Angel in Blue

"Angel in Blue"
Single by The J. Geils Band
from the album Freeze Frame
B-side "River Blindness"
Released May 26, 1982
Format Vinyl record (7")
Recorded 1981
Genre Rock
Length 4:51
Label EMI
Writer(s) Seth Justman
Producer(s) Seth Justman
The J. Geils Band singles chronology
"Flamethrower"
(1982)		 "Angel in Blue"
(1982)		 "I Do" (live)
(1982)

"Angel in Blue" is a song written by Seth Justman that was first released by The J. Geils Band on their 1981 album Freeze Frame. Released as a single in 1982, the song reached the Top 40.[1][2] Cissy Houston and Luther Vandross appear on the song as back up vocalists.[3][4]

Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes the song as "terrific neo-doo wop."[5] Viglione praises it further, stating that it is "arguably the smartest lyric in the J. Geils Band catalogue" with a "strong melody," concluding that it is "four minutes and fifty-one seconds (on the album) of Peter Wolf reading Seth Justman's post-"Centerfold" wet dream."[3] Music critic Robert Christgau states describes the song as "slick get-'em-off trash" about "a whore with a heart of brass that I'm just a sucker for."[6] Mark Coleman of The Rolling Stone Album Guide finds the song to be "haunting."[7]

"Angel in Blue" was released as a single in 1982, following the Top 10 hits "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame" from the Freeze Frame album.[1][3] It peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining there for two weeks.[1] It also reached #55 in the UK.[8] The song also made the Billboard Singles Radio Action chart in a number of regions, including Buffalo, New York, Annapolis, Maryland, Nashville, Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida.[9] "Angel in Blue" was also released on a number of J. Geils Band compilation albums, including Centerfold, The Very Best J. Geils Band Album Ever and Best of The J. Geils Band, as well as several multi-artist compilation albums.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Whitburn, J. (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (9th ed.). Random House. p. 263. ISBN 9780823085545.
  2. ↑ "Freeze Frame Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Viglione, J. "Angel in Blue". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  4. ↑ Seymore, C. (2005). Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross. HarperCollins. p. 312. ISBN 9780060779238.
  5. ↑ Erlewine, S.T. "Freeze Frame". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  6. ↑ Christgau, R. "The J. Geils Band: Freeze-Frame". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  7. ↑ Coleman, M. (1992). DeCurtis, A.; Henke, J.; George-Warren, H., eds. The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 276. ISBN 9780679737292.
  8. ↑ "J. Geils Band singles". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  9. ↑ "Billboard Singles Radio Action". Billboard Magazine. June 12, 1982. pp. 51, 53. Retrieved 2012-09-04.

External links

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