Search - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes :: Super Hits

Missed opportunity

Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 03/20/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This budget compilation's title is a bit of a misnomer as only 3 of its 10 tracks were released as singles, and none of those were chart hits. Then again, the stand-out track, The Fever, was originally buried as a B-side of their first single in 1976, not appearing as a proper single until over a year and two LPs later. The song was written by their former Asbury Park band-mate made good Bruce Springsteen, and was donated during a period when he was contractually unable to release records. He wrote three of the other songs on this collection, although their main writer was Sopranos sidekick Miami Steve Van Standt, who was also their producer, and played guitar on their first album prior to joining Springsteen's E-Street Band.



The remainder of the album is drawn from the first three albums, I Don't Want To Go Home, This Time It's For Real and Hearts Of Stone.



Southside Johnny and Asbury Jukes were a magnificent large ensemble with a phenomenal brass section, the Miami Horns. This collection is a missed opportunity, however, as it fails to show the band at their best and does not reveal their range and finesse. 



Although it does not say so, You Mean So Much To Me, featuring the wonderful Ronnie Spector, is not the album version but was recorded live"