Leroy Records 2010

Harder Than It Looks
Cross That Line
Woke Up This Morning
Lead Me On
Heartbreak City
Strange Strange Feeling
Umbrella In My Drink
One More Night To Rock
A Place Where I Can’t Be Found
Keep on Moving
You Can’t Bury Me
Thank You

CREDITS:

Southside Johnny: Lead Vocals and Harmonica
Bobby Bandiera: Guitars
Andy York: Guitars
Jeff Kazee: Keyboards, Background Vocals
John Conte: Bass, Baritone Guitar
Shawn Pelton: Drums, Percussion
Eddie Manion: Baritone Sax
Joey Stann: Tenor Sax
Neal Pawley: Trombone
Chris Anderson: Trumpet
Don Harris: Trumpet
Lisa Fischer: Background Vocals
Fran Jaye: Background Vocals

Horns arranged by Chris Anderson, Jeff Kazee and John Lyon
Additional Percussion: Joe Belia
Egg Shaker: Mike Rew

Duet Vocal on “Umbrella In My Drink”: Gary U.S. Bondy
Additional Background Vocals on “Umbrella In My Drink”: Little Laurie and Big Laurie
Additional BAckground Vocals: Bob Burger, Andy York

Produced by John Lyon and Jeff Kazee
Recorded at Sanctuary Sound II. 2009-2010
Engineered by Mike Rew and Joe Prinzo
Additional Engineering by Jeffrey Lee Campell and Jeff Kazee
Mixed by Niko Bolas at Blackbird Studio

SSJ special thanks to Shawn and Andy for stepping in and inspiring all and sundry. Two true RockAndRollahs. Thanks to Johnny Mellencamp and Jon Bon Jovi for the use of their goods and chattel. Rew is the man again. Niko Bolas should mix every hones record. And Richard Dodd should master. Joe P. was the glue for this record and Juventus should take away his team jacket. Jeff Kazee made this record happen. Nuff said. Thanks to the Kazee women: Con, Vass and Soph, for the food, couch, WII, and basement. Much thanks to the eternal Hood for the enthusiasm and work. See you in Holmfrith, Hoddy. Please don’t blame Bill D. for any infractions; he was nowhere near Oakland.The Kingpin will fulfill all your merch dreams; Thanks pal. Pete Fox is Mr. Solid.

JK thanks to the musicians, Southside, Sammy Steinlight, Geo E. Pants, Jeffrey Lee Campbell, the Killer, the Fatman, Floyd Cramer, my three girls and the Oxford Comma.

REVIEWS:

There isn’t anything here that sounds dated or contemporary and therein is the charm of Pills and Ammo. The Jukes along with the help of some surreal guests verges on ridiculousness. Lisa Fischer, long time backing vocalist for the Rolling Stones and Tin Turner is here to flex her vocal acrobatics, Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live) executes the drums with gritty precision and the aforementioned Andy York provides some downright sick Mick Taylor guitar fills that hurdle out at you. You listen to an album like Pills and Ammo and you simply marvel at how remarkable it all is, as it captures the perfect fusion of skill and spirit highlighted by a lyrical theme is of endurance. Instead of looking back to the days of yesteryear, there is a defiant strength of survival with a keen eye on the future. In many ways, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, despite an ever revolving line-up, have stayed truest to the genealogy of rock ‘n roll than most other artists who make such claims. Southside Johnny’s Pills and Ammo doesn’t emulate anyone or anything, this music is tattooed into their DNA and flows as free as water down a river. What differentiates Pills and Ammo from other artists attempting the blues-rock template is that Southside and the Jukes aren’t trying to be something they’re not. Many of the rock-blues records from the past few years may be good, but make no mistake; most of those acts are merely students while Southside is a professor whose knowledge of the art form is engrained into his consciousness. Pills and Ammo is the sound of a master showing his students how it’s done.

Anthony Kuzminski

 

 

Two years since the last album from Springsteen’s boyhood chum but worth the wait – this is a cracker!

From the belting horns and piano of ‘Harder Than It Looks’ you can tell that Southside Johnny has all his enthusiasm back and this time around he has written all the songs in collaboration with Keyboard player Jeff Kazee.

