Search - Southside Johnny & Asbury Jukes :: Best of

Three-fourths complete

just a guy | DC | 01/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Surprised no one has yet mentioned that this is the best _of the first three albums_, not including new material from after Stevie left the band. The first 3 albums were the best, so this gives us a lot. Still, it would be unforgivable except that Rhino has released The Best Of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (1979-1981).



The two CDs _combined_ give you everything."

Oh I Know It's Getting Late, But I Don't Wanna Go Home

Thomas K. Emanuel | Deadwood, SD USA | 04/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Horn-based R&B is one of my musical passions. Tower of Power, Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Van Morrison & the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, the Blues Brothers Band, pretty much anybody on Stax/Volt... if there's a trumpet and a sax or two wailing away somewhere, I'm happy. So THE VERY BEST OF SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES has turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made in quite a while - and not just because they have a killer horn section.



As their name might indicate, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes emerged from the same New Jersey scene as Bruce Springsteen. Johnny Lyons sounds a lot like Springsteen, and the Asbury Jukes, culled from the same pool of musicians as the E Street Band, sound like a less grand version of the same with a bigger horn section. And boy oh boy do they use it, tearing through covers of R&B classics such as "Without Love" and "Havin' a Party" with the verve and dedication of a straight Blues Brothers Band. But it's when they collaborate with their fellow Asbury Parkers that the Jukes shine brightest. I had no idea Miami Steve Van Zandt was such an awesome songwriter, but he wrote or cowrote ten of the nineteen tracks on this disc, and it's all great: "I Don't Want to Go Home", "Take It Inside", "Next to You", "This Time It's for Real"... magnificent stuff. He also co-founded the Asbury Jukes and produces everything here. And then there's the Boss himsef, offering up his early-career showstopper "The Fever" and devastating "Hearts of Stone" among other highlights. But the final cut on the disc, "Trapped Again", is the best thing here - a collaboration between Springsteen, Van Zandt, and Lyons alike, this yearning street epic wouldn't have sounded at all out of place on DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN.



Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes weren't nearly as ambitious as their more celebrated counterparts. They were an R&B band, pure and simple - and a damn fine one at that. But their music pulses with much the same Jersey soul that informs the best work of the Boss & his E Streeters, and I for one love it."

And That Kind of Love Don't Come Easy - Best of the Jukes' C

Peter Walenta | Long Island, New York USA | 05/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many reissues are now floating about, but none of them distill the essence of early Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes better than this 1992 Epic/Legacy 74 minute, 19 song single disc compilation aptly titled, "The Best of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes". If any records were more deserving of the full `Legacy' reissue treatment, they would have to be the first three albums by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; 1976's "I Don't Want to Go Home"; 1977's "This Time It's For Real" and 1978's stunning "Hearts of Stone". Blame it on their lack of initial blockbuster commercial success, I can't figure out why these albums aren't presently in print in America. All three albums were released on cd by Epic in 1990 but they have been long out of print. One would do well to spring for the currently available import release of "Hearts of Stone", but here is my vote for Epic Records (or anybody for that matter) to give these albums the reissue treatment they so rightly deserve, as they are vital and vibrant collections of blue eyed soul, representative of the best of the Asbury Park sound whipped into a wonderful and crazy rock frenzy by the formidable creative talents of Miami Steve Van Zandt, Southside John Lyons and a fellow from Freehold, New Jersey named Bruce Springsteen. "Best of" is really two records with one live set that Epic cobbled together and hats off to Epic as you do get your money's worth with this record. The first five songs are from Southside's first two albums with the standout being the slow burning "The Fever", which Springsteen "gave" to Southside Johnny. Van Zandt's "I Don't Want to Go Home" and "This Time It's for Real" nicely showcase the tight horn charts that would become the signature sound of the Jukes. Southside Johnny and Steve Van Zandt soaked up 60's soul and distilled it into a rocking and bluesy traditional tribute to the best of that genre. One hears the Drifters, Sam Cooke, Sam and Dave, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin in the rhythms and melodies of the Jukes' songs. The Jukes' definitive cover of Cooke's "Havin' A Party" is thankfully included here. The middle section of "Best of" consists of four live songs from a promotional LP, "Live at the Bottom Line" which gives the listener a good taste of what the Jukes sound like live. The standout track from the live set is Van Zandt's smoldering "Sweeter that Honey".



Tracks 11 through 19 on "Best of" consist of 8 songs from the stunning "Hearts of Stone" in the exact sequence as they appeared on that LP. Oddly missing is the "Hearts" album closer "Light Don't Shine", but if you're a first time listener and wondering what to check out, these 8 songs are Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at the top of their form. The horn charts punch like guitar riffs. The rhythm is tight and driven, the lyrics are very focused and the theme is being unable to go back to where one once was. Lost youth, lost love, lost time; and so when Southside Johnny sings in his smokey baritone, "this is the last dance, the last chance, for hearts of stone" he sings it with a resigned conviction that poignantly captures the wistful sadness one feels when one realizes that what's gone cannot be recaptured. Not ones to wallow in nostalgia for its' own sake, the Jukes serve up these songs with such bite, punch, exuberance and fun that they ultimately liberate one from past hurts, memories and relationships that keep one "trapped again". No, this kind of love don't come easy and if one takes the music on this record "inside", one will surely find a "better way home", because baby, "this time it's for real". Oh did I mention that this is great dance music too...and a bargain to boot! 5 Stars."