THE J. GEILS BAND : LOVE STINKS

 

  1. Just Can't Wait
  2. Come Back
  3. Takin' You Down
  4. Night Time
  5. No Anchovies, Please
  6. Love Stinks
  7. Tryin' Not To Think About It
  8. Desire (Please Don't Turn Away)
  9. Till The Walls Come Tumblin' Down

Label : EMI

Length : 37:34

Release Date : January 28, 1980

Review (AllMusic) : Released some two years after the band's EMI debut, Sanctuary, the Love Stinks project would see the J. Geils Band going in an even more commercial-leaning direction than its predecessor. Taking over the main production duties, keyboard player/main songwriter Seth Justman set out to better the band's gold-plus-selling Sanctuary. And to some degree, he wildly succeeded. Although not as consistent or diverse as Sanctuary, Love Stinks would feature one of the band's most recognizable FM songs ever -- the album's infectious title track "Love Stinks." In a live setting, the track would often turn into a veritable tour de force only to be outdone by Peter Wolf's hilarious rap about "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden smoking weed together," which would introduce the song (often on a nightly basis). "Night Time" is another great, although somewhat typical "rave-on" type of J. Geils song; "No Anchovies Please" is a little strange; and closer "Till the Walls Come Tumblin' Down" is, as the song title hints, just that. Bolstered by "Just Can't Wait," another good album opener, Love Stinks turns out to be solid effort, but one that sounds a little outdated at times due to its acerbic, synth textures. Not one of the band's best overall records but one that would allow the band to outdo itself with the classic Freeze Frame a year later.

Review (Wikipedia) : Love Stinks is the ninth studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band. The album was released on January 28, 1980, by EMI Records. The title song, "Love Stinks", is a rant against unrequited love. It has been covered by industrial metal band Bile, by Andru Branch in the film Love Stinks, Joan Jett in the film Mr. Wrong and Adam Sandler in the film The Wedding Singer. Cash Box said that the single "Just Can't Wait" has "earthy old wave rock guitar riffing, with a souped up synthesized farfisa organ sound." Record World called it "certified boogie music with a hook that will grab summer listeners." Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian named "Just Can't Wait" as the band's 7th best song, stating that "The song’s Farfisa organ lick was very symbolic of the sound of the early 1980s, when all styles of music were merging into a new wave-type sound."