Great Rock Albums of 1984: Peter Wolf- Lights Out

  

It's funny how sometimes when a singer leaves a band, both that singer and the band, with their new singer, put out an album around the same time. Is it coincidence? Rivalry? Answers on a post card please. I guess we'll never know. All I know is that in 1984, after singer Peter Wolf left the J Geils band, the band released the album I visited in the last post and Peter Wolf came out with his debut solo album, "Lights Out," at the same time.

Listening to the opener, title cut and biggest single from the album, I am reminded why I probably stayed away from the album. The video for "Lights Out" got a fair amount of play on MTV at the time but it also got played a lot in dance clubs although that song was better than most of the stuff played in such places. That song never did anything for me and it still doesn't.

Fortunately, there are far better songs on "Lights Out." The very next track, "I Need You Tonight" has a more traditional J Geils Band sound and the succeeding track is a little of the same. Then there is the rather spooky sounding ballad, "Gloomy Sunday," which has a 1940s feel to it. It does show that Peter's voice has some versatility to it. A better single for me would have been "Baby Please Don't Let Me Go." This has a more catchy commercial vibe to it and I bet you could dance to it if you're into such things.

One big question that arises from the album is: Was Peter Wolf in a competition with Randy Newman as to who could get the most big names to accompany on their album? You only need to see the list of people on this album to discover what I mean. Heck, he even gets Mick Jagger to duet with him on the track "Crazy" and it sounds good. Possibly my favourite track on the album. I don't know who of the many guitarists on the album does the guitar solo but it's well done. My guess is that it's Adrian Belew but don't quote me on that. It could be The Cars guitarist Elliot Easton but to me, it doesn't sound like his style, I could be wrong and usually am.

Track Listing:

1. Lights Out
2. I Need You Tonight
3. Oo Ee Diddley Bop
4. Gloomy Sunday
5. Baby Please Don't Let Me Go
6. Crazy
7. Poor Girls Heart
8. Here Comes That Hurt Again
9. Pretty Lady
10. Mars Needs Women
11. Billy Bigtime

[caption id="attachment_3834" align="aligncenter" width="188"] Peter Wolf[/caption]

Peter Wolf- conga, vocals

Robin Beck- vocals

Mick Jagger- vocals

Adrian Belew- guitar

Peter Bliss- guitar, backing vocals

Tony 'Rocks' Cowan- guitar

Alan Dawson- percussion

Elliot Easton- guitar

Eddie Gorodetsky- vocals, narration

Yogi Horton- percussion

Michael Jozun- bass, flute, guitar, percussion, horns, keyboards, backing vocals

Will Lee- bass, vocals

Leon Mobley- conga, conductor

P-Funk Horns- horn section

Rick Peppers- guitar

Randy Ross- guitar

G E Smith- guitar

Maurice Starr- bass, guitar, vocals

Ed Stasium- guitar, percussion

Rusty the Toejammer- scratches

Gordon Worthy- bass, conga, keyboards, vocals

I think that the theme of Peter Wolf's "Lights Out" album is versatility. No two songs are the same yet at the same time, the album seems to flow. Whether its the more commercial sound of "Poor Girls Heart" to the humourous "Mars Needs Women" to the more blues funk closer "Billy Bigtime" there's something here that everyone will like.

Next post: Rush- Grace Under Pressure

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at:tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock Albums of 1984: J. Geils Band- You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd

 

Back when I posted about the J Geils Band's "Freeze Frame" album, I mentioned that in the UK, the band have always been considered one hit wonders in the UK, "Centerfold" being that one hit. I still find that hard to fathom. Anyway, the video for said hit featured on a UK music station during a segment called "One Hit Wonders Weekend." While showing the video, someone thought it would be clever to have an arrow pointing out lead singer, Peter Wolf, with the caption, "This is not J Geils." A few seconds later, the same arrow pointed to the guitar player with the caption, "This is J Geils." It's funny how the death of someone can make you remember things like that about them. What it also did was help me remember that the band put out an album in 1984, otherwise it would have passed me by.

