I usually try to give all your recommendations a listen Kevin, but my utter dislike of 'Centerfold' is so ingrained I can't possibly try anything else by The J.Geils Band, so I'll have to pass on this one!
Regarding records at home, my mum had a very limited range of Country LPs, mainly Jim Reeves (I can still hear, "the sound of distant drums"!) but then ...
... an older cousin left home and (weirdly in my view) simply gifted me her whole 7" singles collection. In amongst a lot of Beatles was 'You Really Got Me' by The Kinks, and I was sold. I still think there's a valid argument Ray Davies (well before his time) invented Punk with that song.
Two things: I get it re: Centerfold. It was played to death and the lyrics are kinda creepy when you get past the catchy hook. But you really should try older J. Geils. They were pretty raucous and less pop in their lean and hungry years.
And 2. Any punk music discussion that doesn’t include the Kinks and the Sonics isn’t worth having.
Thanks Mark, agree re adding the Sonics into the punk mix. From your comments I think you'd enjoy reading my serialised novel (for free) at: https://challenge69.substack.com Go on, give it a try!!
I didn’t know that Centerfold was such a singularity for the band until much later. The band that gave us “First I Look at the Purse” and “Angel in Blue” seem light years away. Not a lot of rock acts can so utterly morph themselves into a totally different sound and have success with it
I was looking at Spotify numbers when I wrote this and the song has several orders of magnitude for than any of their other tracks...maybe more than the rest put together.
Yeah, these guys were pretty big in Boston when I was growing up. And by pretty big, I mean ginormous. I think we were all issued copies of this record on the first day of junior high. It's pretty much all I remember from that year. Not to mention, Peter Wolf was still DJ-ing occasionally on WBCN which somehow felt like a rock star was talking directly to us.
Love the backstory on this one, Kevin. I think most of us had that epiphany once we started visiting friends’ houses. Thank the good Lord my best friend’s parents were totally into rock. Until then I had been subjected to only country music. I can still hear the 8-tracks--Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Anne Murray, Charlie Pride, and George Jones. Patsy Cline was the only winner for me. It would be years before I discovered my dad’s stack of 45s featuring the Beatles, Beach Boys, CCR, Fats Domino, and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
While I heard lots of tunes coming through the radio at my friend’s house, the first album I remember listening to start to finish was Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
He actually gave them to me a couple of years ago. Unfortunately they were not well kept and most are probably unplayable. But it was nice going through them again.
I usually try to give all your recommendations a listen Kevin, but my utter dislike of 'Centerfold' is so ingrained I can't possibly try anything else by The J.Geils Band, so I'll have to pass on this one!
Regarding records at home, my mum had a very limited range of Country LPs, mainly Jim Reeves (I can still hear, "the sound of distant drums"!) but then ...
... an older cousin left home and (weirdly in my view) simply gifted me her whole 7" singles collection. In amongst a lot of Beatles was 'You Really Got Me' by The Kinks, and I was sold. I still think there's a valid argument Ray Davies (well before his time) invented Punk with that song.
(For those who haven't yet - try my music themed novel at: https://challenge69.substack.com )
Two things: I get it re: Centerfold. It was played to death and the lyrics are kinda creepy when you get past the catchy hook. But you really should try older J. Geils. They were pretty raucous and less pop in their lean and hungry years.
And 2. Any punk music discussion that doesn’t include the Kinks and the Sonics isn’t worth having.
Thanks Mark, agree re adding the Sonics into the punk mix. From your comments I think you'd enjoy reading my serialised novel (for free) at: https://challenge69.substack.com Go on, give it a try!!
Older stuff is really good and a world away from this.
I didn’t know that Centerfold was such a singularity for the band until much later. The band that gave us “First I Look at the Purse” and “Angel in Blue” seem light years away. Not a lot of rock acts can so utterly morph themselves into a totally different sound and have success with it
I was looking at Spotify numbers when I wrote this and the song has several orders of magnitude for than any of their other tracks...maybe more than the rest put together.
A band is more than its hits. Those guys paid their dues playing blues-rock long before "Centerfold" came along.
Love "Freeze Frame" - Great record, Kevin!
I had a lot of fun listening to it again!
Yeah, these guys were pretty big in Boston when I was growing up. And by pretty big, I mean ginormous. I think we were all issued copies of this record on the first day of junior high. It's pretty much all I remember from that year. Not to mention, Peter Wolf was still DJ-ing occasionally on WBCN which somehow felt like a rock star was talking directly to us.
I love it! I wish we'd had something similar in Portland. Quarterflash & NuShooz hit big, but nothing like that.
Love the backstory on this one, Kevin. I think most of us had that epiphany once we started visiting friends’ houses. Thank the good Lord my best friend’s parents were totally into rock. Until then I had been subjected to only country music. I can still hear the 8-tracks--Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Anne Murray, Charlie Pride, and George Jones. Patsy Cline was the only winner for me. It would be years before I discovered my dad’s stack of 45s featuring the Beatles, Beach Boys, CCR, Fats Domino, and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
While I heard lots of tunes coming through the radio at my friend’s house, the first album I remember listening to start to finish was Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
That's a great first record! :) Sounds like your dad had some really varied (and good) taste as well. Are those 45s still around anywhere?
He actually gave them to me a couple of years ago. Unfortunately they were not well kept and most are probably unplayable. But it was nice going through them again.
I ended up with quite a few like that too. The trip down memory lane was worth it, though.
Gonna have to pass on this track, Kevin :(
And that album cover is gonna haunt me tonight!