The J. Geils Band - Original Album Series Vol. 2 (2014)

The J. Geils Band was one of the most popular touring rock & roll bands in America during the '70s. Where their contemporaries were influenced by the heavy boogie of British blues-rock and the ear-splitting sonic adventures of psychedelia, The J. Geils Band was a bar band pure and simple, churning out greasy covers of obscure R&B, doo wop, and soul tunes, cutting them with a healthy dose of Stonesy swagger. While their muscular sound and the hyper jive of frontman Peter Wolf packed arenas across America, it only rarely earned them hit singles. Seth Justman, the group's main songwriter, could turn out catchy R&B-based rockers like "Give It to Me" and "Must of Got Lost," but these hits never led to stardom, primarily because the group had trouble capturing the energy of its live sound in the studio. In the early '80s, the group tempered its driving rock with some pop, and the makeover paid off with the massive hit single "Centerfold," which stayed at number one for six weeks. By the time the band prepared to record a follow-up, tensions between Justman and Wolf had grown considerably, resulting in Wolf's departure, which quickly led to the band's demise. After working for years to reach to top of the charts, The J. Geils Band couldn't stay there once they finally achieved their goal. ~Allmusic

Nightmares…and Other Tales From the Vinyl Jungle spawned the biggest Atlantic hit for the J. Geils Band, the wonderfully obsessive, questioning dilemma titled "Must of Got Lost." Here the Geils Band are at the peak of their powers in the days prior to Freeze Frame and lustful songs like "Centerfold," "Must of Got Lost" being the only of their three Atlantic Top 40 hits to land in the Top 15. Seth Justman and Peter Wolf share all the songwriting credits here, save the intriguing camp/funk of the Andre Williams/Leo Hutton composition "Funky Judge." It's Peter Wolf's pantomime vocal entwined with the band's serious blues that creates something very special. The final track, "Gettin' Out," is five-minutes-plus of this intense, earthy rock, producer Bill Szymczyk capturing in the studio that energy the band generated in concert. Bassist Danny Klein told AMG he loved the Jean Lagarrigue drawing on the album jacket, noting, "Wolf found the hand painting…(it) got in a best rock album cover art book." This was a natural progression from 1973's Ladies Invited, the band's arrangements working perfectly with Szymczyk's production, with "Detroit Breakdown" being a tip of the hat to the group's second home outside of Boston. Magic Dick makes a great statement over Seth Justman's foundation piano sound, one that evolves from that instrument to organ, giving J. Geils a chance to throw some haunting guitar work over its conclusion. The song's six-minute length is topped only by the nearly seven minutes of "Stoop Down #39," perhaps a dig at the James Gang's "Funk #49" from four years prior. "Givin' It All Up" and "Look Me in the Eye" are the band showing precision in their craft, releasing quite a bit of music between 1973's popular "Give It to Me," the Ladies Invited album that same year, and this solid effort. The short, one-minute-14-second title track, "Nightmares," sounds like an ode to nitrous oxide (laughing gas), and probably was. The album produces one of the effects of that drug: exhilaration, and is a fine example of their creative musical journey. ~Allmusic

Track listing
01. Detroit Breakdown (6:02)
02. Givin' It All Up (3:45)
03. Must Of Got Lost (5:07)
04. Look Me In The Eye (4:00)
05. Nightmares (1:15)
06. Stoop Down #39 (6:53)
07. I'll Be Coming Home (4:41)
08. Funky Judge (3:20)
09. Gettin' Out (5:49)
~ (40:51)





The J. Geils Band's sixth studio album, 1975's Hotline, didn't spawn any hits, didn't reach very high on the charts, and was very true to the band's formula (going back to a mix of originals and covers after two all-original albums). It is also one of their most cohesive, satisfying, and fun albums. Kicking off with one of their live favorites, a barn-burning cover of Harvey Scales & the Seven Sounds' obscure soul nugget "Love-Itis," the disc runs through hard-edged blues, funky soul, rip-roaring rock & roll, and a ballad or two. The bandmembers show no signs of letting down and sound as dedicated to their house-party ethic as ever. Along with "Love-Itis," at least half of the record would have sounded excellent blasting from AOR stations. Why none of them, like the driving "Easy Way Out," the peppy "Jealous Love," and the cold as ice "Mean Love," never got much airplay is a mystery. Elsewhere, the band shows nice restraint on the heartbroken ballad "Think It Over," exhibits blazing blues chops on John Brim's "Be Careful (What You Do)" and Eddie Burns' "Orange Driver," and get very funky on "Fancy Footwork." The one song that sounds like their hearts aren't all the way in it, the cover of the Impressions' "Believe In Me," is still a rollicking good time. This is one of the overlooked gems in the band's catalog, not as strong as their best work but certainly worth many listens. ~Allmusic

Track listing
01. Love-Itis (4:38)
02. Easy Way Out (4:04)
03. Think It Over (4:41)
04. Be Careful (What You Do) (4:03)
05. Jealous Love (4:09)
06. Mean Love (5:05)
07. Orange Driver (4:29)
08. Believe In Me (4:43)
09. Fancy Footwork (5:26)
~ (41:18)