Johnny Lyon never did have anything yiou could call a classic voice but his hoarse and rasping voice is perfectly suited to numbers like ‘Cross That Line’ while ‘Woke Up This Morning’ feels like a classic Sunday morning Blues with a wailing harp and understated horns alongside some classic slide guitar from Andy York.

He has a harder, more Bluesy, feel to the music this time around with more guitar than is always apparent but the stripped down and hard-edged sound really suits him although ‘Heartbreak City’ is quintessential Southside Johnny with a huge feel and soaring horn blast to it.
‘Strange Strange Feeling’ is deeply dark and soulful with a real Mexicali-desert-Blues feel and some great guitar from Andy York.
‘Umbrella In My Drink’ is a N’Orleans boogie with a guest appearance from Gary ‘US’ Bonds and some real groovy honky piano alongside banjo and horns – this will be a real stage pleaser.

Everywhere you look there is another cracker – ‘One More Night To Rock’ is classic Jukes, ‘Keep On Moving’ is a rocking delight and ‘You Can’t Bury Me’ is just a fine piece of rock theatre.

Southside Johnny has always been one of those artists who deliver much more than you expect and never quite got the rewards they deserved – it is so good to hear that he is still doing it and still delivering.

Andy Snipper / Music-News.com

 

 

Best album you probably didn’t hear: Southside Johnny, Pills and Ammo

The 2010 record from the “other” Jersey guy (sorry Jon Bon Jovi) makes a case for the legend that is Asbury Park music. Southside Johnny Lyon has been playing music for more than 40 years. He’s to be applauded for making an album like this which is full of retro vibe and new energy. Southside and the Jukes have a reputation for being a consistent live act, and Lyon has remained true to his don’t-mess-with-me, “ah, fuggedaboutit” stage persona. This is his best album since the glory days. Warm production, vocal shouts and the freakin’ Jukes horns. Nice.

Rob Nichols

 

 

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes,”Pills and Ammo”(Floating World FREEM 5026)-The latest offering from Southside Johnny Lyon and his current bunch of musical cohorts has a much more direct and rock orientated feel than the brassily soulful fare that first captured the attention of the masses during the late seventies.Twin guitars predominate in a conscious effort to recapture the sound that the Rolling Stones perfected with “Sticky Fingers” and the results are typically passionate and compelling,with highlights emerging in the shape of “Lead Me On,”"Harder Than It Looks” and “A Place Where I Can’t Be Found.”

Kevin Bryan / Stourbridge News (UK)

 

 

“Pills and Ammo is an album full of simplistic strengths and highlights what a great rhythm, blues, soul and rock band truly is….Many of the rock-blues records from the past few years may be good, but make no mistake; most of those acts are merely students while Southside is a professor whose knowledge of the art form is engrained into his consciousness. Pills and Ammo is the sound of a master showing his students how it’s done.” (antimusic. com)

 

 

“Southside Johnnys Stimme hört sich auf “Pills And Ammo” noch einen Tick rauer an, die Ausschläge in Richtung Blues, Swamp-Rock oder klassischen Rock`n´Roll werden größer. Strikt geht es nach vorne, da wird ohne Netz und doppelten Boden gerockt. Einen Schönheitspreis oder gar eine Auszeichnung für das innovativste neue Album gewinnt man so natürlich nicht, doch in der Sparte “Ehrlicher Rhythm & Blues” darf such Southside Johnny mit “Pills And Ammo” auf das Siegertreppchen stellen – wenn auch nicht ganz oben.”

(Good Times, 12 / 2010 – 01 / 2011)

 

 

“Große Platte wie schon seine letzte.” (stereo, 12 / 2010)

 

- Got To Be A Better Way Home
- This Time Baby’s Gone For Good
- I Played The Fool
- Hearts Of Stone
- Take It Inside
- Talk To Me
- Next To You
- Trapped Again
- Light Don’t Shine
- Forever
- Until The Good Is Gone

Recorded live at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, USA – and the Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands – 2008

Buy the album at: SouthsideJohnny.com

This is the 30 Year Anniversary Party of the original release on EPIC Records. A live segment out of a 4th of July show at the Jukes’ spiritual home, the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. While the show itself lasted for, at least, twice as long as this record, it has been the first of only two occasions, where Johnny and the Jukes stuck to their setlist and played an album in it’s entire length and it’s original order. The only other occasion where this should happen, has been in October of the same year at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands. That show has been broadcasted live on the web by the now defunct FabChannel. (A DVD video of that show still exists as various torrents.)

