J. Geils Band – The Morning After (1971) Review | R&B Revivalists or True Originals?
Kronomyth 2.0: The legend continues.
I was floored by how good the first J Geils Band album was, and it looks like the floor and I are going to be well acquainted before this is all over. The Morning After is every bit as brilliant as their debut, this time including an actual hit in their cover of The Valentinos’ Looking for a Love. The band’s feel for rhythm and blues is uncanny, so much so that I couldn’t tell the difference between the classic covers and the originals. If you’d told me that Gotta Have Your Love or Floyd’s Hotel were written a decade earlier, I’d believe you. What I can’t believe is that J Geils Band isn’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Not that I want to argue the point, since there’s enough contention in the world, and I’ve never understood what purpose the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame serves anyway, but J Geils Band are the very embodiment of rock and roll. Maybe it comes down to artists versus craftsmen. Artists react to what has come before while craftsmen revere it. I’m sure that’s an oversimplification, but J Geils Band’s reverence for rock & roll has probably cost them cachet in a culture that values originality over ability. Ironically, it’s their reverence for rock & roll’s past that makes them so original among their contemporaries. Compare J Geils Band to Aerosmith, two very similar bands that came out of the Boston area at around the same time. Again, I’m not trying to incite an argument, but J Geils Band is better in almost every way that matters. Search for their two lead singers, however, and the AI-generated response is “Steven Tyler is the frontman for the legendary rock band Aerosmith, while Peter Wolf was the frontman for The J. Geils Band.” Ouch. Et tu, AI? Unfortunately, we can’t change the past and, even if we could, there are dictators to kill and sports bets to place before we get around to rectifying poor record promotion. So maybe we should just learn to accept the past. J Geils Band did, and the world is a better place for it.
Original elpee version
A1. I Don’t Need You No More (Peter Wolf/Seth Justman) (2:35)
A2. Whammer Jammer (Juke Joint Jimmy) (2:34)
A3. So Sharp (Arlester Christian) (3:09)
A4. The Usual Place (Don Covay/Leroy Randolph) (2:44)
A5. Gotta Have Your Love (Peter Wolf/Seth Justman) (4:32)
B1. Looking for a Love (J.W. Alexander/Zelda Samuels) (3:45)
B2. Gonna Find Me a New Love (Peter Wolf/Seth Justman) (3:23)
B3. Cry One More Time (Peter Wolf/Seth Justman) (3:21)
B4. Floyd’s Hotel (Peter Wolf/Seth Justman) (3:08)
B5. It Ain’t What You Do (It’s How You Do It!) (Juke Joint Jimmy) (5:21)
Arranged by the J. Geils Band.
Original 8-track version
A1. I Don’t Need You No More
A2. The Usual Place
A3. Gonna Find Me a New Love
B1. Whammer Jammer
B2. So Sharp
B3. Cry One More Time
C1. Floyd’s Hotel
C2. It Ain’t What You Do (It’s How You Do It!)
D1. Gotta Have Your Love
D2. Looking for a Love
The Players
Stephen Bladd (drums & vocals), Magic Dick (harp), J. Geils (guitar), Seth Justman (keyboards), Danny Klein (bass), Peter Wolf (vocals). Produced & engineered by Bill Szymczyk; assistance production engineer: Lee Kiefer.
The Pictures
Photography by Stephen Paley. Album design by Sam Cooperstein.
The Plastic
Released on elpee on October 2, 1971 in the US (Atlantic, SD 8297/M 85297) and in 1972 in Japan (Atlantic, P-8192A). Reached #64 on the US charts.
- Re-released on elpee in 1975 in the US (Atlantic, SD 8297).
- Re-issued on compact disc in the US (Atlantic, 8297-2).
- Re-issued on remastered compact disc in the US (Atlantic, 82807-2).
- Re-issued on remastered 180g vinyl elpee and super audio compact disc in 2019 in the US (Mobile Fidelity, UDSACD 2206).
