. A fuller band sound opens up "Postcards From Paradise" with harmonica heavy at the intro. It quickly starts to sound like much of the 80's alternative you might be used to. The very "rat-a-tat" drum line and keyboard rushes and an infections sing along chorus. Marsh is a little gruff again, but only at times and the chorus repeats an awful lot, but its infectious so you don't mind. A deeper bass and drum lead intro on "Hammer Of Love" and it sounds like a horn section fills in the gaps. The track is a slower, more plodding pace than the prior two tracks. Its got a a dark feel for sure, adding a little to their "goth" image at the time. With babies sort of crying "Siamese Twist" comes up with some crunchy guitar. The horns come up and there there is a great howl to get it all rolling. The chorus has some great backup singers giving it a full sound and the track has a good punch to it with a slick guitar solo snuck in there to boot. It is a fun, strong track worthy of checking out. A little more slide guitar and an acoustic guitar open up "Sooner Or Later". This track is more laid back than the previous but it has a good beat to it. Marsh is in fine form vocally with just the right mix of abrasiveness. One of the verses gets pretty bubbly for this band and before you know it your toes are tapping along. Harder drums open up "Lucky Day". A few of these songs are starting to sound a little (or a lot) like Love and Rockets (FDF looks at "Express"). It is not a bad thing. The backbone of this track is the drum line intro for the first 40+ seconds of the songs before the guitars come in. The guitars just crunch down every other beat rather than being a dominant instrument. Its another strong track musically and lyrically. A jangle guitar opens up "Sleeping Dogs". The drum tempo is crisp and punchy and the vocals are sung quickly. Marsh once again seems focused and the band seems to be clicking really well. For a "goth" band they are awful cheery. A vocally delayed "1-2-3-4" opens "Good for You" and the guitar comes in. It's a full guitar sound and Marsh gives a howl before everyone comes in with him. This is another surprisingly "full" sounding song. The keyboards are gone, as is the doom and gloom. There are some good harmonies on the chorus and a guitar solo slices through the track just great. The background vocals sing "Gotta be good" over and over as Marsh sings almost another full verse for a cool effect. Guitar and drums open up "Crash" and once again the second guitar gets a little slide feel to it. The bass and drums keep a pretty tight back beat and the vocals are not as perky as they have been, but it is not a slow/mellow song. It has sort of the same feel as "Postcards.." We slow down with a percussive intro on "Way To Go". It is a deep grooved track and the full female vocal back up returns and there is a string section (at least sounds like..could be keyboards? The track shows the mellower side of the band, its not awful, but at this point it feels a little out of place. We wrap up the record with "Dream On Cowboy". This is a little more what the listener has been used to. The bass punches and Marsh runs his vocals through some sort of compression. The drums are more of an electric feel and at times the vocals seem very buried in the mix due to the effect on the voice. The song doesn't really do a whole lot for me personally, it sort of sits in its tempo and that is that.

Where are they now? - After the break up the band members toiled in other bands, none seemed to put much of a dent in the musical world. There was a rumor of the band working on a new record and tour

FDF Personal Comments (aka the Live experience) - I never saw the band live.

span style="font-weight: bold;">FDF Overall Take - I don't have any other material to base their work on and bought this cd to begin with for the "single". In listening to this front to back I was pleasantly surprised at some of the other tracks. Never mind the last time I listened to this cd, but I can't tell you if I got past "I Go Crazy" for a mix tape I'd make. Its been a long time for sure. A few duds, but overall a decent enough record.

Links
Official Site and myspace

Curious? Check out some MUSIC!

***THE MP3S HAVE BEEN REMOVED***
Siamese Twist
I Go Crazy
Good for You

All the tracks were taken from "Long Live the Flesh" which is way out of print, and if you so desire you can start here


Disclaimer - For the most part songs listed you can find on iTunes or your local cd shop. The idea is to give you a little taste of the music. Please support the artist buy purchasing some of their work. Songs are posted for about 1 week but can and will be removed at the request of the artist, band, band management etc. If you are one of those persons contact me via the email link in the profile and they will be removed as soon as we are made aware of the request.