Search - J. Band Geils :: Bloodshot

One of the best

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 08/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I prefer the J. Geils Band's gritty R&B-albums from the early seventies to their latter-day mainstream albums, and "Bloodshoot" from 1973 is one of their best.



John "Jay" Geils and his band may not have been the most original ensemble touring the US during the 70s, but they did put out a handful of really funky rock n' roll records with a bluesy edge and a lot of great hooks. And there is no need to program anything out here - "Bloodshot" has one of the strongest track lists of any J. Geils Band album...perhaps even the strongest. Great songs, and great arrangements, too, particularly Magic Dick Salwitz's harp blasts and the organ and piano playing of Seth Justman.

The highlights include "(Ain't Nothing But A) House Party", "Make Up Your Mind", "Back To Get Ya", "Southside Shuffle", and the relatively unknown gem "Struttin' With My Baby" (delightful R&B-piano playing on that one, and one of the deepest, funkiest grooves the J. Geils Band ever managed to capture on tape). But literally everything is worth a listen.



If you want more than just the double-disc anthology "Houseparty", this is one of the first J. Geils CDs that you should pick up, along with their self-titled debut album, and 1971s "The Morning After". Classic, good-time rock n' roll - good enough for 4 1/2 stars or there about."

Excellent J. Geils at their most raucous

Mendicant Pigeon | pdx, or United States | 12/24/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This lp rates three stars in relation to 'Ladies Invited' (5), Nightmares (4) and Full House (4) and is on par with their Hotline. As there are Amazon music samples for this album I won't comment much on their sound but to say that their sound was the definitive 'House Band' music for industrial Northeastern and Midwest America during the 1970's. It was full on R&B honky tonk soul rock and roll for blue collar and college party USA and it is a great sound. Anyone who saw J. Geils in their day will speak of the event with mist in their eyes for they apparently had a live act like few others. This album captures a lot of that energy which is kinetic. It's likely that you'll have heard at least one of the tunes contained on this album somewhere along the line even though the band's music doesn't get radio play anymore because when one of the J. Geil's band's songs hit it right their sound was timeless and outtasight."

You've Got to Give it to Me

Darian Dennison | Walla Walla, WA | 01/30/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a decent album with a few filler songs but the classics are (Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party, then you have skip track #2 to track #6 to get to the good stuff, Southside Shuffle is one of my favorite songs by the bluesy bad boys. Hold Your Loving is one of the boy's underrated gems and now for the best, the closing track called Give it to Me, an FM radio staple which has a great sing along chorus as well as a distorted guitar solo and it could've been easily done by Beck Bogert Appice (whose album also came out around the same time).If you're a diehard classic rock fan, then you should get this album."