The J. Geils Band - Freeze-Frame (1981)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

A big hit album released when I was an easily influenced 15 year old nudnik. As a confused adolescent, I was definitely the target audience for the album's "screw school, let's get drunk and laid!" lyrics. Plus the combination of rock and New Wave synths was almost novel at the time; but it's when the synths get out of the way that the band gets goin'. This album was good enough for me in '82, but not so much these days except for nostalgia's sake. Rolling Stone gave the album a rare 5 star review (see below); I just don't hear it. Fortunately, it introduced me to the band and I went on to find their better live albums.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★★★): "maximum R&B with all the trimmings"
• Smash Hits (7½ out of 10): "ill-mannered, flashy and more than a little calculated"
• Robert Christgau: B+
• Billboard: "holds few surprises but few disappointments either"
• CashBox: "good time, house party R&B rock"
• Record World: "the bad boys from Boston are getting a warm pop and AOR welcome"
• High Fidelity: "tough, bracing, and often brilliant"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1
• Billboard Rock: #1
• CashBox: #1
• Rolling Stone: #1

Tracks: I still like the hits Centerfold and the title track. The rest is pretty much filler, but better filler than most. Since the hits and better filler were on side 1, side 2 was neglected most of the time. Still, the only tracks I skip are River Blindness and the Top 40 hit Angel In Blue.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: On the weekend of March 26, 1982, I traveled with my church's youth group a few hours to the northeast of town for a weekend retreat at a church camp. Being a preacher's kid, I was wrongly held to a different standard than the other knuckleheaded teenagers on the trip or maybe that was just my self-centered perception. Those inappropriate expectations, coupled with my "you can't tell me what to do" attitude (which I still have, for better or worse), led to some camp hijinks that landed me in some mild trouble with the camp staff. Upon return home, I knew I could expect a severe punishment from the folks. However, I had somehow contracted the measles, started showing symptoms during the weekend, and by the time we got back to town, I was in bad shape. I spent the next week (March 29 - April 2) at home, the sickest I have ever been in my life: high fever, disorientation, hallucinations, the whole nine yards. So I suppose my illness served as my punishment, since my parents never mentioned my camp troubles. Maybe they never found out? I wish I could blame my camp capers on the measles, but I know it was just typical teenage foolishness.

So what's all this got to do with Freeze-Frame? Before we left on the church trip, I picked up this cassette along with a copy of Ghost In The Machine at the local Radio Shack which was but a block away from the church.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Showtime! (1982)
"Live" Full House (1972)

The J. Geils Band - "Live" Full House (1972)

Like most people my age, I had a copy of 1981's Freeze Frame album by this band which contained a few hits and a lot of synth filler. I then bought the follow-up live album Showtime! and discovered that this group is actually one of those rare bands that is much better live than in the studio. They first proved it on this live album, which showcases the incredible showmanship of frontman Peter Wolf as well as the fantastic harmonica playing of Magic Dick. I recently saw Peter Wolf in a televised concert and he's still got it. With 8 tracks packed into 36 minutes (including a 9 minute version of John Lee Hooker's Serves You Right To Suffer), this is a better live version of the band than Showtime.

One retrospective album review calls this "a short, punchy shot of rock & roll genius by one of the great bands of the '70s and one of the best live albums ever recorded" while, in a more thorough review, another critic writes that "minute for minute, 'Live' Full House is one of the densest rock live albums ever produced." That's a lot of hyperbole, but readers of this blog should be used to that by now. ;-)

And I just noticed that's not a full house on the album cover art. Clever, guys.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #54

Tracks: It's all high-energy, old fashioned, blues-based rock and roll; no ballads here. You buy this album for Whammer Jammer, then you stick around for First I Look At The Purse, Pack Fair And Square, Hard Drivin' Man, Cruisin' For A Love, then you go back and listen to Whammer Jammer again.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I wish I could claim to have listened to this album for many years, but the truth is that I discovered Whammer Jammer in the opening scene of the horrible 2008 movie, Hancock. Better late than never, I guess. The Shazam app is one of the most frequently used on my phone and it was put to good use that day.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Showtime! (1982)

The J. Geils Band - Showtime! (1982)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

Even though they had been around for more than 10 years, I, like many of my peers, became aware of the J. Geils Band when they hit it big with their Freeze Frame album in 1981. I had that release on cassette tape, but when I heard the single I Do from the Showtime! album, I went out and bought it on the strength of that song which features mad harmonica playing from Magic Dick. I believe this is the last J Geils album with vocalist Peter Wolf and he certainly puts on a show. This live album isn't as good as the classic Full House Live, but it's not too bad.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "loose, energetic and sounds as if it were taped on a cassette recorder smuggled in under somebody's sweater."
• Billboard: "tight, fast segues and playful banter"
• High Fidelity: "a welcome breather"
• CashBox: "slickly produced concert package"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #23
• Billboard Rock: #6
• CashBox: #25
• Rolling Stone: #23

Tracks: I can't think of a more high-energy opener than Just Can't Stop Me. Unfortunately, it goes downhill quickly from there. I was tempted to skip over track 5 (I'm Falling), but that would have put me on the worst track on the CD: Love Rap, in which Peter Wolf spends 5+ minutes talking about love in an imagined Garden of Eden where Adam smokes weed and gets the munchies. While this is all said in fun, it makes for a track that doesn't call for repeated listening. Wolf's rap about love serves as an intro into Love Stinks where the album picks up and just keeps building steam until the end. I'm sure when I listened to this album as a teenager, I just put on side 2 (which started with Love Stinks). I missed a great opener, but the strength of this release is the closing sequence of 5 great songs ending with a great cover of Land of a Thousand Dances.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember picking up this album on a trip into Houston with my buddy Jim. We would go to Sound Warehouse and spend lots of money on albums we couldn't get locally (now its just, i.e., Amazon, iTunes, etc.) I also remember calling in a request to the local radio station to play I Do, but they only had the 1977 studio version. Do they still have request shows on the radio?