The J. Geils Band - Love Stinks

Happy Valentine's Day.

"Love Stinks" was probably the first time I remember hearing The J. Geils Band Band. There was a video I saw once that was so goofy I wasn't sure how to process what I was seeing - was it terrible or awesome?

It.Was.Awesome.

I was hanging out at buddies house for the weekend around the time the album came out and Gerry says, "Hey check this out." He plays "No Anchovies, Please" and I'm enthralled. Over the last forty plus years, I hadn't heard that song until I put the record for the first time in the basement. But, I'm getting ahead of myself ... I need a preamblemeanderamble first.

The J. Geils Band broke wide open to the masses after a long career as a party band who managed to avoid their big break as they built up their audience - which honestly was unbeknownst to me at the time. Nor did I know that Love Stinks was their tenth album, and they were going to peak a year later with Freeze Frame, and then quietly end their run after Peter Wolf left the band, with the truly underrated You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd from 1984.

So why focus on Love Stinks instead of going for the gold (or platinum) with Freeze Frame? Well, you couldn't have one without the other. Over the years I'd end up with some of their stuff, most notably The Rhino CD release Houseparty: The J. Geils Band Anthology that was a solid overview, and I had a vinyl copy of Freeze Frame, that survived the flood in the '90s. Sadly the album cover didn't make it. I never had a copy of Love Stinks, and when I found one in a clearance bin I snapped it up. The cover was really dirty, so I got my microfiber cloth and a dab of water and cleaned off what I hoped was just dirt. The insert was there and the vinyl was in excellent shape.

The packaging for the album, is right up there with the best I've ever seen. I guess it could be loosely considered a concept album and is hilarious and meticulous in how it is presented. As for the songs themselves they're great (extra points if you read that like Tony the Tiger). Just enough new wave infused R&B with thick guitars, great keyboard arrangements and a lot of tongue in cheek humour to propel the listener (me) from track to track and side to side.

Side one kicks off with "Just Can't Wait" and has a perfect cheesy keyboard sound that hearkens back to the '60s but felt right at home with the new wave crowd. "Come Back" has some great work, and again an almost dance feel to it. I probably won't just keep listing the songs as they pop up as they're all pretty good. Honestly much better than I expected. The first side closes with the anchovy song, and is a funny as I remembered, and after a few times through the album didn't wear as thin as I expected it to.

Side two opens up with the title track, and is a great as ever, if not more so as I'm taking it in as part of the whole album.

The band from what I can tell was a cohesive unit all the way through to Freeze Frame and consisted of     Peter Wolf – lead vocals, J. Geils – guitar, Magic Dick – harmonica, Seth Justman – keyboards, backing vocals, Danny Klein – bass and Stephen Jo Bladd – drums. The songs for the most part were written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman, and the album was produced by Seth as well. 

Love Stinks (but the album doesn't) captured a band that after over a decade together still had something to say and were still getting better.

Oh, and if by chance you ever find a small note in the bottom of a can  of anchovies with a telephone number - best not to call.