The Best of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes [CD]

I was going to review Hearts of Stone, my favorite Jukes album. But apparently it's only available as an import now. On this album, from Got To Be a Better Way Home through the end, the songs on this album are all the songs from HoS, in order. All that's missing is Light Don't Shine at the end. So buy this, save money and get 11 extra tracks. The Jukes are a great band. Most of the musicians are in-demand as session musicians. La Bamba is a member of the Max Weinberg 7 (from the Conan O'Brian show.) But it's John Lyon's voice that makes their albums special. If you want proof that white men can, indeed, sing the blues, listen to Southside. (Note: Johnny Rotten was John Lyons. Southside Johnny is a different person.) I think what held them back is that they didn't write their own material. In the 60s, songwriters would have been lining up to write for them. Fortunately, the Jukes had Bruce Springsteen (who wrote Hearts of Stone and plays the guitar solo on that cut) and Little Steven (who wrote several other songs.) It's a great album by an under-appreciated band. Enjoy. And, if you can find a copy of Southside singing "Walk Away Rene, grab it. It's the best version of that song you'll ever hear.