Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes 1978 Live in Boston

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - Live in Boston (1978)
Recorded on a particularly cool night just a few days before Christmas at Boston's Paradise Theater, this album has long since been an out-of-print collector's item coveted by fans. It was reissued by indie label Airline Records in 2008 in a no-frills sort of package that includes little in the way of remastered bells and whistles other than newly written liner notes.
We're talking well oiled machine here. Running through their set with the breakneck pace of a Stax style R&B revue, the band slows down only once for a smoldering eleven minute version of Bruce Springsteen's song "The Fever." For his part, Southside one-ups the Boss himself here, belting out the bluesy number like a champ. The horn section — better known to the world as the Miami Horns, and led by the great trombonist La Bamba (yes, the same guy who plays with Mighty Max on Conan O' Brien's show) — also sound as tight as a drum here.
The set features several Springsteen songs written for Southside Johnny like "Talk To Me" and the should've-been-a-single "Trapped Again" (from the great Hearts of Stone album). Sadly, the title track of that album (another great Springsteen song) doesn't make the setlist here. Steve Van Zandt, who by this time had left the Jukes to join Springsteen full time in the E Street Band, contributes a few originals as well. These include the title tracks from the first two Southside Johnny albums, "I Don't Want To Go Home" and the horn-heavy "This Time Its For Real".
In between all of the Springsteen and Van Zandt songs, the band rips through well-chosen covers like Sam Cooke's "Havin A Party" which is given a raucous sounding rave-up treatment here. Guitarist Billy Rush in particular shines through filling Van Zandt's shoes so well you'd swear it might actually be Miami Steve himself. The set closes out with a festive pair of holiday rave-ups in "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" and "Merry Christmas Baby."
1978: Live In Boston is proof they just don't make live albums anymore that sound as much like a party as this one does. Jukes & The Jukes tear the house down here.
01 This Time It's for Real
02 Love on the Wrong Side of Town
03 Got Me Where She Wants
04 Talk to Me
05 Next to You
06 Trapped Again
07 The Fever
08 I Don't Want to Go Home
09 Having a Party
10 This Time Baby's Gone for Good
11 When You Dance
12 Stagger Lee
13 Santa Claus Is Back in Town
14 Merry Christmas Baby