Freeze Frame The J. Geils Band

• 1 Freeze-Frame 03:58
• 2 Rage In The Cage 04:58
• 3 Centerfold 03:38
• 4 Do You Remember When 04:46
• 5 Insane, Insane Again 04:45
• 6 Flamethrower 05:00
• 7 River Blindness 06:07
• 8 Angel In Blue 04:52
• 9 Piss On The Wall 03:04
• Total Runtime 41:08

Info for Freeze Frame

Other highlights include the new wave dance sounds of the title track, as well as the pretty ballad 'Angel in Blue,' such harder rockers as 'Rage in the Cage' and 'Insane, Insane Again,' plus the R&B sounds of 'Flamethrower.' Runaway commercial success had finally come knocking on the door of the J. Geils Band, and though it wouldn't last long--singer Peter Wolf would soon split from the band, and they would be defunct within a few years—„Freeze Frame“ remains one of the early-'80s most celebrated rock releases.

With the '80s just underway, the J. Geils Band decided to retool their sound for the new decade. While there were elements of their rocking party-hearty direction left over from the previous decade, the group focused on more succinct and pop-based songwriting on 1980's „Love Stinks“. And while the album was a big hit for the band, the new approach was perfected even further with the massive hit follow-up „Freeze Frame“ one year later. J. Geils stormed the charts in '82 when their infectious pop ditty 'Centerfold' was issued as a single (it seemed to be blaring out of every radio and its video constantly appeared on MTV that summer).

„For me, their best since Monkey Island if not the debut divides neatly into three groups of three: slick get-me-off trash (hit single plus two music-as-escape songs), slick get-'em-off trash (opener, closer, and 'Angel in Blue,' a whore with a heart of brass that I'm just a sucker for), and slick get-offa-me trash (two throwaways at the end of side one plus 'River Blindness,' a more pretentious try at 'Monkey Island,' that album's sole bumout). If you're discovering the great audience these days it might even change your life for a month. But I guarantee you it didn't change the band’s.“ (Robert Christgau)

J. Geils, guitar
Peter Wolf, vocals
Seth Justman, vocals, keyboards
Stephen Bladd, vocals, drums
Magic Dick, harmonica, saxophone
Daniel Klein, bass

Engineered by David Thoener
Produced by Seth Justman

Digitally remastered

The J. Geils Band
was one of the most popular touring rock & roll bands in America during the '70s. Where their contemporaries were influenced by the heavy boogie of British blues-rock and the ear-splitting sonic adventures of psychedelia, the J. Geils Band was a bar band pure and simple, churning out greasy covers of obscure R&B, doo wop, and soul tunes, cutting them with a healthy dose of Stonesy swagger. While their muscular sound and the hyper jive of frontman Peter Wolf packed arenas across America, it only rarely earned them hit singles. Seth Justman, the group's main songwriter, could turn out catchy R&B-based rockers like "Give It to Me" and "Must of Got Lost," but these hits never led to stardom, primarily because the group had trouble capturing the energy of its live sound in the studio. In the early '80s, the group tempered its driving rock with some pop, and the makeover paid off with the massive hit single "Centerfold," which stayed at number one for six weeks. By the time the band prepared to record a follow-up, tensions between Justman and Wolf had grown considerably, resulting in Wolf's departure, which quickly led to the band's demise. After working for years to reach to top of the charts, the J. Geils Band couldn't stay there once they finally achieved their goal.

Guitarist J. Geils, bassist Danny Klein, and harpist Magic Dick (born Richard Salwitz) began performing as an acoustic blues trio sometime in the mid-'60s. In 1967, drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and vocalist Peter Wolf joined the group, and the band went electric. Before joining the J. Geils Band, Bladd and Wolf played together in the Boston-based rock revivalist band the Hallucinations. Both musicians shared a love of arcane doo wop, blues, R&B, and rock & roll, and Wolf had become well-known by spinning such obscure singles as a jive-talking WBCN DJ called Woofuh Goofuh. Wolf and Bladd's specialized tastes became a central force in the newly revamped J. Geils Band, whose members positioned themselves as tough '50s greasers in opposition to the colorful psychedelic rockers who dominated the East Coast in the late '60s. Soon, the band had earned a sizable local following, including Seth Justman, an organist who was studying at Boston University. Justman joined the band in 1968, and the band continued to tour for the next few years, landing a record contract with Atlantic in 1970.

The J. Geils Band was a regional hit upon its early 1970 release, and it earned favorable reviews, especially from Rolling Stone. The group's second album, The Morning After, appeared later that year and, thanks to the Top 40 hit "Looking for a Love," the album expanded the band's following. However, the J. Geils Band continued to win new fans primarily through their concerts, so it was no surprise that their third album, 1972's Full House, was a live set. It was followed by Bloodshot, a record that climbed into the Top Ten on the strength of the Top 40 hit "Give It to Me." Following the relative failure of 1973's Ladies Invited, the band had another hit with 1974's Nightmares, which featured the number 12 single "Must of Got Lost." While their live shows remained popular throughout the mid-'70s, both Hot Line (1975) and the live Blow Your Face Out (1976) were significant commercial disappointments. The band revamped its sound and shortened its name to "Geils" for 1977's Monkey Island. While the album received good reviews, the record failed to bring the group increased sales.

In 1978, the J. Geils Band left Atlantic Records for EMI, releasing Sanctuary later that year. Sanctuary slowly gained a following, becoming their first gold album since Bloodshot. Love Stinks (1980) expanded the group's following even more, peaking at number 18 in the charts and setting the stage for 1981's Freeze Frame, the band's high watermark. Supported by the infectious single "Centerfold" — which featured a memorable video that received heavy MTV airplay — and boasting a sleek, radio-ready sound, Freeze Frame climbed to number one. "Centerfold" shot to the top of the charts late in 1981, spending six weeks at number one; its follow-up, "Freeze-Frame," was nearly as successful, reaching number four in the spring of 1982. The live album Showtime! became a gold album shortly after its late 1982 release.

While the band was experiencing the greatest commercial success of its career, relationships between the members, particularly writing partners Justman and Wolf, were volatile. When the group refused to record material Wolf had written with Don Covay and Michael Jonzun, he left the band in the middle of a 1983 recording session. Justman assumed lead vocals, and the group released You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd in late 1984, several months after Wolf's successful solo debut, Lights Out. The J. Geils Band's record was a failure, and the band broke up in 1985. Magic Dick and J. Geils reunited in 1993 to form a contemporary blues band that has released two CDs, Bluestime and Little Car Blues.

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