Those albums contained a mixture of older numbers, as well as originals which fit right into the styles of the raunchers whose music they absorbed.įull House consists entirely of tracks which appeared on the first two, but here they're full of the dragons-breath frenzy which the group puts into all their shows, without sacrificing any music.īesides being a straight-ahead rocking motherfucker, the album also could serve as a model of set structuring. Their two previous albums showed a hard-core blues band metamorphosing into a good-time rock band with long roots in the sound they grew up grooving on. Though much of their sound and style comes from Chicago blues, they aren't one of those pretentious blues revival groups they'd rather stimulate your groin than your intellect. Not your run-of-the-mill campy sequined theatricality of miscellaneous gender, but instead slippin' and slidin' and raunchy madman jiving which makes watching as good a hearing. Enter manager Dee Anthony, then overseeing rock heavyweights Humble Pie, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Joe Cocker.The Geils Band is one of my favorite performing groups - not only do they play a tight and tough no-bullshit mixture of blues and rock, but they know and groove on the value of giving folks a show. Why don’t you just do a live record? Just capture what you’re doin’ on stage.’” “He came to see us play,” said singer Peter Wolf, "and said: ‘You’re a great live band, but I listened to your albums and I’m just not getting it. In April ’72 the band headed for Detroit, a favoured stronghold, and pitched up for two nights at The Cinderella Ballroom. The result was the kinetic Full House, which featured strutting takes of First I Look At The Purse, Looking For A Love and Otis Rush’s Homework, alongside two-fisted originals Whammer Jammer and Hard Drivin’ Man. Perhaps the best of the bunch was a monumental version of John Lee Hooker’s Serves You Right To Suffer, a song that folded everything vital about the J. Geils Band – wailing harp, churning organ solos, pungent blues licks and the irrepressible Wolf – into the best part of 10 glorious minutes. The album may have failed to crack the Billboard Top 50, but it was a huge critical success with a potent presence on underground radio, and it remains one of the finest live documents of its era. "Live" Full House is 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." ( AllMusic (opens in new tab)) Geils himself on guitar when you have a magnetic frontman like Peter Wolf or the unstoppable force that is harp player Magic Dick (check Whammer Jammer for proof of his greatness), but his soloing on this track serves notice that he could tear off a ferocious solo with the best of them. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, it packs a relentless punch that leaves the listener drunk with pleasure from the powerful momentum the band brought to the stage and left them wanting more." ( All About Jazz (opens in new tab)) "Minute for Minute, "Live" Full House is one of the densest rock live albums ever produced. I'll bet this one will be in my 'hot' file until their next album is out, and if this is any kind of clue, it ought to be one bad jam!" ( Rolling Stone) "There are damn few live albums that hold up as strong as this all the way through - or that you'll ever want to play again. Philip Qvist: Wow - this was an excellent choice. Until now I was only familiar with their 80s Centerfold and Freeze Frame output. Not bad, but not much to excite me or to encourage me look out for their earlier stuff. Live Full House is one fantastic live record. Singer Peter Wolf on top of his game, Seth Justman and "J" himself keeping things steady on keyboards and guitars and a solid rhythm section who all tick the right boxes but yes, Magic Dick on Harmonica is the star of the show.Īll the songs are great but First I Look At The Purse, Serves You Right to Suffer and closing track Looking For A Love are the standout tracks.Ī great blues album and a very pleasant surprise - The J. Geils Band definitely deserve further exploring.
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