Ask anyone who the great live bands of the 70s were, and the J. Geils Band will invariably make the short list. A spin or two through 1972’s Live Full House or 1976’s Blow Your Face Out should convince you that this six-piece combo was a potent force of rock, R&B and blues rolled into one. Their tenth album, 1978’s Sanctuary, saw the band moving up the ladder of commercial success with the singles “One Last Kiss,” “Take It Back” and “Sanctuary,” and concert appearances in the U.S. and Europe. When they landed in Essen, Germany, the concert was filmed and broadcast on for Rockpalast, the country’s premier live music television program. It’s taken 36 years, but fans and curious onlookers can finally view the performance on DVD and hear it on CD on the double-disc House Party: Live In Germany.
Filmed and recorded on April 21, 1979, at the Grugahalle, the J. Geils Band churn out 14 songs and barely come up for air. Frontman Peter Wolf sings, scats, and dances like a wildman on fire, Richard “Magic Dick” Salwitz blows his harmonica in new and wondrous ways, J. Geils burns leads on the breaks, and keyboardist Seth Justman pounds and pulverizes the ivories. Through all this pandemonium, bassist Danny Klein and drummer Stephen Jo Bladd are the glue that keeps the engine running. Together, this unit sustains a lethal combination of boundless energy and musicianship few bands can match.
From the hallow scorching of “Sanctuary” to the hip-shaking “Give It To Me,” on to the no-frills excitement of “Ain’t Nothing But A House Party,” House Party Live In Germany faithfully captures the band in their element. Once the balloons rain down from the rafters during the Motown classic “Where Did Our Love Go,” the German audience can hardly contain their enthusiasm. Sure, it might have been a tad more gratifying if they’d added “Musta Got Lost” prefaced with Wolf’s infamous “Reputa The Buta” rap, but as the one and only known live performance video of the band from the 70s, you got to take what you can get. Two years after this show, the J. Geils Band would up the ante with Love Stinks and Freeze Frame, becoming MTV darlings in the process. Longtime fans saw the writing on the wall, and the original band pretty much dissolved by the mid 80s. All of which makes House Party: Live In Germany that much more unique, and a must-have for anyone who loves live rock and roll at its purest.
~ Shawn Perry
