Customer Reviews

Hotline

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used to own this record. It came out after the Nightmares album. It's not as heavy as that one. It's more in the Blues and R & B mode. Love-itus is an exception,it rocks! The rest of the record will grow on you. They do a great take on Curtis Mayfield's Believe In Me. Peter Wolf's vocal shine on this record. Over all rating is 3 1/2 stars.

I can't believe how under appreciated this album is! So much so that its out of print,,,? I have Hotline on vinyl and it is definately one of my favorite albums by The J Geils Band. It's got blues and ballads where everything swings, like THINK IT OVER. The band is at some of it's tightest, and even gets downright dirty on songs like MEAN LOVE or LOVE-ITIS and it has some raw meat on it like BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU DO, which is about how the protagonist has eyes all over town watching his cheating lady friend.

Now I am from Boston where everybody knows about the J Geils band. Elsewhere many people think the only songs they ever did was Centerfold and Freeze Frame. NOT TRUE!!! These guys were way cooler than that,, years before those goofy songs made the charts. They are a solid blues-rock/ gritty party band, and each member of the group tears it up in his respective corner of the outfit. Dig? HOTLINE along with a few other of the bands earlier records are very hard to find these days... you are more likely to find this one at a yardsale. If you do, grab it, it's an excellent record.

It's hard to figure out hit singles and radio sometimes. Back in the day (1975 to be precise)"Hotline" was released hot on the heels of "Nightmares And Other Tales from The Vinyl Jungle". "Hotline" is infectious and just plain...fun. If these funky grooves don't make you want to dance and play air guitar (or harmonica)then you ain't livin'.

Featuring a strong handful of original songs by Wolf/Justman, stellar playing from Geils (and, really, everyone else)Wolf sings his heart out here. With titles like "Love-Itis", "Jealous Love" and "Mean Love" you'd think this would be a downer of an album or, at the very least, all soppy love songs. "Fancy Footwork" the closer is more representative of what you get--driving bar band bluesy rock 'n'roll with a twist.

The mastering by Zal Schreiber nicely captures the analog feel of the original recording with a warm, full bodied (sounds like I'm describing wine doesn't it? Well, maybe I am)sound.

Sadly, none of the J. Geils Band reissues/remasters have any bonus tracks. Perhaps there weren't any worthwhile ones to be found (more likely J. Geils Band objected to the inclusion of any bonus tracks as they did with the recently cancelled "Full House" that Rhino Handmade had planned...a fan can dream though).

"Hotline" is only hampered by not having as many J. Geils Band original songs as the previous release. That's not a bad thing because they tear through the covers included and you wouldn't know they didn't write them unless you read the credits (or knew better)but the covers--as great as they are--don't quite match the band ripping through Wolf/Justman originals.

This is still highly recommended an a criminally underrated fun album.

This was supposed to be a new item, but it came as a likenew.I love this album, but the sound quality is suspect

All tracks continue tale after tale, but there seems to be no reason (maybe only one reason is the title) to be recorded like that way. I think this is the unique style of the J. Geils Band.