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Notes: (Boston): In retrospect, it's amazing that the J. Geils Band, a Boston all-white, mostly-Jewish blues-harmonica combo got as famous as they did, during the heady days of the 1970s even.

I sorely regret never seeing them play live when I could have near the end of their heyday, 1981-83. They started out as pretty traditional blues purists, but pumped it up as the crowds got larger, eventually playing out on the mid-American hard rock circuit alongside Foghat, Ted Nugent and countless others.

They had a jauntiness that most other blues-based hard rock outfits lacked. Lead singer Peter Wolf never had a much to say of note in his lyrics, though his in-between song banter was spot on, thanks to his time as a DJ.

When I was in the Army, I used to play their cassettes whenever I could commandeer the boombox at the motor pool where I worked. Two black mechanics who worked there used to crack up over this music, amazed at how simplistic it sounded. The super-slow cover of "Serves You Right to Suffer" got particularly roasted: "Wait! Here it comes,... Here comes the beat. Here it isssss.... Boom! Hahahah." I've come to think though, a certain amount of cornball was part of J. Geils' appeal, that, and a percolating rhythm that was all their own., which they carried well into the disco era.

The Old Man Dean of Rock Critics, Robert Christgau once wrote, perhaps dismissively, that this arena rock party band's music could “change your life for a month." I'm wondering if Christgau might have underestimated was how good of a month it could be. New for me: “Chimes,” "Shoot Your Shot," and pretty much all of the “The Morning After" album.

Anyway, this is what else I listened to last week:

	

Top Artists
#
Artist
Tracks Played
#1   
The J. Geils Band
48

#2   
George Jones
43

#3   
Ike & Tina Turner
42

#4   
Gillian Welch
41

#5   
Aerosmith
32

#6   
The Lemonheads
28

#7   
Wire
26

#8   
Dinosaur Jr.
23

#9   
Roy Ayers
21

#10   
Pink Floyd
19



Top Albums
#
Name
Artist
#1   
The Harrow And The Harvest
Gillian Welch

#2   
Coffy
Roy Ayers

#3   
Pink Flag
Wire

#4   
III
Sebadoh

#5   
Singularity
Jon Hopkins

#6   
Hell Among The Yearlings
Gillian Welch

#7   
Rain Temple
2814

#8   
On Returning (1977-1979)
Wire

#9   
Leave The Light On
Beth Hart

#10   
Knnillssonn
Harry Nilsson



Top Tracks
#
Song
Artist
Times Played
#1   
Singularity
Jon Hopkins
6

#2   
Before The Rain
2814
4

#3   
Eyes Of The Temple
2814
4

#4   
Scarlet Town
Gillian Welch
4

#5   
All Good Things (Come to an End)
Nelly Furtado
4





Multimedia:
“American Bars & Stars” is Neil Young’s best album. Fight me — my 2-margarita self pic.twitter.com/CXcAgYxy4f
— Joab Jackson (@Joab_Jackson) March 24, 2019


Saddle up the Palomino, the sun is going down...
— Joab Jackson (@Joab_Jackson) March 24, 2019
 


This is one of those things I think about a lot... https://t.co/azjwufFo6k
— Joab Jackson (@Joab_Jackson) March 23, 2019






Previous Weeks

All the Music Stats

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