This record represents a great concept: A more than appropriate way to celebrate a milestone release in the band’s history and is a, of course, historic document itself.

While this record is published on Southside’s Leroy label, there is currently no European distribution for it. So as a matter of that, it’s only available on: http://www.southsidejohnny.net/ssjstore/

consists of the three previously released albums:

- Messin’ With The Blues (LEROY 2000)
- Going to Jukesville (LEROY 2002)
- Into the Harbor (LEROY 2005)
.
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MESSIN’ WITH THE BLUES

- Gin Soaked Boy
- Living With The Blues
- Rhumba and Coke
- Sinful
- Messin’ Around with the Blues
- Tell ‘em I’m Broke
- Satan’s Shoes
- Intermission
- Cadillac Jack
- Looks Like Rain
- River’s Invitation
- Come Home Little Girl
- Mother Earth
- Kill My Love

GOING TO JUKESVILLE

- Passion Street
- Baby Don’t Lie
- Leaving Behind
- Gladly Go Blind
- She’s Still In Love
- Lost In The Light
- No Easy Way Down
- Somebody To Love You
- I Can’t Dance
- Change For You Baby
- Lost
- I Will Be Strong
- I Won’t Sing
- Tired Skin

INTO THE HARBOR

- Happy
- Dancing On The Edge Of The World
- You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want To Discuss It)
- Into The Harbour
- Hang Down Your Head
- The Time Between
- When Rita Leaves
- Don’t Call Me Baby
- Tear Stained Letter
- All In My Mind
- Nothing But A Heartache

- Yesterday is Here
- Down, Down, Down
- Walk Away
- Please Call Me Baby
- Grapefruit Moon
- All the Time in the World
- Tango til They’re Sore
- Johnsburg, IL
- New Coat of Paint
- Shiver Me Timbers
- Dead and Lovely
- Temptation

“One great meets another” – Southside Johnny – Tom Waits

Seems like enigmatic Tom Waits is the guy to check – out these days. Scarlett Johansson, Holly Cole and John Hammond have all been at it, rifling through ol´gravel necks´songbook. This exhilarating 12 tracker of covers makes fascinating listening, with guest vocals from the legendary Waits himself.

SJ originally intended a standards album covering Frank Sinatra and Billie Holliday, but he turned to a long standing idea of supercharging Waits´songs with a big brassy sound, a pet sound of big band music which he´d admired since hearing STAX/VOLT artists and Count Basie in particular. (…) The result is magnificent, with rip-roaring blasts like the punchy Down, Down, Down as the rhythm section has a ball. (…) A New Coat Of Paint is awesome, with, once again, the brass boys letting rip. Juxtaposing the big sound, there are some exquisite tender moments found on the chill-out Shiver Me Timbers, though for me anyway, the best of all are the slow Tango-fused Tango Til They´re… and cool closer Temptation (with SJ pussy-chatting his snarl wonderfully) rubber stamping a brillant concept, much like Springsteen´s SEEGER SESSIONS.”

(Elly Roberts, allgigs.com)

THE INDEPENDENT, UK:

Supported by a huge horn section playing the superb arrangements of Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg, Southside Johnny’s voice takes on a majestic quality which brings a new nobility to the Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan songs covered here.

Andy Gill

“Being a Jersey Shore musician and fan of Southside and Tom Waits, I find this as one of the best albums he has ever done and the arrangements by La Bamba really show his skills as a new generation big band leader, reminds me of the great big bands of the early seventies ie: Chicago, Electric Flag, Al Kooper’s Blood Sweat & Tears and I am not forgetting Buddy Rich and Maynard Furguson. All I have to say is what a shot in the arm for Southside, La Bamba, and lets not forget Tom Waits. This really brings his talent as a songwriter and poet to another level.”

(Pat Le Donne)

ALL MUSIC GUIDE:

Lyon’s voice shows a touch more grain than it did in his salad days with the Jukes, but his sense of phrasing and showman’s touch is superb, and he brings swagger, heart, and sincerity to every performance here, and when Waits shows up for a duet on “Walk Away,” the two trade lines as if they’ve been singing together for years. (…)

Is this rock & roll? Not quite, but it’s got a beat, it swings hard, and it boasts a great singer and a great band working their way through a first-class set of songs; Grapefruit Moon is an experiment that succeeds, and hopefully it won’t be too long before Lyon and Rosenberg try something like this again.

