AMG Review of More Than Skin Deep

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Fleshtones haven't changed at all in their 20 years together, which is both for better and for worse. On one hand, there's nobody -- nobody -- that delivers retro-garage raunch as consistently enjoyable as these guys. On the other hand, there isn't much stylistic variation between their albums, which means almost all of their records -- especially the latter-day efforts, after the group's raw energy settled down a little bit -- are interchangeable. More Than Skin Deep, recorded nearly 20 years into the group's career, is essentially the same as all their other records, filled with primal riffs and garagey raunch. A few of the songs are great, a few are terrible, many simply make the grade. If you've been following the group for any length of time, you won't be surprised and you won't be disappointed. If you haven't heard any of their other records, you may wonder what the fuss is about.