Flame still burns with “overlooked classic”
Airdrie music fan Jim Milton presents his latest ‘Hidden Treasure’ feature by putting The Flame’s self-titled 1970 release under the spotlight.
Who? – Beatles-inspired South African quartet, half of whom became fully fledged Beach Boys after moving to London in 1969. A former covers combo, The Flame share with their US mentors the distinction of including three brothers in their line-up. Originally named The Flames, they dropped the ‘s’ to avoid confusion with James Brown’s backing group, the Famous Flames. What? – As the liner notes state, The Flame’s self-titled 1970 release is indeed “nothing short of an overlooked classic”.
Comparisons with postRubber Soul Beatles can be made throughout, both in the songs’ compositional style and the album itself as a unified body of work.
When? – Recorded and released on the Beach Boys’ own Brother Records label in 1970.
Where? – Almost certainly at Brothers Studios in Santa Monica, California, with Carl Wilson producing and BB stalwart Steve Desper cast as engineer.
With? – Wilson and Desper apart, it appears to have been a closed shop with vocal, instrumentation and songwriting duties vaguely credited to Faatar/Chaplin/Faatar/Faatar.
Stand-out? – The 11-song track list consists of mainly up-tempo numbers, but even when they drop down a gear, there’s still no escaping that distinctive Merseybeat sound.
Top billing, though, has to go track five. Often coupled in years to come with Smile cut Wonderful in Beach Boys live shows, Don’t Worry, Bill is Lennon and McCartney at their progressive best.
What happened next? – Spotting them during their residency at Blaise’s nightclub in London, Al Jardine had been sufficiently impressed to tip fellow Beach Boy Carl Wilson the wink, and suddenly The Flame album had itself both producer and label.
A move to L.A. followed and, after a completed follow-up failed to gain release, frustration led to Blondie and Ricky joining the Beach Boys.
Tragically young, Brother Faatar died in 1978 while Steve returned to Durban where he retains an interest in the local music scene.
Post-Beach Boys (their stay survived only the live double In Concert follow-up to Holland), Ricky actually became a Beatle, or Rutle to be exact, starring in their cult Fab Four spoof All You Need Is Cash.