Search - Johnny Thunders :: In the Flesh

Oh My GOD! J.T. is on FIRE!!!!

Michael Gross | Burke, VA | 06/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!!"

In The Flesh: Fire & Soul Intact

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 04/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Johnny Was A Rock Star Unlike Any Other

efa | Chicago, IL | 03/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."