Roman Gods (album)

Roman Gods is the first album by The Fleshtones. The album was produced by Richard Mazda and largely recorded at Skyline Studios in New York City in June 1981, with the exception of one track ("The World Has Changed"), which was recorded at RKO Studios in London in February 1981. The record sleeve was designed by lead singer Peter Zaremba.

Roman Gods
Studio album by The Fleshtones
Released	January 7, 1982
Recorded	Skyline Studios NYC, June 1981 (except "The World Has Changed", RKO Studios, London, February 1981)
Genre	Punk rock, garage rock
Length	34:00
Label	IRS
Producer	Richard Mazda
The Fleshtones chronology
Up-Front EP (1980) Roman Gods (1982) Hexbreaker! (1983)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]
Record Mirror	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Smash Hits	8/10[5]

Trouser Press called Roman Gods a "big leap forward" from the band's debut EP Up-Front, noting that it adds "new personality and passion to the beat".^[6]

The song "Shadow-line (to J. Conrad)" was performed by The Fleshtones in the concert film Urgh! A Music War.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Dreg (Fleshtone-77)"	Keith Streng, Peter Zaremba	3:17
2.	"I've Gotta Change My Life"	Keith Streng, Peter Zaremba	2:32
3.	"Stop Fooling Around!"	Peter Zaremba	4:06
4.	"Hope Come Back"	Keith Streng, Peter Zaremba	2:25
5.	"The World Has Changed"	Keith Streng, Peter Zaremba	3:10

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"R-I-G-H-T-S"	Keith Streng, Peter Zaremba	2:32
2.	"Let's See the Sun"	Peter Zaremba	2:40
3.	"Shadow-line (to J. Conrad)"	Keith Streng, Peter Zaremba	3:13
4.	"Chinese Kitchen"	Keith Streng, Gordon Spaeth	2:12
5.	"Ride Your Pony"	N. Neville	3:21
6.	"Roman Gods"	The Fleshtones	4:40

Personnel

The Fleshtones Bill Milhizer – drums Jan Marek Pakulski – bass guitar Keith Streng – guitar Gordon Spaeth – alto saxophone, harmonica, art direction Peter Zaremba – vocals, illustrations, design

Additional musicians and production David Arnoff – photography Carl Grasso – illustrations David Lichtenstein – engineering Richard Mazda – production Dave Le Neve-Foster – engineering on "The World Has Changed" Arthur Payson – engineering John Weiss – tenor saxophone

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position[7]
1982	The Billboard 200	174

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	"Roman Gods/Ride Your Pony"	Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles	29

References

1. Deming, Mark. "Roman Gods – The Fleshtones". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "Fleshtones: Roman Gods". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
3. de Whalley, Chas (May 15, 1982). "The Fleshtones: Roman Gods". Record Mirror. p. 18.
4. Carson, Tom (April 29, 1982). "The Fleshtones: Roman Gods". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
5. Black, Johnny (March 4–17, 1982). "Fleshtones: Roman Gods". Smash Hits. Vol. 4, no. 5. p. 29.
6. Young, Jon; Robbins, Ira. "Fleshtones". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
7. "The Fleshtones - Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.