(Mark Deming, All Music Guide, US)

JAZZ.com:

Southside Johnny Lyon fans have waited years for this dream project. Southside has shown his love for Tom Waits songs such as “New Coat Of Paint” and “Gin Soaked Boy.” With some raucous horn charts drawn up by longtime Southside cohort Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg, Mr. Lyon sounds at home here. When Waits himself takes a turn in the second bluesy verse and (especially) when the two men slide into the swaggering chorus, you just know that this is a match made in heaven (or at least in a sleazy motel in Los Angeles). One key change and the guys start “walk way” fours to close things out. It’s just too much fun.

Rating: 94/100

Mark Saleski

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – WAITS FAN SOUTHSIDE PAYS TRIBUTE

By Kelly-Jane Cotter • Music Writer • September 12, 2008
Southside Johnny Lyon has long been a fan of Tom Waits.

With the Asbury Jukes, he covered Waits’ “A New Coat Of Paint” for the 1984 album “In The Heat.” It made for an easy fit, as Southside Johnny shares with Waits an affinity for character-driven narratives delivered in gravelly vocals.

But Southside’s latest tip of the hat — “Grapefruit Moon,” an entire album of Waits covers — is much more than an appreciation. It’s a transformation, for all parties involved.

Trombonist and band leader Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg’s 18-piece big band provides the backbone for the project. The mega-brass section is such a cohesive unit that it seems to create one sinuous line — until one of the musicians takes a solo and lifts the energy even higher.

Rosenberg’s arrangements are inspired. He sprinkles Latin spice onto “Temptation” and turns “Tango ‘Til They’re Sore” into a swampy piece fit for a New Orleans jazz funeral. The band swings.

Southside, meanwhile, reveals a sophisticated sense of phrasing. The caustic “Yesterday Is Here” takes on the breeziness of a “Que Sera, Sera,” amping up the irony of the lyrics. The songs bring out different facets of Southside’s voice — Not only can he rock, he can croon and whisper and howl.

Waits himself, who makes a welcome cameo by duetting with Southside on “Walk Away And Start Over Again,” also benefits from the new interpretation of his work.

Like Bob Dylan, Tom Waits can be an acquired taste. You have to pay attention to really get it, and both artists sometimes get shortchanged by their own vocals. Hearing someone else sing a Dylan song can be illuminating. Hearing Southside Johnny sing Tom Waits is like getting a jolt of caffeine on a gray morning.

There’s no “Jersey Girl” here. Bruce Springsteen perfected that song long ago, and Southside, a Jersey boy himself, is wise to stay away. Likewise, he steers clear of other Waits songs that have been claimed by other artists — “Downtown Train,” for example, which Rod Stewart recorded.

But if you’re looking for a beauty like “Jersey Girl,” there is ample material in the Waits catalog, and Southside found it in the title track. The song “Grapefruit Moon” has romance a-plenty, and this collaboration makes it shine. Southside’s tender vocals, La Bamba’s lush arrangement, and Waits’ graceful lyrics are a winning combination.

It’ll make you rethink the “Great American Songbook,” or at least, rewrite a few pages.

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – SEPTEMBER 12 – 2008

LEROY RECORDS – PRESS RELEASE:

Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits is Southside’s tribute to one of his favorite songwriters, but also a pet sound: big band music. Partnering with longtime friend and Jukes and The Max Weinberg 7 (The Late Show with Conan O’Brien) trombonist Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg, Southside has achieved a reverent — and at times, true to his houserockin’ ways, irreverent — homage with a dozen handpicked Waits songs.

“I’ve always admired Richie’s love of big band music,” says Southside, “and of course, I like that too. That’s one of the reasons we have horns in the Jukes: I want the ability to do Stax/Volt and Count Basie-style stuff because I like the sound of horns. Much to my chagrin. It’s an expensive habit, you know?”

The idea to marry the brassy, ballsy sound of big band to Tom Waits’ cinematic, character-driven songs had been sitting in the back booth of Southside’s mind for some time. In 1984, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes covered “New Coat of Paint” on In the Heat. “We did it with five horns,” he recalls, but says it was “more of a Charlie Mingus-style blues thing than big band, but that was the nascent part of this idea.”

