The J. Geils Band spent the 1970s building a reputation as one of rock and roll's premier live acts, winning critical acclaim and cult adoration for its raucous, incendiary brand of R&B. "Whatever we had in the tank, that tank was gonna be empty at the end of the show," keyboardist
Seth Justman once proclaimed.
With 1981's
Freeze Frame, their tenth studio LP, the J. Geils Band modernized their sound in a bid to conquer mainstream pop radio: "Centerfold," the album's first single, was an international smash buoyed by heavy video airplay on fledgling cable network
MTV, and while the title track didn't achieve the same success, it cemented the group's status as a late-blooming commercial force.
Justman composed, produced and arranged "Freeze-Frame," released as a single on Jan. 14, 1982, and while the recording is best remembered for his infectious keyboard hook, it's also a showcase for his dynamic horn charts, performed by six of the most respected session musicians on the New York City circuit: trumpeters
Randy Brecker, and
Alan Rubin, saxophonists
"Blue Lou" Marini,
Ronnie Cuber and
George Young, and trombonist
Tom "Bones" Malone. While some of their performances are virtually inaudible in the final "Freeze-Frame" mix, you can extricate their efforts by
soloing the horns stem here in KORD. Be sure to also
check out J. Geils' acoustic guitar as well as the
backing vocals stem, assembled from no fewer than six of
Peter Wolf's individual vocal tracks. Last but not least,
separate Danny Klein's slap-happy bass line from
Stephen Jo Bladd's drums track: its comedic absurdity brings to mind the theme to
Seinfeld, still close to a decade away from its NBC
television debut.
