Fever Anthology 1976-1991

Southside Johnny | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 13, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Raven [Australia]
• ASIN: B0016GLZTW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,940 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I Don't Want To Go Home

2. The Fever

3. You Mean So Much To Me

4. Sweeter Than Honey

5. Love On The Wrong Side Of Town

6. This Time It's For Real

7. Hearts Of Stone

8. Talk To Me

9. Take It Inside

10. This Tmie Baby's Gone For Good

11. All I Want Is Everything

12. I'm So Anxious

13. Paris

14. Living In The Real World

15. Love When It's Strong

16. Restless Heart

17. Long Distance

18. Better Days

19. Coming Back

20. It's Been A Long Time

Editorial Reviews

Traversing their Epic, Mercury, Atlantic and MCA days, here are 21 tracks from these NJ rock 'n' roll stalwarts. These songs (many penned by fellow Asbury Park-ers Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt) saw the Jukes move from bars to arenas: the hits I'm So Anxious and Walk Away Renee plus This Time It's for Real; Love on the Wrong Side of Town; The Fever; You Mean So Much to Me; Love When It's Strong; Better Days , and more! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Falls a bit short, September 16, 2008

By 

Kevin O'Conner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fever! the Anthology 1976-1991 (Audio CD)

This collection appears to be targeted for the casual and the curious.

The first ten songs come from the band's three Epic albums. The track selection here is largely predictable, though a bit more balanced than other compilations I've seen in terms of how the albums are represented.

I've always felt that the Jukes were never the same after the departure of Miami Steve van Zandt (aka Little Steven); to me, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's Men Without Women album was what the fourth Southside Johnny album should have sounded like. The Jukes and Love is a Sacrifice had their moments -- namely, "All I Want Is Everything", "I'm So Anxious", "Love When It's Strong", and maybe "Why Is Love Such A Sacrifice" (maybe) -- but were largely forgettable. Needless to say, I think these two albums are over-represented here.

The band's mid-eighties albums (Trash It Up!, In The Heat, and At Least We Got Shoes) are skipped entirely, so we don't get even the minor hits "Trash It Up", "New Romeo", or "Walk Away Renee".

Instead, the collection jumps ahead to the 1991 reunion album, Better Days, which should have been better than it was. It could have been a return to form, but ended up being (for me, anyway) another disappointment.

Consequently, I can't really give this compilation much more than an "average" rating - i.e., three stars. Though it does technically live up to its label-spanning collection claim, the omission of the songs from the aforementioned mid-eighties albums makes it ring sort of hollow.

To be fair, though, this is probably a decent (albeit slightly pricey) collection for the casual fan or the first-time listener. But, if you want a better sample of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes on record during the period covered here, I'd suggest the Epic compilation The Best of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and the Rhino compilation All I Want Is Everything: The Best of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (1979-1991). These two collections cover all the albums mentioned above, plus Southside's solo album, Slow Dance.