Melding muscular rock with horn-infused R&B, this New Jersey-based blue-collar bar band was formed in the early 70s by raspy-voiced front man John Lyon, together with guitarist Steve Van Zandt, who later joined Springsteen’s E Street Band in 1975. Significantly, though, Van Zandt didn’t desert the Jukes entirely. In fact, he became their manager/producer and helped negotiate an album deal with Epic, resulting in the 1976 debut I Don’t Want To Go Home. After three albums for Epic, the band was dropped, having failed to achieve the huge commercial success that many had anticipated. Bruised but undaunted, the 11-piece band moved to Mercury where, ironically, they released this, their most commercially successful LP, in 1979.
The Jukes is perhaps not as compelling as the band’s perceived creative pinnacle, 1978’s Hearts Of Stone, but it’s a strong set and packed with good tunes, many of them penned by guitarist Billy Rush. The storming opener, All I Want Is Everything, is a classic Jukes number, marrying guitar power chords with Stax-style horn riffs. Also noteworthy is the blues-tinged mid-tempo ballad, Security, the pleading I’m So Anxious, and Living In The Real World, an infectious up-tempo number. It’s a shame, though, that there are no sleevenotes.
