Bloodshot

Despite a couple of previous worthy studio efforts to their name, when Bloodshot came out in 1973, the J, Geils Band was best known for being a smokin hot live act, a reputation bolstered by the success of their previous album, Live Full House, which was their highest-charting record to date. But Bloodshot changed all that here was a studio record that captured all the raucous energy of their concerts, but tailored it into nine songs that maintained the band s hard rockin R&B virtues while also displaying a rapid artistic maturation. Give It to Me, for example, was their first self-penned hit and did the Stones one better with its funky, reggae-tinged groove, while the album also included the soon-to-be concert faves Southside Shuffle and (Ain t Nothin but a) House Party. But Bloodshot also delved into blues shuffles ( Struttin with My Baby ), jump blues ( Hold Your Loving ) and even heart-on-the-sleeve balladery ( Start All Over Again ) in short, this was the album where The J. Geils Band really arrived artistically, and they were rewarded with their first Top Ten album (and only one save for Freeze Frame, which came out eight years later).