The Frantic Flintsones   A Nightmare On Nervous [1988] Nervous Records NERCD034 Hellfire - Monte Carlo or Bust - 44 - Please Cool Baby - Oh Baby oh Yeah - Alley Cat King - Gone Gone Well Gone - Red Chevy - Ring ring ringin' - What the Hell - Sugar Daddy - Frantic Flintstones - Safe Surf - Shake Your Honey Maker - Old Jack Joe - Jack the Ripper - Whisky Bottle Baby Released in 1988, A Nightmare On Nervous marks the debut of a prolific career. In a certain aspect you can compare it to an early Johnny Cash album. I mean this guy turn their low points into a strength. With a guitarist far from being a virtuoso, they build their songs around Chuck's distinctive voice and a solid rhythm section that features Gary Day on bass. Sometimes the system shows its limits. Songs like "Suggar Daddy" and "Monte Carlo and bust", though very good, could easily be one minute shorter. But this album is full of classics approaching different styles : early psychobilly (Alley Cat King, What The Hell), neo-rockabilly (44, Red Chevy) and even a wild rockin' blues (Gone Gone Well Gone). The cd version features 5 bonus tracks recorded later with Gasty on bass : two covers played the Flintstones way "Shake Your Honey Maker" and "Old Black Joe", "Safe Surf" a semi instrumental (Safe surf repeated a dozen times doesn't count as lyrics, does it?) variation around "Hang 10", "Jack The Ripper" is not Screaming Lord Sutch's one but another version of "Necro Blues", and an excellent original "Whisky Bottle Baby" previously known in a live version on the "Live & Rockin'" album. The Radioactive Kid Take A Hike [1991] Kix 4 U KIXCD3363 Your Cheatin' Heart - Dream On-Blue - Just A Dream - Sweet Nothings - So Sad - Little old Lady - Necro Blues - Nurned'n'Turned - Rockin' Bones - Frantic - Honey Maker - Gone Gone Well Gone - Blue Xmas - Santa Bring My Baby Back - Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Old Black Joe - Dream On-move Though the sound is quite good, this album is far from being essential. Actually, on the 17 songs , 7 come from "Not A Christmas Album", 3 are re-corded versions of Flintstones classics (Burned and Turned, Rockin' Bones, Necro blues) and in the remaining 7, Dream On is featured two times (a slow one and a fast one). That said the new versions are excellent, the group is in fine form and the Frantic Flintstones have released far worst than this album. One for the completist. The Radioactive Kid     Skin Up, Chill Out [1992] Rumble RUMCD018/ Raucous Hello Marylou - Blue Moon of Kentucky - Will the Circle be Unboken - You Are my Sunshine - Tom Dooley - I Can't Help it - Born to Lose - Goodnight Irene - It's Hard to be Humble - Love me - Drugs in the Valley - Take me Home, Country Roads - I Gotta Baby - Am I That Easy to Forget The only thing predictable with theFrantic Flintstones is that they are unpredictable. For this record originally released on Rumble Records in 1992 the band is reduced to just Chuck and Pug for an acoustic session. The mood is very laid back and the repertoire is made of covers of classic rockabilly and hillbilly tunes taken from the catalog of Hank Williams, Mac Davis, John Denver, Ricky Nelson, Elvis, Johnny Cash, The Carter Family and though they appear in brand new version here, some of them have been recorded by the band before. It's not completely representative of the style of the Frantic Flintstones but it's a nice addition to your collection. The Radioactive Kid   Rock It Boy [1993] Rumble RUMBCD024 Marylou - You Call Everybody Darlin' - You Ain't Nothing But Fine - I Cant Trust Me In Your Arms Anymore - Carry Me Back To Old Virginia - Blues Stay Away From Me - Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Your Cheatin' Heart - I'm Walkin' - Sweet Baby Doll - Will The Circle Be Unbroken - So CLose To Heaven - Jimmy Jazz - Love For A Nutter - Broken Heart Originally released in 1993, this is the third Frantic Flintstones' album for the German label Rumble records. And like "Cuttin'..." and "Skill Up..." it has a strong rockabilly flavour in it. The line-up for this one is Chuck, Pug, Johnny Bowler (Get Smart, Guana Batz) and Scag. It's a very good album that only lacks of original songs, but with a charismatic band-leader like Chuck (and a solid band to back him) that's not such a big problem. The band draws into the catalog of Jerry Lee Lewis, hence the presence of a piano, Ricky Nelson, Rockin' Sydney, Johnny Burnette/Delmore Brothers, Hank Williams and delivers an excellent rockabilly version of the Clash's Jimmy Jazz. As usual with the FF it features different versions of previously released tunes like Blue Moon Of Kentucky, Will The Circle Be Unbroken and Your Cheatin' Heart wasted by the backing vocals. "Love For A Nutter" is a demo recorded with Alan Wilson that announces the following albums (X-Ray Sessions and Jalmboree) and the beginning of a fruitful collaboration. Bowler closes the set with a vocal prestation on "Broken Heart" that won't figure as one of the highest moment in the Frantic Flintstones history. It's been reissued on the British label Raucous Records with a slightly different cover. The Radioactive Kid       Jamboree [1993] CDMPSYCHO15 Detroit Dirtbox - Love For A Nutter - Your Time Is Up - Mean Mean Woman - Diablo - Stay With Me - Sweet Georgia Brown - Lunatics (Are Raving) - Busted - Mindkill - (To The Devil)A Son - Oh 898 - Candyman - He's Waitin' - Sad N' Lonely - Suspended - Chop-Chop, Slash Slash - Honey Child - Hey Chuck - Detroit Bloodbox Previously issued in 1993 but out of print since then, Anagram had the good idea to reissue this 20 songs album in their Psychobilly serie. Produced by Sharks frontman Alan Wilson who also plays most of the guitar parts, with former bassist Gary Day back in the line-up, this is one of the 3 best album the Frantic Flinstones ever made and probably the richest in styles approached. Wilson is one hell of a guitar player and songwriter and his team with Chuck Harvey is just perfect. From “Diablo” with its surprising jazzy solo in the middle, to the country tune “To the Devil A Son”, and even a waltz (“Sad’n’Lonely”) they apparently have fun to work together and explore various kind of music. Some guests are present too. Detroit Donny plays harmonica on “Detroit Dirt Box” a bluesy instrumental.and on Roy Orbison’s “Candyman”, Sonny West, who had an album on Nervous, plays some guitars (the fore mentioned solo on Diablo and the slide guitar on the rockin’ blues “Stay With Me”) and sings The Sonics’ “He’s Waitin’”. Alan Wilson sings “Mindkill” he co-wrote with Hodges. This one can be seen as the first song from the resurrected Sharks for this is during this recording that Gaz Day convinced him to reform the band. Psychobilly is present, of course, with”Your Time Is Up” which is not far from “What The Hell” on their debut album, “Sweet Georgia Brown” (not the jazz standard) and the great “Love For A Nutter”, although I do prefer the demo version issued on “Rock It Boy”. Add a bit of rockabilly (“Honey Child” and “Mean Mean Woman”) and if you still wonder why are the Frantic Flinstones so great, just ask yourself who could better than them sing a song about a psycho killer like a sixties pop ballad? The Radioactive Kid