The Flesh Eaters - I Used to Be Pretty (New CD)

The Flesh Eaters! - I Used To Be Pretty! - One of Los Angeles punk rock's most widely admired yet little-heard bands makes a striking return to records on Jan. 18, 2019 as Yep Roc Records issues an all-new collection by The Flesh Eaters, I Used to Be Pretty. On the release, founding vocalist and songwriter Chris Desjardins - better known as Chris D. - is backed by the legendary "all-star" edition of the band, originally heard on the 1981 set A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die: Dave Alvin (guitar) and Bill Bateman (drums) of the Blasters; John Doe (bass) and D.J. Bonebrake (marimba and percussion) of X; and Steve Berlin (saxophones) of the Plugz (and later the Blasters and Los Lobos). The album was produced collectively by the band members. - On five of the album's 11 tracks, this superpowered unit is joined by Julie Christensen, Desjardins' vocal partner in both The Flesh Eaters' successor band Divine Horsemen and latter-day editions of the original group. The singers were married during the '80s. Six tracks on I Used to Be Pretty offer forceful reinterpretations of previously released Flesh Eaters songs. "Pony Dress" was first heard on the compilation Tooth and Nail (1979), released on Chris D.'s Upsetter Records; "My Life to Live" and "The Wedding Dice" appeared on Forever Came Today (1982); "Youngest Profession" originated on Dragstrip Riot (1991); "House Amid the Thickets" debuted on Ashes of Time (1999); and "Miss Muerte" was the title track of the most recent Flesh Eaters album. (History repeats itself in a couple of instances: Doe and Bonebrake played on the original "Pony Dress, " while Berlin appeared on the earlier "The Wedding Dice.")