AMG Review of Houseparty: Anthology

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The superb two-disc anthology Houseparty concentrates on the rousing, full-throttle blues-boogie of their heyday, including a full album's worth of live material (ten songs from their three live albums). The pop success of "Love Stinks" and "Freeze Frame" makes sense in the context of the set, but the songs that cut the deepest are the blues-rock numbers on the first disc and the live songs. Thankfully, the compilers (~Trouser Press editor Ira Robbins and bandmembers Peter Wolf and Seth Justman) end Houseparty with three songs from Sanctuary, helping secure the image of the J. Geils Band as one of America's top rock & roll groups.