Why I never bought "You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd" is a mystery even to me. Could it be the fact that the album never produced a major hit? The only single, "Concealed Weapons," only made it to 63 in the charts. No, that never stopped me nor the fact that Peter Wolf had left the band before its release. Now that I remember, I think he had a solo album in this year. Was it because I had become fully absorbed in metal by then? No, because I have always kept an ear out for all music I might like. So, I'm afraid I can't answer the question.

Thanks to Youtube, I have been able to listen to the album and ask myself again why I didn't buy it. It's a pretty good album, different from what the J Geils band had put out in the past and certainly not heavy metal. I did keep my promise to check out some of the band's pre "Love Stinks" material. "You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd" is a fusion of jazz and new wave. There is a heavy use of horns on the album and while I'm usually wary of horns in rock, it works very well on the album. However, there is some very interesting sounds with the keyboards that make it sound new wave. I call as evidence, the track "Wasted Youth" and the cool intro to "Heavy Petting." Yet even there, the horns come in making the marriage of the two genres a sweet one. "Heavy Petting" is one of the stand out tracks for me but the one which stands out the most is "Californicatin.'" They should have released that one as the single, it might have done better in the charts. Then again, "Concealed Weapons" does remind me a little of the Dead Kennedys. I like the faster pace with the song with the short sharp horns and background vocals. The only J Geils guitar solo appears on "The Bite From Inside" which saves a lackluster song.

Track Listing:

1. Concealed Weapons
2. Heavy Petting
3. Wasted Youth
4. Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe
5. Tell' Em Jonesy
6. You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd
7. The Bite From Inside
8. Californicatin'
9. I Will Carry You Home

[caption id="attachment_1726" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The J Geils Band[/caption]

Note: I couldn't find a picture of the band without Peter Wolf in it so I used this one

Seth Justman- keyboards, vocals

J Geils- guitar

Magic Dick- harmonica

Danny Klein- bass

Stephen Bladd- drums

"You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd" was the last album from the J Geils Band. Maybe the departure from their traditional sound was too different for the average listener or that Seth Justman lacked the charisma of Peter Wolf. It's hard to say but I've heard a lot of last albums from bands that weren't as good as this one.

Next post: Peter Wolf- Lights Out (It seems he did have an album out in 1984)

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

The Israeli Top Ten- April 1982

Because I hadn't been able to listen to any albums from 1982 over the past few days I decided to take a trip back in personal nostalgia. In a few of my posts, I mentioned that I was in Israel in April of 1982. While getting rather sloshed in a bar in Tel A Viv, my friends and I were entertained by a television showing music videos. At first, we rocked to what I would later discover to be the video to all of Queen's greatest hits up until 1980 and that was totally cool. Next, however, they showed the videos for the top ten songs in Israel that week or so I have always thought. So, to the best of my knowledge, here it is:

10. An Israeli duet featuring a man who looked like a grown up version of a friend of mine from junior high school and a woman. Don't have a clue what the song was, they sang in Hebrew but the lady was quite pretty and the man had a powerful voice.

9. A Soul band whose name or song I can't remember

8. The Human League- Don't You Want Me

7. A rather hot looking French lady- Upside Down (I assume that was the title)

6. A dark haired woman who had a great voice. She was either Israeli or Italian

[caption id="attachment_1726" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The J Geils Band[/caption]

5. J. Geils Band- Centerfold

[caption id="attachment_2277" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Foreigner[/caption]

4. Foreigner- Waiting For a Girl Like You

[caption id="attachment_2485" align="aligncenter" width="259"] Rod Stewart[/caption]

3. Rod Stewart- Young Turks

2. An English band featuring a short guy as lead singer- Can't remember the song

1. Abba- Head Over Heels

I think the reason I remember this top ten so well is that fact that there were a couple of decent rock tunes in the chart. I have also noted that there are a good number of heavy metal bands from the country. My point here is that I think they can rock in Israel! Thank you for coming along on my trip down memory lane.

Next post: Charlie Daniels Band- Windows

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Rock Albums of 1981: J Geils Band- Freeze Frame

In the UK, The J. Geils Band are considered one hit wonders and "Freeze Frame" is the album which produced the one hit that they are known for. "Centerfold" was a humungous hit for them, not just in the US or UK, but throughout most of the world. I was in Israel in April of 1982 and it was in the top ten charts there. I think it was number five. The truth is that they are definitely not one hit wonders in the US. Not only was "Love Stinks" a big hit for them in 1980 but this very 1981 album produced some other hits as well.

