Monkey Island (album)

This article is about the album. For other uses, see Monkey Island (disambiguation).

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

Monkey Island is the seventh studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band, though it is credited with the shortened band name of "Geils", the only album in their catalog for which this was done. The album was released on June 9, 1977, by Atlantic Records.

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.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

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

The Los Angeles Times opined that "Geils is in dire need of a well-focused musical approach if the band wishes to revive its early power and promise." ^[4]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic held that Monkey Island's eclectic mix of styles makes it "one of their more interesting and challenging, if not most coherent, releases." They remarked that it retains the identifiable charm of the J. Geils Band and has a handful of good tracks, though they compared it unfavorably to its follow-up Sanctuary , which they said was both more commercially successful and truer to the J. Geils Band sound. ^[1]

Track listing

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

Side one

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, Jesse Smith, Willie Stephenson	3:09
4.	"Somebody"		5:13
5.	"I'm Falling"		5:41

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
• Seth Justman – keyboards, backing vocals
• J. Geils – guitar
• Magic Dick – harmonicas, trumpet on "Monkey Island"
• Danny Klein – bass
• Stephen Jo Bladd – drums, backing vocals, lead vocal on "You're the Only One"

Additional personnel

• Michael Brecker, Ronnie Cuber, Lew Del Gatto, Frank Vicari – saxophones on "I Do", "I'm Falling", and "So Good"
  • Brecker is also specifically credited for the tenor solo on "I'm Falling"
• Randy Brecker, Alan Rubin, Lew Soloff – trumpets on "I Do", "I'm Falling", and "So Good"
• Cissy Houston – lead vocal on "Surrender"
• Luther Vandross, G. Diane Sumler, Michelle Cobbs, Theresa V. Reed – backing vocals on "Surrender" and "Monkey Island"
• Barbara Ingram, Evette Benton, Harriet Tharpe – backing vocals on "So Good"
• The J. Geils Band – string arrangements, horn arrangements
• Arif Mardin – strings conductor

Production

• Producers: The 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 [5]	51
Australian (Kent Music Report) [6]	97

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"You're the Only One"	Pop Singles [7]	83

References

1. Sendra, Tim. "Monkey Island - J. Geils Band". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
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. Marsh, Dave (July 28, 1977). "J. Geils Band: Monkey Island". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
4. Snowden, Don (July 17, 1977). "'Monkey Island'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 81.
5. "The J Geils Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 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. "The J. Geils Band Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard . Retrieved September 8, 2020.