Double-album live sets came into vogue in 1976 after Peter Frampton's sales went through the roof for A&M, Bob Seger found fame with Live Bullet on Capitol, and the J. Geils Band released its second in-concert document in four years, Blow Your Face Out. There is great power in these grooves recorded over two nights, November 15 and November 19, at the now deconstructed Boston Garden and in Detroit at Cobo Hall. Here's the beautiful dilemma with the Geils band: Live: Full House, recorded in Detroit in April of 1972, contains five songs that became J. Geils standards, and none of them overlap on the 1982 EMI single live disc, Showtime, chock-full of their latter-day classics. Can you believe there is absolutely no overlap from the first or third live album on this double disc, which came in between (except for "Looking for a Love," uncredited, which they slip into the intro of "Houseparty" on side two)? The Rhino CD contains Jeff Tamarkin's liner notes, while the original Atlantic album has an exquisite gatefold chock-full of photos, and inner sleeves with priceless band memo stuff a la Grand Funk's Live Album. Sides one and two are great, and three and four are even better. "Detroit Breakdown" rocks and grooves, with tons of audience applause…Wolfy and the polished authority of his monologues are in command as the band oozes into "Chimes" from 1973's Ladies Invited. About three and a half minutes longer than the five-minute original, it is one of many highlights on this revealing pair of discs. A precursor to 1977's title track, "Monkey Island," "Chimes" gives this enigmatic band a chance to jam out slowly and lovingly over its groove. There is so much to this album: the Janis Joplin standard "Raise Your Hand" written by Eddie Floyd, Albert Collins' "Sno-Cone" from their first album, and "Truck Drivin' Man" beating Bachman-Turner Overdrive to the punch. B.B. King producer Bill Szymczyk does a masterful job bringing it all together, and the band photos on back look…roguish. "Must of Got Lost," "Where Did Our Love Go," and "Give It to Me" are here in all their glory, a different glory than the studio versions, on an album that should have done for Geils what Live Bullet and Frampton Comes Alive did for their respective artists. If only a legitimate release of their 1999 tour would be issued to stand next to this monster – during that tour they combined the best elements of all three of their previous live discs. The J. Geils Band is more important and influential than the boys have been given credit for. It will be the live documents that ensure they eventually get their due, and Blow Your Face Out is a very worthy component that can still frazzle speakers. ~Allmusic

Track listing
01. Southside Shuffle (4:16)
02. Back To Get Ya (4:38)
03. Shoot Your Shot (3:57)
04. Musta Got Lost (6:35)
05. Where Did Our Love Go (4:00)
06. Truck Drivin' Man (1:52)
07. Love-Itis (4:06)
08. Intro (Lookin' For A Love) (2:06)
09. (Ain't Nothin' But A) House Party (5:04)
10. So Sharp (2:39)
11. Detroit Breakdown (6:26)
12. ChimeS (8:56)
13. Sno-Cone (3:05)
14. Wait (3:44)
15. Raise Your Hand (4:08)
16. Start All Over (2:22)
17. Give It To Me (6:53)
~ (74:47)





The J. Geils Band's chart profile had been steadily slipping since the Top Ten success of their third record, Bloodshot. Even the awe-inspiring live album Blow Your Face Out, the band's near-maniacal dedication to the live stage, and their nonstop presence on the FM dial couldn't get them a hit album. By the time of 1977's Monkey Island the band seemed a little confused by it all and maybe even a bit weary of the effort to make it on their own terms. In most cases this would make for an artistic disaster, but hearing Geils branch out and lie back makes for one of their more interesting and challenging, if not most coherent, releases. Ranging from the wall-shaking funk of "Surrender" to the soft rock sweetness of "You're the Only One" (which comes complete with Magic Dick impersonating Stevie Wonder at his most romantic), the bopping AM-friendly R&B of "I Do" (the album's only cover), and the roaring hard rock of "Somebody," the album covers a lot of territory. Add to that the epic-length and overblown "Monkey Island," the smooth ballad "I'm Falling," and the shockingly slick modern R&B confection "So Good," and the album becomes near schizophrenic. Luckily, despite all the soul searching, dead ends, and obvious commercial overtures, the album retains enough of the innate Geils Band charm (and a couple good tracks like "Surrender," "So Good," and the loose blues rocker "I'm Not Rough") to make it work to a certain extent. Not a classic by any means but worth hearing at least once if only to hear why Sanctuary(on which they figure out how to make a totally commercial record the Geils way) was such a stunning return to form. ~Allmusic

Track listing
01. Surrender (3:51)
02. You're The Only One (3:05)
03. I Do (3:08)
04. Somebody (5:15)
05. I'm Falling (5:51)
06. Monkey Island (9:05)
07. I'm Not Rough (3:03)
08. So Good (3:20)
09. Wreckage (5:23)
~ (42:02)





Contractual obligations aside, The Best of the J. Geils Band is a worthy and yet somewhat disjointed collection of the band's more popular radio songs taken from their eight Atlantic records. Released just a year after J. Geils' EMI debut, Sanctuary, one listen to these two works back to back can make an extraordinary argument for the band's growth. Or lack of it, depending on whom you ask. On their eight years with Atlantic, Peter Wolf and company released some of the "best white R&B" records of all time. Some sold well, some sold moderately, and some just plain tanked. The one thing that remained a constant was the band's monolithically inspired live performances. Unfortunately for Atlantic, as soon as the band left the label, almost overnight, with a newly retooled, more compact sound, success would find the six-piece on 1980's Love Stinks and, of course, on the gigantic blockbuster Freeze Frame. If you want to find out just how powerful these guys were, this "best collection" is a decent starting point. Songs like joyous "Give It to Me" or the colossal "Detroit Breakdown" are just some of the highlights. For a brief overview, pick up this set, but if it's a college education that you're after, pick up the band's Rhino anthology Houseparty (a much more worthy compilation replete with killer liner notes). ~Allmusic

Track listing
01. Southside Shuffle (3:41)
02. Give It To Me (6:30)
03. Where Did Our Love Go (3:57)
04. (Ain't Nothin' But A) House Party (4:41)
05. Detroit Breakdown (5:59)
06. Whammer Jammer (2:45)
07. I Do (3:07)
08. Musta Got Lost (2:58)
09. Looking For A Love (5:02)
~ (38:41)



Thx to ALLexxess