As all of us know by now, it doesn't take a couple of top 40 hits to make a good album and "Freeze Frame" has plenty of good material on it. I love the organ intro in the title track, which is the very first song on the album and there is some catchy keyboard melodies with "Flamethrower." Both are really good songs and I like the Devo like sound with "Rage in the Cage." A similar new wave sound is heard quite pleasingly on "Insane, Insane Again." However, they don't totally abandon their blues rock sound from the 70s. "Angel in Blue" is very reminiscent of that sound and has another memory for me. It wasn't Twinkles at the Driftwood but another dancer at another similar type go-go bar. My memory is foggy, I will blame it on too much beer that night, but I think it was a bar called The Other Place. The dancer, who was dressed in blue, moved along to this song in a very hypnotic way. Even though this was the first time I heard this song in many years, that memory of the dancer's movements to this song is etched in my brain. Still, it's a fantastic song and the album ends with the very cool and amusing "Piss On the Wall."

Track Listing:

1. Freeze Frame

2. Rage in the Cage

3. Centerfold

4. Do You Remember When

5. Insane, Insane Again

6. Flamethrower

7. River Blindness

8. Angel in Blue

10. Piss On the Wall

[caption id="attachment_1726" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The J Geils Band[/caption]

Peter Wolf- vocals

J. Geils- guitar

Seth Justman- keyboards

Danny Klein- bass

Magic Dick- harmonica, trumpet, saxophone

Stephen Bladd- drums

It's a shame that the J. Geils Band only had the one hit in the UK when they had so many great records in the US. "Freeze Frame" itself has so many great songs on it alone. So, I hope my British readers will take my word for it and check this album out for themselves. In spite of all that I have said here, The J. Geils band aren't my choice for the best American act not to crack the UK. After all, they did have one hit. That one is still yet to come.

Next post: Foreigner 4

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Rock Albums of 1982: J. Geils Band- Love Stinks

The USA, Canada and the UK have always enjoyed a musical interaction with one another where acts from one country get the same notoriety in the other. However, this hasn't been the case with all acts. For example, when I get to 1981, I will reveal who I think is the best American artist not to have made it in the UK. (I'm sorry, you'll have to wait til then.) Something similar can be said about the J Geils band. While watching British MTV, they had a weekend viewing of one hit wonders and one of those was the J Geils band with the song "Centerfold." I was astounded! How could they be considered one hit wonders when they had been making great rock in America all throughout the seventies? I would have thought they would have at least heard of the title track of the album I'm visiting here today because "Love Stinks" is the song I will always remember them for.

"Love Stinks" is my favourite J Geils song  and it has been covered by great rock and metal artists such as Joan Jett and Bile as well as been used in commercials and films such as "The Wedding Singer." It is also the title of the eleventh album from them. As I mentioned earlier, they tore up the seventies with a number of great rock albums and I am slightly kicking myself for not featuring any of them in previous postings, my loss. This album is no different. I love the seventies hard sound with the keyboard in accompaniment that make songs like "Till the Walls Come Down" and "Just Can't Wait" great songs. I am also amused by the band's sense of  humour with "No Anchovies, Please." Yes, "Love Stinks" is a great rock album to be enjoyed by any officianado of the fine art of rock music.

Track Listing:

1. Just Can't Wait

2. Come Back

3. Taking You Down

4. Nighttime

5. No Anchovies, Please

6. Love Stinks

7. Trying Not to Think About It

8. Desire (Please  Don't Turn Away)

9. Till The Walls Come Tumbling Down

The J Geils Band

J Geils- guitar

Stephen Bladd- drums, vocals

Seth Justman- keyboards, vocals

Danny Klein- bass

Magic Dick - harmonica, saxophone, trumpet

Peter Wolf- vocals

The song "Love Stinks," along with "Centerfold," will forever be identified with the J Geils Band. However, the rest of the album the first song comes from is definitely worth a listen as well. I hope my British readers will definitely take me up on the offer if they haven't listened to any in the  past. I know you'll like it.

Next post: The Blues Brothers Soundtrack

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London