...and then from their 1971 sophomore album, it's The J.Geils Band with their blues-rock take on the song, a staple of their live act for years.
To be honest, I'd never heard the Valentinos record until last week (Womack, of course, had a gorgeous solo hit with a 1974 remake), and the Geils cover has always been a favorite of mine. On reflection, however, as much as I enjoy the way the Boston Jewish kids turned the song into a party anthem, I have to admit -- the original has oodles more soul.
4 comments:
Many thanks, Steve! I enjoyed both of those. And not to be too pedantic but since you mentioned the soulful quality of the Womack recording, it's a pretty clear distinction between a good R&B record and good rock record. Both satisfy in their own way but one is more about feel and heart and the other more about changes, guitars and a back beat.
Great stuff! Thanks again. :-)
PK
It's always amazing to me how many of those '70's groups found dusty tunes from the doo-wop era and made made them party songs/albums.
J. Geils was a huge hit here in Celveland via Kid Leo and WMMS. Springsteen and Southside Johnny fared pretty wel here due to the same radio station.
Here's a link to mp3s of a recent (2009) J Geils show in Detroit
http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=320
Soundboard, and the band sounds fine.
Remakes of old soul tunes are a losing proposition, but Geils play 'em as well as anyone.
I only saw them once, at a racetrack in the 70s on a bill with Blue Oyster Cult and Foghat. I'm sure much warm Genny Cream Ale was involved, though I don't really remember.
I think I remember reading that "I'm Looking for Love"
was originally a gospel song called "I Heard Somebody Pray" also by the Womack Brothers. There was a big rift in the family when the brothers started doing secular music.
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