When I listen to a lot of music today, and start feeling like I'm just an old geez who's too old to 'get it', I sometimes dig this out and realize: THEY don't get it !Īnd remember the 'Warning Label' on the jacket: RECORDED LOUD TO PLAY LOUD ! ! ! Well, you heard the man. They usually ended with this, by which time the audience was shredded. Lots of faves, but my always sweet spot, this 90mph rework of Bobby Womack's ' Lookin' for a Love'. Missed.ĭK, along with Stephen Jo Bladd, formed a tight rhythm section, and he masterfully rode a fine line between out and out rock while keeping the flavor of many of the old blues originals they did in the early days of the band. John Geils went on to own and operate a classic Euro repair shop (lot of vintage Ferrari work) and did more than a little big-jazzbox shows with Duke Robillard and others in that style, his first love. Not flashy players, but tight as hell, stayed out of each other's way, and with Wolf fronting the thing, it would really go. I've never seen a band before or since, that could walk out, and by halfway through the first verse had the place going bug-nuts as if it was the encore. In my wild mis-spent youth, I once followed JGB across Texas for four shows, after seeing them previously in Houston once or twice. I also love his bass playing on Must Of Got Lost:

His bass playing on Come Back and Surrender is pretty good. Most if not all of his guitars were auctioned off after he died in 2017.ĭanny Klein played a sunburst Fender Jazz Bass with a maple neck. J Geils were a great jazz-rock and blues-rock styled band, and even though I love Centerfold and Freeze Frame, they didn't hold a candle to Looking For A Love or Give It To Me. He also owned an orange 1936 Gibson ES-150 electric guitar, a Gibson L5 owned by Howard Alden, a Gibson ES 345, a Martin D28 acoustic guitar, a Gibson ES350, a Gibson ES5 and a lot of Fender Telecaster electric guitars, most notably in the video for Angel In Blue. A 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul was sold in 2012, a black Gibson Les Paul, a 1977 Gibson Les Paul sunburst with strings missing and a broken neck was auctioned off when he died, and he also owned a 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that was auctioned off when he died in 2017. J Geils owned a few Gibson Les Paul guitars. I think Concealed Weapons was played on a Fender Stratocaster through a Roland JC 120 amp.

He also played a blue Fender Telecaster that was featured in the video for Angel In Blue.

Even the awe-inspiring live album Blow Your Face Out, the band's near-maniacal dedication to the live stage, and their nonstop presence on the FM dial couldn't get them a hit album. But my copy of Bloodshot is pressed on black vinyl instead of red. Geils Band 's chart profile had been steadily slipping since the Top Ten success of their third record, Bloodshot. Was listening to them as I was writing this post. Monkey Island and Bloodshot are fantastic records. Geils, Not sure about anyone else, but he was an underrated guitarist.

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