A full album of the stuff, however, wasn’t the immediate aim, but “it finally filtered through the crap in my brain.” Southside, in fact, had planned a standards album — Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra. “I really wanted Richie to have a chance to shine ‘cause he’s a great arranger and he has these occasional gigs where he puts together a big band — like 15, 18 pieces — and it always sounds great. I thought if I could only figure a way to find enough songs for him to arrange, I could finance that, and be the singer.” Waits’ songs, which Southside already planned to record, were the perfect fodder. “I was casting around for an idea that would give Richie a lot of leeway, he says. “And then one day, I was listenin’ to Tom and it just clicked. “The songs can kinda get lost with Tom; he’s so eccentric and unique as a performer, but sometimes the lyrics and melody are subsumed to the performance. So I just combined the two projects.”

Southside and Rosenberg made lists of Waits favorites, then Southside called the enigmatic singer-songwriter for his blessing, which he gave them — along with three rare tunes, two of which hadn’t appeared on a Waits CD until the “Orphans” project, a collection of demos and unreleased tunes that Waits released last year. Rosenberg charted arrangements for the songs, which he and Southside recorded with a gaggle of Jukes and various other musicians in their circle. The project came together slowly, between tours and other engagements. “The process of writing charts for 16-18 musicians is so long,” says Southside. “You gotta write out every note for every instrument, so it took Richie forever to write the charts, so we’d record three or four songs at a time. It was a catch-as-catch-can situation.”

Grapefruit Moon’s vibe is as easy and cool as its genesis, rife with mellow passages and bright flares. “Yesterday is Here,” opens with a smoky piano-flute-vocal intro and builds to a smolder, ready for the swingin’ inferno of “Down, Down, Down.” The title track is lilting, moonlit romance in shades of blue; “Tango ‘Til They’re Sore” is a skronking slow blues rag. “Please Call Me Baby” conjures Jimmy Durante on a night stroll through the NYC streets; “All the Time in the World” oozes spy-flick cool.

Two other tracks are special: “Temptation” finds LaBamba stretching his arranger’s legs, commencing a slow Latin rhythm that unfolds into a flourish that would make Ricky Ricardo proud. “That was the big extravaganza Richie wanted to do,” says Southside. “When I said maybe we should try that, Richie said, ‘Ooooh. I can do something with this.’” They also revisit an old friend, once again souping up “New Coat of Paint.” At first, Southside demurred; he didn’t want to repeat himself — then he heard LaBamba’s ambitious, grand arrangement. “He won me over.”

And they both won over Waits, to whom they’d sent early demos. “He really liked it,” Southside beams. “He sent me this great email, which I saved, about “Bang! Pow! This is great!” And I thought, “Good. He likes it.” ‘Cause you worry about that stuff.”

Perhaps the biggest seal of approval is Waits’ vocal turn on “Walk Away,” a song in which he and Southside do what they do best: romanticize and mythologize the soul of ordinary average guys — without, of course, getting overly precious. “I just thought it would be funny,” he says. “We both have these voices that no one would consider beautiful.

These are not Irish tenors; this is not Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo singing in harmony. These are two gravel road voices meeting at the crossroads. That’s why all that material works for him and why it’s fun to sing for me, because we do have those voices that are, shall we say, “lived in.” Lied and died in, sometimes. It was really easy and fun – a very good experience for me.”

In the pop music idiom, the producer usually plays a strong role in shaping the sound of a record. In fact, the recording studio has become another musical instrument, where the producer can shape, and reshape a sound, sometimes to the extent that it bears little or no resemblance to the original performance. In my opinion, jazz should be approached differently. When you have great songs, great orchestrations by a talented arranger like LaBamba, a soulful and adventurous singer like Southside Johnny, and great musicians, the producer’s job should be to encourage the musicians to forget the studio technology that they’ve become accustomed to depending on, and, well . . . PLAY!

