Fever – The Anthology 1976 – 1991
RAVEN RECORDS (AU) 2008
- I Don’t Want to Go Home
- The Fever
- You Mean So Much to Me
- Sweeter Than Honey
- Love on the Wrong Side of Town
- This Time It’s for Real
- Hearts of Stone
- Talk to Me
- Take It Inside
- This Time Baby’s Gone for Good
- All I Want Is Everything
- I’m So Anxious
- Paris
- Living in the Real World
- Love When It’s Strong
- Restless Heart
- Long Distance
- Better Days
- Coming Back
- It’s Been a Long Time
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Now, what do we have here? This 2CD set is actually an AUSTRALIAN release by RAVEN Records, a label which is specialized in re-issues and compilations of American artists. How does that go together? Well, I don’t know. But why not? I mean, when the Japanese American German music mafia can keep Kyle Minogue up in the charts, then an Australian Label can publish compilations of American artists like Linda Ronstadt, British heroes like Manfred Man or New Jersey’s own Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes!
This compilation is only the second since RHINO’s 1993 release ALL I WANT IS EVERYTHING, which does cross labels by combining tracks which originally have been released on EPIC, MERCURY and IMPACT. That’s a strength of this record, but it is also a weakness.
While we get a decent selection (I would have picked one or three different songs from each era – but that’s a matter of taste!) of the first two record companies Johnny has been dealing with and three songs of the BETTER DAYS album, almost the whole 80s are missing. There is no track from the 1983 MIRAGE release TRASH IT UP, where I would have picked at least the title track, while Johnny might be glad that RAVEN didn’t. There is also neither any song from the other two MIRAGES releases IN THE HEAT or AT LEAST WE GOT SHOES. And this is not to be forgiven.
While IN THE HEAT would have given the golden NEW COAT OF PAINT, the great debut of Bobby Bandiera on SHOES could have been contributing the hit single WALK AWAY RENEE or the wonderful UNDER THE SUN… But they didn’t. Here we have just a 9 year gap in representing Southside Johnny’s recording career, where he was as busy putting records out and promoting them all over the world, as hardly at any time ever since.
I understand, that license politics are a cruel stuff to work with. I do have a lot of respect for the labor of love to publish such a compilation – because I seriously doubt that it will sell enough that RAVEN would make a big profit and I’m quite sure that Johnny won’t make any at all out of this. This is not as bad as all the SONY compilations since the 90s, which just re-pack the same record again and again – and where John also doesn’t get 2 cents worth of royalties… nobody needs that!
But, yes, I did buy the album! Because its a rarity! A collectors item from Down-Under. It’s nicely packed and carries some short liner notes by Mark Deming (AMG) as well. Nothing more.
Klaus Boettger
no tracks of in the heat or least we got shoes means it isn’t a best of
if i ruled the world id combo those two as a dbl disc and promo it to high heaven i.e. jukes doing all the latenight shows and wtf maybe even the view too let the little ol ladies get in on some juke good timin’. set the world on fire – southside johnny and his bandmates deserve no less
ssj: the count basie of the 70s and on …