Beautiful Light

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
Studio album by the Fleshtones
Released	1994
Genre	Garage rock
Label	Naked Language[1]
Producer	Peter Buck
The Fleshtones chronology
Powerstance! (1991) Beautiful Light (1994) Laboratory of Sound (1995)

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

Production

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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[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

No.	Title	Length
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

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. Gettelman, Parry (15 Apr 1994). "A Final Harvest of Spring Albums". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 7.
10. "Beautiful Light". AllMusic.
11. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 499.
12. "Beautiful Light". Entertainment Weekly.
13. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 435.
14. 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.