It should not have taken 17 years for a cross-licensed career retrospective of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, but it did. Australia's Raven imprint has consistently done reissues and compilations of American artists with requisite excellence in sound, presentation, and aesthetic choices. Here are 20 tracks of the Jukes from 1979 through 1991. It begins with four from the release of the band's debut Epic album, I Don't Want to Go Home. All four were written by fellow townies Bruce Springsteen (whose "Fever" is a ...
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It should not have taken 17 years for a cross-licensed career retrospective of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, but it did. Australia's Raven imprint has consistently done reissues and compilations of American artists with requisite excellence in sound, presentation, and aesthetic choices. Here are 20 tracks of the Jukes from 1979 through 1991. It begins with four from the release of the band's debut Epic album, I Don't Want to Go Home. All four were written by fellow townies Bruce Springsteen (whose "Fever" is a highlight) and Miami Steve Van Zandt (who was a member of the Jukes during the Epic period -- and later on). These tunes offer a hint of the killer Jersey sound that the Jukes were tearing up East Coast stages with. The band included an enormous horn section and was rooted in rhythm & blues and vintage rock, and drenched in Johnny Lyon's blue-eyed soul. Lyon is a quintessential rock frontman in the same way that Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band is. He claims full authority and control of a band that breathes pure rock fire, and has the requisite charisma and energy to whip up an audience like a tent preacher at an evangelical revival. There are a pair of cuts from This Time It's for Real included as well, the title track and the dramatic street-corner opera "Love on the Wrong Side of Town," written by Springsteen and Van Zandt. This recording wasn't as well received as its predecessor, but it's no less wonderful -- it's just a bit more down in the heart. Thankfully, there are four tracks from Hearts of Stone, the band's finest (and last) date for Epic -- despite the fact that it was hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Best Records of the 1970s. Van Zandt and Lyon busted their asses on this set, and in terms of pure fire and soul, you can hear it in every track. E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg holds the drum chair here, and Springsteen appears in the guise of songwriter and guitarist in places, such as on the title track and "Talk to Me." There are also four cuts from the band's 1979 classic Mercury debut, The Jukes, including the burning rockers "All I Want Is Everything" and "I'm So Anxious." Billy Rush appears here for the first time as a songwriter and becomes the perfect foil for Lyon after the departure of Van Zandt. Other than the ballad "Paris," this is the rocking side of the band showcased on record. The four cuts from Love Is a Sacrifice return to the Jersey R&B sound and, unfortunately, the music world had moved on by 1980 and it sank like a stone despite being a deeply satisfying album. This disc ends with three tracks from Better Days, a reunion of Van Zandt and Lyon released by an MCA subsidiary. The album went nowhere, but it's the rawest, most immediate record the Jukes ever cut and features Van Zandt's "It's Been a Long Time," with his own vocals alternating with those of Lyon and Springsteen. It's a hell of a way to end this set. Better Days has been out of print since the mid-'90s and it's a shame, because it just crackles with heat. For anyone ever interested in the Jukes, this is as fine a portrait of this band as exists. AMG's own Mark Deming wrote the liner notes; he offers a brief but real historical portrait of a band that could never quite get over with the populace, but left a catalog that is timeless in its greatness. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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Add this copy of Fever the Anthology 1976-1991 to cart. $29.00, good condition, Sold by Goodbookscafe rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Macon, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Raven.