Dan Gralick, Producer of Grapefruit Moon

Saxes-Woodwinds

Frank Elmo – Alto & Soprano Sax – Flute Sessions 1,2,3,4
Baron Raymonde – Alto Sax – Flute Session 1,4
Erik Lawrence – Alto Sax – Flute Session 2
Jack Bashkow – Alto Sax – Flute – Bass Clarinet Session 3
Jerry Vivino – Tenor Sax – Flute – Alto Flute – Clarinet Sessions 2,3,4
Sam Bortka – Tenor Sax – Flute – Clarinet Session 1
Timmy Cappello – Tenor & Soprano Sax Sessions 1,2,3,4
Eddie Manion – Baritone Sax – Flute-Clarinet Sessions 1,2,3,4

Trombones

Brian Pastor Sessions 1,2,3
Nathan Mayland Sessions 1,2,3,4
Matt Bilyk Bass Trombone Session 2
Jeff Bush Session 4
Ben Williams Session 2
Clarence Banks Session 1
Art Baron Sessions 3,4
Jonathan Shubert Bass Trombone Sessions 3,4
Aaron Johnson Bass Trombone Session 1
Marcus Rojas Tuba Session 2

Trumpets-Flugelhorns

Mark Pender Sessions 1,2,3,4
Chris Anderson Sessions 1,2,3,4
Mike Spengler Sessions 1,2,3,4
John Barry Sessions 1,2
Stu Satalof Sessions 3,4

Rhythm Section

Scott Healy – Piano – Harpsichord Sessions 2,3,4
Michael Mancini – Piano Session 1
Glenn Alexander – Guitars – Mandolin – Dobro Sessions 1,2,3,4
Mike Merritt – Bass Sessions 1,2,3,4
Shawn Pelton – Drums and Percussion Sessions 2,3,4
Ray Marchica – Drums Sessions 1

Additional Musicians

Jeff Kazee – Hammond B3 Organ on Temptation
Howard Johnson – Tuba on Grapefruit Moon and Tango Till They’re Sore
John Ballesteros – Percussion on Temptation
Sue Hadjapoulos – Bongos on Dead and Lovely
Sean Grissom – Cajun Cello on Tango Till They’re Sore
Charlie Giordano – Accordion on Shiver Me Timbers

Produced by John Lyon and Dan Gralick

- 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

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

This CD has previously been released as “LIVE AT THE PARADISE THEATER” recorded 1978

- This time it’s for real
- Got me where she wants me
- Talk to me
- Next to you
- Trapped again
- The fever
- I don’t want to go home
- Having a party
- This time baby’s gone for good
- When you dance
- Stagger Lee
- Santa Clause is back in town
- Merry christmas baby

- Take It Inside
- Baby Don’t Lie
- All Night Long
- Long Distance
- Gin Soaked Boy
- Without Love
- No Easy Way Down
- Coming Back
- All I Needed Was You
- Living With The Blues
- Help Me
- Cadillac Jack’s Number One Son
- This Time Baby’s Gone For Good
- Some Things Just Don’t Change
- I Won’t Sing
- Pipeline
- Sleepwalk
- I Don’t Want To Go Home
- I Don’t Want To Go Home (Reprise)
- Passion Street
- This Time Is For Real
- Hearts Of Stone

*** digitally remastered

This fine LIVE CD release in the UK has been a bit overshadowed by the BIG (Band) GRAPEFRUIT MOON. And that is right and that is a good thing – because Johnny’s and Richie’s labor of love to the great American art of Big-Band Jazz and the great American songbook of Tom Waits deserves all the attention and focus it can get.

FROM SOUTHSIDE TO TYNESIDE is indeed no new material at all. This is the CD version of a show at the Newcastle Opera House 2002, a show which has been captured on video and released as one of the very few full shows of SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY AND THE ASBURY JUKES on DVD. LIVE AT THE OPERA HOUSE.

While the DVD has been released in Europe by SECRET FILMS in London, as early as 2003, fans and critics had to wait for the CD another six years. That probably does have commercial and contractual reasons which are beyond my limited knowledge. SECRET RECORDS is the independent record label behind this live album. Again, this is “just” an European release, but in the times of online-shopping on the internet, availability on other markets is not an issue as it probably would have been just 10 years ago. AMAZON and most other online record outlets carry the album and there is absolutely no reason not to buy it (unless you ripped the DVD on audio CD – then you HAVE to buy it, just to legitimize your copy… go figure!

