In the run up to the J. Geils Band’s early-1980s-era hitmaking period, even as they notched a first-ever gold-selling album, they still possessed the bluesy party-band grit of their earliest days. You hear a band on House Party Live In Germany, recorded on April 21, 1979 at the Grugahalle, Germany, with one foot in each world.
Back then, “One Last Kiss” was considered their big hit, a Top 40 entry in America and the J. Geils Band’s first-ever charting song in the UK. But you won’t find even a trace of the winky fun that propelled 1980’s “Love Stinks” and 1981’s “Centerfold,” the latter of which would become the since-fractured group’s first (and last) charttopper.
The J. Geils Band, as heard on House Party Live In Germany, could still be a little gruff, a little dangerous — hell, during Magic Dick’s eruptive harp solo on “One Last Kiss,” it’s a lot dangerous — and a little grimy. This is song about desperate need, without a glimmer of the knowing irony that most now associate with J. Geils and its twitchy frontman Peter Wolf.
“One Last Kiss” is part of show that focuses, in its first half, on J. Geils Band’s then-new album Sanctuary. House Party Live In Germany, originally recorded for the Rockpalast TV series and due February 23, 2015 via Eagle Rock, is rounded out by favorites from earlier projects like “Looking For A Love” (which just crept into the Top 40) and “Give It To Me” (No. 30) — each of them so fantastically different from what this band’s second-generation fans might expect.
Start with “One Last Kiss,” and work your way deeper into the other part of J. Geils Band’s legacy.
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