Wheel of Talent

Editors’ Notes Nearly 40 years into their career, The Fleshtones continue to find new ways to rock out. They remain true to their original concepts, but several tracks here might have longtime fans doing a double take. “Available” and “How to Say Goodbye” feature brass and string sections, adding a sense of orchestrated fun to the proceedings. Mary Huff of Southern Culture on the Skids stops by for a guest lead vocal on “For a Smile.” The Music Machine’s “I See the Light” is sung in Spanish as “Veo La Luz.” These old-school rockers, who played garage rock before the multiple revivals, have a right to be annoyed by the changes in their Brooklyn neighborhood (“Available,” “Hipster Heaven”), and any serious fan will be right on with “Remember the Ramones,” a tribute to the great band from another of New York’s outer boroughs, Queens. Peter Zaremba keeps up the vocal craziness alongside Keith Streng, and their keyboards and guitars, respectively, prove that rock ’n’ roll can never die as long as someone remembers how to play it!