2002 marked a major year for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. The first major tour in the UK since almost ten years has been in 2001 – a return to the shores they’ve been sailing should prove their still solid following and success on a market where competition is tough. The second album released on Johnny’s own label after his record comeback with MESSIN’ WITH THE BLUES, marked the return to the classic sound of the JUKES with “GOING TO JUKESVILLE” did just come out (and is featured on this live album). The JUKES basically had to prove that they still can live up to their own high limits – which they did!

Steve Horowitz did a review on POPMATTERS.COM which gets to the point:

Close your eyes and listen to this live double-disc set and you’ll swear it’s still 1970-something. (…) You’ll feel the sweat of the person next to you and hear her pounding heart. You’ll smell the stale beer spilled on the floor and thirst for a fresh one. Goddamn, it feels good to go back.

Johnny sings some old songs and belts out new ones with equal verve and passion. It doesn’t always matter what the words are. He croons out obscure classics by Tom Waits, Carole King/Gerry Goffin, and the Boss mixed with those by Little Steven and himself with equal delight. The feeling’s always the same one. It’s you and me against the world, baby. Hold on tight. Life is a hard road. There are lots of bumps, twists and turns. We might never get to where we are going, but it’s one helluva journey.

The repartee between Johnny and the crowd reveals the intimacy they feel for each other. He addresses them as partners, telling them that they don’t want to hear the slow songs when the groove is tight or cursing them to make a point. And people in the audience aren’t shy about shouting requests or even asking what he’s drinking. This isn’t heckling. It’s the kind of response made between friends that care for each other and show that they are paying attention.

What Steve describes in his review is the essence of the record – indeed, it’s the essence of the JUKES: authentically artists who live it and give their all on the stage, every night. That night, in Newcastle’s old Victorian Operahouse, or in any other night during that year’s European tour, SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY and the ASBURY JUKES renewed their connection with their audience, found a home-away-from-home. It is a friendship which is a give and take on both ends, which lives out of the trust that “THIS (and any other time with the JUKES) TIME THEY’RE FOR REAL!”

It’s six years since that tour concluded in Amsterdam’s Melkweg with another major storm. SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY and the ASBURY JUKES might have never had and – managed to keep it – a more solid and enthusiastic support in Europe since what they have managed to establish in 2002. They are receiving it and paying back ever since, every time, every year!

Steve concludes his review:

There’s a bitter irony in the fact that this album of pure American music is only available in the United States as an import and performed in front of an enthusiastic British audience. In an age where UK imports like Amy Winehouse and Duffy sing retro soul to enthusiastic young American audiences, veterans like Johnny and the Jukes find salvation across the sea. Oh, these guys are still heroes in Jersey and nearby environs, but the rest of the country couldn’t seem to care less about them. (…) As Johnny sings twice here, once with the Jukes and once by himself, he may not want to go home (re: “I Don’t Want to Go Home”), but home is where the heart is.

In this case, it’s in England.

I heartfully recommend SOUTHSIDE TO TYNESIDE. It’s an authentically document, it’s a great show! It’s well produced (digitally remastered)! It sounds great and it’s playing on my car-stereo! The DVD doesn’t.

DISC ONE:

- When The Doors Are Closed (live)
- Hitchhike (live)
- I Don’t Want To Go Home (demo)
- Fever (demo)
- Sweeter Than Honey (demo)
- Without Love (live)
- Got To Get You Off My Mind (live)
- This Time It’s For Real (live)
- Love On The Wrong Side Of Town (live)
- She Got Me Where She Wants Me (live)
- It Ain’t The Meat (It’s The Motion) (live)
- When You Dance (live)
- Got To Be A Better Way Home (demo)
- All I Want Is Everything (demo)
- I Remember Last Night (demo)
- The Time (demo)
- Where Can I Go From Here (demo)
- Wait In Vain (demo)
- Paris (demo)

DISC TWO:

- Security (demo)
- Vertigo (demo)
- Long Distance (demo)
- Let Me Hide (demo)
- I Played The Fool (live)
- Hearts Of Stone (live)
- Talk To Me (live)
- All I Want Is Everything (live)
- Love Is A Sacrifice (live)
- I’m So Anxious (live)
- Trash It Up (live)
- New Romeo (live)
- Future In Your Eyes (demo)
- Expressway To Your Heart (demo)
- You Can Count On Me (demo)
- Hard To Find (demo)
- Walk Away Renee (demo)
- Under The Sun (demo)

