I’ve been blogging for more than five years and have pumped out a lot of tunes. Some of the ones I really love I put into Spotify lists. And periodically, I pick some to revisit, reasoning that in all likelihood you missed them. Here we go:
First up, the mighty, mighty J. Geils band. Saw these guys live several times and they never disappointed, whether it was wooba gooba with the green teeth, Mr. Geils himself or Magic Dick and his lickin’ stick. This is a tune a band I was in played as best as we could:
I will save myself some actual work and quote myself from before: “The Godfathers are a British band who’ve been around since the mid-Eighties. AllMusic: “The Godfathers missed the British punk revolution by a decade and were a few years too early before loud guitars became fashionable in England again.
Wearing Mafia suits and skinny ties, the Godfathers had a mean look that matched their name. And their sound was similarly tough: brass-knuckled punches in the form of menacing, explosive riffs; venom-spewing, nihilistic vocals; body-slamming percussion.”
Ladies and tough guys, your life story in four words – “Birth, School, Work, Death.”
Wikipedia: “Florence Leontine Mary Welch is an English singer, the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The band’s debut studio album, Lungs topped the UK Albums Chart after charting for 28 consecutive weeks and won the BRIT Award for Best British Album.”
“Dog Days Are Over” is a belter and a half:
Regret to inform that the great New Orleans rock/funk bank The Radiators disbanded a while back. However, confidential sources tell me they get together periodically and play Tipitina’s in their hometown every year or so. Maybe if I’m lucky, the Good Lord is willin’ and the creek don’t rise I’ll get down there when the timing is right:
This is “Doctor, Doctor.”
I didn’t even have Van Morrison in mind when I started this post. In fact, I had maybe a half-dozen other tunes. But then Spotify mysteriously recommended “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)” and I thought, hell yeah:
And while we’re in that funk/soul/New Orleans vein, let’s go down to “Congo Square” where the Neville Brothers totally cut up slide maestro Sonny Landreth’s song:
Music Enthusiast - At the junction of rock, blues, R&B, jazz, pop,and soul 
Got some good stuff in that vault, Jim! I like all of your selections.
I totally dig that J. Geils Band live cover of “First I Look At the Purse” – has more pep than their studio take. Unfortunately, I only saw them once sans J. Geils but with Peter Wolf. It was still pretty cool. Though if I recall it correctly, Purse was one of the tunes they didn’t play.
I don’t believe I had heard any music by The Godfathers (great name!) and The Radiators. Both tracks you featured sound great.
And that Neville Brothers tune is pretty groovy.
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Yeah, I grab the better stuff and put them on good-sized lists. Great driving music. I think I mentioned in my Geils take that they were probably one of the earliest bands I ever saw. On a bill with Black Sabbath! We caught them several times later and then on an infamous bill at Fenway Park with Aerosmith. My daughter was in the band at Boston University at the time. They got invited and played along with Freeze Frame and Centerfold. Is that sick or what?
I wish I’d seen the Radiators. What a tight ensemble. I believe you wrote about Sonny Landreth not too long ago. I only relatively recently discovered he wrote “Congo Square.” Check this out with him and Derek Trucks.
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Looks like you caught some great shows with J. Geils Band. And that story about your daughter does sound pretty cool!
Also, thanks for the Sonny Landreth & Derek Trucks tip – smoking hot!
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Yeah, I went looking for Sonny’s version but when I saw Derek too I said, gotta have some of that!
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Nothing screams summer party better than J Geils. I’m jealous of your concert history; we’re lucky if we get two crickets in harmony out here in the boonies 🙂
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That vault looks like where Evil Kneivel kept his gold plated motorcycle. Good set. I’ve covered two of them. I hear J Geils live and want to be there. I have been doing the New Orleans thin lately and with that Radiator cut I th9ink I’ll live with them for a while. Fantastic. Really hit my ear today.
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Radiators were hot as hell. Who knows, maybe I’ll make it down to NOLA again one day at the right time. Bonus: Be sure to check my conversation with Christian for a blazing Sonny Landreth/Derek Trucks duet.
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I’m listening to them right now. That Brothers cut was good also. I’ll check out the Sonny/Trucks. Quit bugging me I’m goovin.
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On a sunny afternoon.
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Drizzly “Friday afternoon”
Yeah that Trucks/Sonny cooks. Trucks is so good sometimes I take him for granted. Not a bad thing about that cut except maybe 25 minutes short. The drum and bass kept that Bo Diddley beat going. Very cool.
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Some great selections again. Even if Van is on the naughty step at the moment he had some pure gold in his early days
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Yeah, he’s being dickish. But it we judged the music our guys play by what they do outside of that, we’d barely have any music to listen to.
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