Monkey Island by the J. Geils Band (1977)
The J. Geils Band had been cranking out top-flight blues rock from 1970 built around Geils’ guitar and lead singer Peter Wolf’s swagger. They had some success but remained hard-working grinders for the most part. Critics acknowledged their passionate fan base and a certain bravado but never fell in love.
Monkey Island, their seventh full album, was an attempt to shake things up. It opened with the full-throated funk of “Surrender,” then got downright soulful with the pretty “You’re the Only One.” The rest of the album bounced between styles, from the gloriously upbeat “I Do” to the freakily expansive title track. That title track may stretch things a little too far, but they follow it with the sensational New Orleans blowout “I’m Not Rough” which allows Wolf to channel Louis Armstrong.
Monkey Island confused critics and listeners alike, and a couple of years later, J. Geils hit a winning formula with Love Stinks and Freeze Frame, which would finally launch them into the upper echelons of rock stardom in the early 1980s. But in subsequent years, Monkey Island shows off a lot more of what the boys from Massachusetts were capable of.
From Rats to Riches by Good Rats (1978)
Legends around New York are barely known outside the five boroughs. If Big Star is too popular for you, give Good Rats a spin. Peppi Marchello was as good a rock shouter as there was. His brother Mickey played guitar. They announced their ambitions in the opener “Taking it to Detroit.”
Though it may seem odd for a band to dream of escaping New York for the greener pastures of … Detroit … it shows just how desperate the Rats were to transcend their local legend status. Alas, though they opened for plenty of big names, they never developed a major audience outside NYC.
With vibrant rockers like “Mr. Mechanic” and jazzy earworms like “Coo Coo Coo Blues,” they could have been more. I’m not sure how their snarky humor would play today – “Hate your mommies, hate you daddies – Hate the lousy little brats that called you fatty – Hate the rich oil companies, hate the slimy refugees – But don’t hate the ones that bring you rock and roll.” That’s the Rats for you.