ASBURYJUKES.NET | Reach Up And Touch The Sky (live)

Reach Up And Touch The Sky (live)

icon_cover_reach_up MERCURY 1980

- I’m So Anxious
- Talk to Me
- All I Want is Everything
- Hearts of Stone
- Take It Easy (Vinyl only)
- Trapped Again
- Why is Love Such a Sacrifice
- Restless Heart
- Vertigo
- I Don’t Want to go Home
- The Fever
- Sam Cooke Medley
- Having a Party
- Roll Out the Barrel

[ BUY ONLINE ]

LINER NOTES

It’s the work, you see. You don’t mind the long bus rides with eleven other guys, all smelling slightly sour and feeling that way too. You don’t mind the hours between the soundcheck and the show, waiting in some concrete-bunker dressing room, eating junk food and trying to drink away the boredom. You don’t even mind all the lousy, insincere people, scavengers really, who allways seems to be able to get to wherever you are and made you feel bad.

You may not like it, but you don’t really mind. ‘Cause it’s the work, see? And the people to play to. It’s those couple of hours actually doing it, making music, being somebody, that make it all worthwhile.

Don’t ask me why it is so important, so necessary. After 15 years, I still don’t know. But there is an instinctive feeling that without the audience, without the lights, the stage, the band, the music… the whole experience, you’d be dead.

There may be other things in life as fullfilling, but I don’t know them. This album is what I know. It’s not perfect, but it’s surely the best I can do.

Other than that all I can say is thanks to everyone for helping me make it, and I hope you like it.

Southside Johnny

THESE GUYS KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN

BY STEVE GARDNER

Let’s strat this out on the level. Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes are not a “cool” band to be into. If you are going to pick up on them, youre gonna have to do it on your own, because your other firends aren`t going to give you any encouragement. Searching for the young soul rebels has been a thankless task for The Jukes, but they perserve against the odds, maintaining an even keel while the revoltingly commercial Blues Brothers sell millions on the right and the revoltingly boring Dexy’s Midnight Runners fold up on the left.

This LP is the Jukes seventh (“my God, somebody made a mistake somewhere”, said Johnny in a 1980 concert when counting the discs), and their first official live set (1976 saw the release of a promo only recording of a Bottom Line show). This should have been a great record, but apparently the temptation to temper the sound with some studio tinkering was too great, and thus alot of the human touches that give the Jukes shows their real soul have been smoothed away. The pacing of the LP is an encore, and after it Southside shouts “Goodnight everybody!” – Concert over after two songs ?

On the other hand, the selection of material is beyond reproach; all the great covers that the band does in its live sets (except Wilson Pickett’s “634-5789″) are here, from the Sam Cooke Medley (“You know who Sam Cooke is ?” Southside used to ask. “He knows you !”) to the great “Stagger Lee”. Recent Fans will enjoy the presence of the show stopping “Havin’ A Party”, but in 1975 and 1976 it was “Stagger Lee” that always brought down the house as the last encore to their shows.

A generous sampling of the best Jukes originals is also offered up here. Of these “Talk To Me”, “All I Want Is Everything”, “Trapped Again” and “I Don’t Wanna Go Home”, “The Fever”, perhaps the Jukes most popular song and one penned by Bruce Springsteen is also here; personally, I’m getting a little saturated by this tunes, but most fans will go for it.

The performers here are polished and professional — despite their spirited on-stage hijinx, the Jukes Horn section is probably one of the finest in rock and roll history, from La Bamba’s outrageous trombone to Joey Stann’s two saxes at a time solos. These guys know how to have fun.

Sad to say, not a lot of what makes a Jukes show really special is captured here, because it’s not polish that makes this band go; it’s soul ! The same tour spawned a King Biscuit Flower Hour last summer that was five times tha fun of this album. Where the songs on this disc are all played straight, the King Biscuit show captured Southside’s real spunk in his bastardization of “i Don’t Wanna Go Home” (“You know we have the time, to reach up an touch…YER MAMA!”) and similar outrageousness on other songs. This side of the Jukes is the one that keeps their fans returning to their shows.

The bottom line is that this is a good, but not great record. If you’re into soul and haven’t heard the Jukes, you are in for a real treat, and you owe it to yourself to try at least one of the Jukes albums. If not this one, try to get 1978′s “Hearts Of Stone”, wich is without doubt the band’s masterpiece (and also a cut out these days).

And don’t sneer at this band. They may fall into that grey area between commercial rock and anti-establishment new wave, but all I have to do is remember late 1975 before punk when I lived on three records; “The Wild, The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle”, “Howlin Wind” and the Jukes “I Don’t Wanna Go Home” and I know I’ll be a Jukes fan for live.

(Steve Gardner 1981)

Producer(s): John Lyon, Stephan Galfas
Mercury SRM28602

Long known for steamy live performances, Southside Johnny & the boys are caught in top form on this two-disk set. Recorded at several East Coast dates last summer, it accurately captures the energy level of this band’s brand of brassy r&b-rock. The songs included cover all aspects of the group’s career as well as the knockout cover versions which are used at the end of the show. Though not a gatefold package, the inner sleeves are decorated with candid shots of the band so consumers get their money’s worth. While this 11-piece aggregation has never had a smash hit, it nevertheless has a large, devoted audience. Best cuts: “Trapped Again,” “The Fever,” “Talk To Me,” “Hearts Of Stone,” “Having A Party (Part 1).”

BILLBOARD 5/2/81

CREDITS

Produced and arranged by

John Lyon and Stephan Galfas

THE BAND:

Southside Johnny – Lead Vocals, Harmonica

Billy Rush – Guitar, Vocals

Joel Gramolini – Guitar, Vocals

Kevin Kavanaugh – Keyboards, Vocals

Steve “Bam Bam” Becker – Drums, Vocals

Gene Boccia – Bass

Ed Manion – Tenor Sax