Monkey Island (album)

Monkey Island is the seventh studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released on June 9, 1977, by Atlantic Records.

Monkey Island
Studio album by The J. Geils Band
Released	June 9, 1977
Recorded	1977
Genre	Rock
Length	41:44
Label	Atlantic
Producer	The J. Geils Band
The J. Geils Band chronology
Blow Your Face Out (1976) Monkey Island (1977) Sanctuary (1978)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[3]

The album did not perform well in the marketplace, and would be the J. Geils Band's last original album for Atlantic Records after almost eight years with the label. It was, however, the band's first album on which they did not use an outside producer, as well as their first project with recording engineer David Thoener, with whom they later collaborated on their best-selling albums Love Stinks and Freeze Frame.

The album contains the studio version of "I Do," a live recording of which (from the album Showtime!) would be the J. Geils Band's last hit single in 1982.

Track listing

All songs written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman except as noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Surrender"		3:49
2.	"You're the Only One"		3:05
3.	"I Do"	Melvin Mason, Johnny Paden, Frank Paden, Alfred Smith, Willie Stephenson	3:09
4.	"Somebody"		5:13
5.	"I'm Falling"		5:41
6.	"Monkey Island"		9:02
7.	"I'm Not Rough"	Louis Armstrong	3:03
8.	"So Good"		3:19
9.	"Wreckage"		5:23

Personnel

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

Additional personnel

• Evette Benton – background vocals
• Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
• Randy Brecker – trumpet
• Michelle Cobbs – background vocals
• Ronnie Cuber – saxophone
• Lew Del Gatto – saxophone
• Cissy Houston – background vocals
• Barbara Ingram – background vocals
• Arif Mardin – strings conductor
• Theresa Reed – background vocals
• Alan Rubin – trumpet
• Lew Soloff – trumpet
• G. Diane Sumler – background vocals
• Harriet Tharpe – background vocals
• Luther Vandross – background vocals
• Frank Vicari – saxophone

Production

• Producers: J. Geils Band
• Engineer: David Thoener
• Assistant engineers: Jay Krugman, Rod O'Brien, Corky Stasiak
• Mixing: David Thoener
• Remastering: George Marino
• Design: Peter Corriston
• Photography: Alen MacWeeney

Charts

Album

Chart (1977)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[4]	51
Australian (Kent Music Report)	97[5]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"You're the Only One"	Pop Singles[6]	83

References

1. Tim Sendra. "Monkey Island - J. Geils Band". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: G". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Dave Marsh (1977-07-28). "J. Geils Band: Monkey Island". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
4. "The J Geils Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
5. 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.
6. "The J. Geils Band Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2020.