DISC THREE:

- Lorraine (demo)
- I Only Want To Be With You (demo)
- I Should Have Said I Loved You (demo)
- Heart Of Saturday Night (acoustic)
- Under The Boardwalk (live)
- C’mon Caroline (live)
- Broke Down Piece Of Man (acoustic)
- Comin’ Back (acoustic)
- Goodbye Blues (acoustic)
- Take It Inside (acoustic)
- I Talk To The Night
- Rosa
- Blue Radio
- Train Kept A-Rollin’
- Time Is Running Wild
- King Of The Night
- Into The Mystic

DISC FOUR:

- Better Days (live)
- All I Needed Was You (acoustic)
- This Time Baby’s Gone For Good (acoustic)
- Dark End Of The Street (acoustic)
- All Night Long (acoustic)
- Somebody To Love You
- Gladly Go Blind
- 99 Degrees
- I Will Be Strong
- Christmas Is For Everyone
- Living With The Blues (live)
- She’s Still In Love (live)
- Tired Skin (live)
- Comin’ Back (live)
- Rebel Rebel (live)
- Into The Harbour (live)

Two and a half years in the making, dozens of days rooting through dusty boxes of cassettes and reels, hundreds of hours listening to, agonizing over, and transcribing archival analog material into digital, uncounted cold pizzas and headaches…all-culminating in the long-awaited (maybe), first and only (probably), Jukes box set.

Over five hours of demos, live tracks, album drops and acoustic stuff dating back over three decades. Much has never been heard before (except by us). Four CDs plus a bonus CD. A 40-page book containing thousands of words of historical material and pictures for those of us who can’t read. Something for everyone…all in JUKEBOX. This is a “gotta have” for all Jukes fanatics!

Source: SouthsideJohnny.com

- I don’t want to go home
- You mean so much to me
- The fever
- Love on the wrong side of town
- Got to be a better way home
- This time it’s for real
- Hearts of stone
- This time baby’s gone for good
- I played the fool
- Some things just don’t change

- Happy (Jagger/Richards)
- Dancing On The Edge Of The World (Lyon/Kazee)
- You’re My Girl (Cooper/Beatty/Shelby)
- Into The Harbour (Lyon/Kazee)
- Hang Down Your Head (Waits)
- The Time Between (Lyon/Cavaliere/Kazee)
- When Rita Leaves (McClinton/Nicholson)
- Don’t Call Me Baby (Lyon/Kazee)
- Tear Stained Letter (R.Tompson)
- All In My Mind (Johnson/Brown/Kirkland)
- Nothing But A Heartache (Bickerton/Waddington)

Buy the album at: amazon.com | amazon.de | JPC.de

Southside Johnny – Vocals, Harmonica, Bluster
Bobby Bandiera – Guitars, Wig
Jeff Kazee – Piano, Hammond B3, Wurlitzer, Accordion, additional keys, Attitude
Muddy Shews – Bass, Bailey
Joe Belia – Drums, Heart
Eddie “Kingfish” Manion – Baritone Saxophone, Coolness
Joey Stann – Tenor Saxophone, Reiki
La Bamba – Trombone, Laughter
Chris Anderson – Trumpet, Flügelhorn, Enthusiasm
Mark Pender – Trumpet, Chaos

Percussion by Roger Squitero
Background Vocals by Bobby Bandiera, La Bamba, Jeff Kazee, Mark Pender, Bob Burger
Horns arranged by Chris Anderson
Strings arranged by Jeff Kazee
Flügelhorn solo on “Into The Harbour” by Chris Anderson
Trumpet solo on “When Rita Leaves” by Mark Pender

Produced by John Lyon (Oh, please!)
Recorded at Sactuary Sound II. Studios
Recorded by Rueful Mike Rew
Engineered by Mike Rue and “Qy” B. O’Brien
Assistant Engineer: Joey “da Prince” Prinzo
Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound

Design and photography by Michelle “Moms” Paponetti
Band photos by John Cavanaugh
Maps provided by Antic Hay Books in Asbury Park

Thanks to Hood, Joe Prinzo, Bill Durburrow, Michelle Paponetti, Vin Sabatino, Pete Fox and to anyone I might have forgotten, consider my age…

Special thanks to Jon Bon Jovi for years of friendship, aid and inspiration. And cognac.