Freeze Frame (The J. Geils Band album)

Freeze-Frame is the tenth studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band, and the last one to feature original vocalist Peter Wolf. The album was released on October 26, 1981, by EMI Records. It reached number one on the United States Billboard 200 album chart in February 1982, and remained at the top for four weeks. The album featured the hit singles "Centerfold" (No. 1 US; No. 3 UK) and "Freeze Frame" (No. 4 US). "Angel in Blue" also reached the US Top 40.

Freeze-Frame
Studio album by the J. Geils Band
Released	October 26, 1981
Recorded	1980–1981
Studio	Long View Farm, North Brookfield, Massachusetts
Genre	Blues rock, new wave
Length	40:56
Label	EMI
Producer	Seth Justman
The J. Geils Band chronology
Love Stinks (1980) Freeze-Frame (1981) Showtime! (1982)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	B+[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Rock 82	(favorable)[4]

Keyboardist Seth Justman wrote or co-wrote all of the album as well as receiving credit as arranger and producer of the material.

A 2013 Spin article called "Flamethrower" the band's funkiest song and said: "With three avant-gardish anomalies that flirted with harmolodic punk-jazz funk ("Rage in the Cage," "Insane, Insane Again," and "River Blindness") balancing out three slick Top 10 pop hits, 1981's Freeze Frame holds the rare if not impossible distinction of being simultaneously both the J. Geils Band's most blatantly pop and mostly blatantly experimental album."[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Seth Justman except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Freeze-Frame"	Justman, Peter Wolf	4:01
2.	"Rage in the Cage"	Justman, Wolf	4:56
3.	"Centerfold"		3:36
4.	"Do You Remember When"	Justman, Wolf	4:45
5.	"Insane, Insane Again"		4:43

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Flamethrower"		4:58
7.	"River Blindness"		6:06
8.	"Angel in Blue"		4:51
9.	"Piss on the Wall"	Justman, Wolf	3:02

Personnel

The J. Geils Band

• Stephen Bladd – drums
• Magic Dick – harmonica, trumpet, saxophone
• J. Geils – guitar
• Seth Justman – keyboards, backing vocals
• Danny Klein – bass
• Peter Wolf – lead vocals

Additional musicians

• Randy Brecker, Tom "Bones" Malone, Lou Marini, George Young, Ronnie Cuber, Alan Rubin – horns
• Cengiz Yaltkaya – conductor
• Tawatha Agee, Cissy Houston, Fonzi Thornton, Luther Vandross, Ken Williams – backing vocals

Production

• Joe Brescio – mastering
• Jesse Henderson, Steve Marcantonio – assistant engineers
• Seth Justman – producer, arrangements
• David Thoener – engineer, mixing at Record Plant, New York

Charts

Album

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6]	21
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	13
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8]	11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9]	13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10]	14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11]	13
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	12
US Billboard 200[13]	1

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	"Angel in Blue"	Billboard Hot 100[14]	40
1982	"Centerfold"/"Flamethrower"	Club Play Singles[15]	12
1982	"Centerfold"	Mainstream Rock Tracks[16]	1
1982	"Centerfold"	Billboard Hot 100[14]	1
1982	"Flamethrower"/"Freeze Frame"	Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks[17]	25
1982	"Flamethrower"	Mainstream Rock Tracks[16]	30
1982	"Freeze-Frame"	Mainstream Rock Tracks[16]	8
1982	"Freeze-Frame"	Billboard Hot 100[14]	4

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Platinum[18]	January 11, 1982

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Freeze-Frame". Robert Christgau.
3. Fricke, David (21 January 1982). "Album Reviews: J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 November 2009. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
4. Vesić, Dušan. "Freeze Frame, The J. Geils Band". Rock 82 (in Serbian). Belgrade: NIP Politika (5): 10.
5. "Inorganic at the Disco: 40 Rock Bands Who Beat Arcade Fire to the Dance Floor". Spin. October 25, 2013. p. 26. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 122. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Austriancharts.at – The J. Geils Band – Freeze-Frame" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – The J. Geils Band – Freeze-Frame" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – The J. Geils Band – Freeze-Frame" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. "Charts.nz – The J. Geils Band – Freeze-Frame". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. "Swedishcharts.com – The J. Geils Band – Freeze-Frame". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "The J Geils Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "The J. Geils Band Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "The J. Geils Band Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "The J. Geils Band Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "The J. Geils Band Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "RIAA searchable certification database: freeze-frame". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 7, 2020.