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The 38 tracks on the two-CD set, "The J. Geils Band Anthology," were arranged out of chronological order so the first 10 songs on the second disc could all be live recordings. Those songs give you a good sense of what the second set at a J. Geils show sounded like back in the days when the band was the most exciting blues-rock band in the land. On stage, the sextet would expand the boundaries of the blues to include everything from Stax and Motown to jackhammer rhythms and screaming solos, and that roadhouse party attitude carried over into a series of hit studio recordings.

By Kim Fletcher
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Ella and I do not often review greatest hits albums, but for this amazing collection from the career of the J. Geils Band we are going to make an exception. 5 stars are hard enough to get, but a greatest hits collection with 5 stars only happens once in a blue moon. Ten Years After got a 5 star review for their collection Essential, but that was it.

So what's the fuss about 'Houseparty'? Well, let's just say that if you don't find yourself jumping up and down to every track that's on this 38 song, 2 disc set then you have just got no rock 'n' roll in your soul. This was the sort of music that is played constantly at the famous Tahitian Queen Rock 'n' Roll Happy Hour, and why do people go to Tahitian Queen Happy Hour? It's to have a good time, and this is music to have a good time to.

History tells us that the year 1967 was all incense, peppermints, kaftans, beads, lots of vegetables, paisley shirts, people finishing sentences with the word man, and being so laid back they fell over themselves. But those lazy, hazy, crazy, daze of way off also produced one of the world's wildest, finest, all-time great, hard-driven rhythm and blues show bands that were ever put on this planet to entertain. For the next 15 years and 14 albums and what must of been a million gigs, the J. Geils Band, in the words of their front man Peter Wolf, "felt obligated to give 100% of ourselves to our audience. We were a bunch of guys who had the passion and wanted to share it". Where else do you get that commitment from a band? They were together for those 15 years without one change in line-up - unheard of in the unstable world of rock 'n' roll. When it came time to go they just left at the top.

This collection, with it's informative 52-page booklet, has songs from all 14 albums, but is not in chronological order, allowing the compiler to put all the great studio cuts from the debut album in 1970 on the first disc ,through to `Surrender'from their 1977 album `Monkey Island'. That includes the hit `Must Of Got Love' (no12, 1974) and all the great covers such as Willie Dixon's 'Dead Presidents'.

Then disc two kicks off with10 tracks from the three live albums that the J. Geils Band released in their career, Live - Full House (1972), Live - Blow Your Face Out (1976), and Showtime (1982). These songs really give you a feel of what it must of been like at a full blown J. Geils Band concert. It's all there.

'Whammer Jammer' gives Magic Dick a chance to live up to his name on his harmonica solo number and most of the songs give J. Geils' a chance to run his furious guitar solos. All with the rock solid support from the rhythm section of Danny Klein and Stephen Jo Bladd, and the wall of sound that was put out by the keyboards of Seth Justman (he was also producer and arranger for the band in the second half of their career). Peter Wolf's in-between song raps are left in place, and his vocal performance on 'First I Look At The Purse' would leave anybody breathless.

If this was not enough, late in their lifespan the band had a resurgence in popularity, which brought their music to a whole new generation of fans with the release of the album 'Freeze Frame'. It reached the top of the album charts over Christmas 1981, spending four weeks at number one and a total of 70 weeks in the charts.

The single from the album 'Centrefold' also hit the number one spot, and the title track, when released as a single, went top 5.

Don't you just love a happy ending? When it was time to go the boys packed their bags and exited stage left. I leave you with the words of Peter Kay, always the J. Geils Band's spokesperson, a band named after the guitarist, not the vocalist with the shades.

"The J. Geils Band was a real American band - six guys with a love of music. Really feeling blessed that we were able to prevail and keep going. We were no frills, no tricks, just hard, sweaty Rock 'n' Roll. And when we hit the stage it was Showtime!"

Whammered by Mott The Dog
Jammered by Ella Crew

Track List:
Disc: 1
1. Cruisin' for a Love - J. Geils Band, Juke Joint Jimmy
2. Homework - J. Geils Band, Rush, Otis
3. Looking for a Love - J. Geils Band, Alexander, James
4. The It Ain't What You Do (It's How You Do It!)[*] - J. Geils Band, Juke Joint Jimmy
5. Usual Place[*] - J. Geils Band, Covay, Don
6. Cry One More Time - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
7. Dead Presidents - J. Geils Band, Dixon, Willie
8. Give It to Me [Edit][Mix] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
9. Southside Shuffle - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
10. Make Up Your Mind - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
11. Gettin' Out [Edit] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
12. Detroit Breakdown - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
13. Givin' It All Up - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
14. Must of Got Lost [Edit] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
15. Believe in Me - J. Geils Band, Mayfield, Curtis
16. Love-Itis - J. Geils Band, Scales, Harvey
17. Where Did Our Love Go[*] - J. Geils Band, Dozier, Lamont
18. Peanut Butter[*] - J. Geils Band, Barnum, H.B.
19. Surrender[*] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter

Disc: 2
1. Sno-Cone [Live] - J. Geils Band, Collins, Albert
2. Wait [Live] - J. Geils Band, Justman, Seth
3. Hard Drivin' Man [Live] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
4. First I Look at the Purse [Live] - J. Geils Band, Rodgers, Robert
5. Pack Fair and Square [Live] - J. Geils Band, Price, Walter Travi
6. Whammer Jammer [Live] - J. Geils Band, Juke Joint Jimmy
7. Must of Got Lost [Live] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
8. Start All Over Again [Live] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
9. Ain't Nothin' But a House Party [Live] - J. Geils Band, Sharh, Del
10. I Do [Live] - J. Geils Band, Paden, Johnny
11. Just Can't Wait - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
12. Love Stinks - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
13. Night Time - J. Geils Band, Feldman, Bob
14. Flamethrower - J. Geils Band, Justman, Seth
15. Centerfold - J. Geils Band, Justman, Seth
16. Freeze-Frame - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
17. Sanctuary - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
18. One Last Kiss[*] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter
19. Teresa[*] - J. Geils Band, Wolf, Peter

SPOILER!

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