Classic of the Week : The J. Geils Band “Full House” (1972) <i> Atlantic</i>

Back in Madison, Wis., when you were getting ready to head to the bars on State Street, it was an album of choice. When you were getting ready for a party, tapping kegs and mixing mass quantities of sickening drinks in plastic garbage cans, it was a must.

This in-concert performance is meant to be cranked up right from the start (“First I Look At The Purse,” a tribute to male gold-digging); it never backs off. A highlight: “Whammer Jammer,” the skin-scorching harmonica instrumental on the front side by Magic Dick (gotta love that name). My rich friend Kim once turned his amplifier up to 10 to blast “Whammer Jammer” out of the giant Advent speakers in his 10th-floor apartment. The people on the first floor complained.

The legendary bluegrass album “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” put a banjo into my hand. But “Full House” helped kick my social life into a different place, where I’ve lived, for better or worse, ever since.