"Men Without Women", credited to Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, was the debut solo album by Steven Van Zandt, a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and a songwriter / producer with the Jersey Shore band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. The title track was inspired by the Ernest Hemingway collection of short stories of the same name.
Anyone who has ever saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band between 1975 and 1981 knows one of the reasons they were among the best live bands in America is they had three members with the power and charisma to make great frontmen Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, and "Miami Steve" Van Zandt. In 1982, while Springsteen was laboring over Born in the U.S.A., Van Zandt who'd already proved his considerable chops as a producer, songwriter, and arranger working with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Gary U.S. Bonds stepped away from the E Street Band to launch a solo project, Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul, and in many ways the first Little Steven album, "Men Without Women", is the finest album the Asbury Jukes never made. Like the Jukes best work, "Men Without Women" blends the muscle and swagger of Jersey shore rock & roll with the horn-fueled heart and soul of classic R&B, and here Van Zandt was willing to push himself further in both directions at once. With a five-piece horn section blazing throughout (featuring Richie "La Bamba " Rosenberg leading a crew of former Jukes brass players) and former Rascals Dino Danelli and Felix Cavaliere on hand, this album's blue-eyed soul credentials are unimpeachable, but Van Zandt's guitar (and Jean Beauvior's bass) speak with the sound and fury of a true roots rock rebel. While Van Zandt's songwriting was always impressive, Men Without Women's best moments expressed a degree of passion, vulnerability, and determined fervor he hadn't quite permitted himself in the past (he also began to express the political concerns that would dominate his later work on "Under the Gun"), and if Van Zandt was a less precise vocalist than "Southside" Johnny Lyon, the gritty sincerity and emotional force of his performances more than made up for it. On "Men Without Women", Little Steven & the Disciples merged the brassy swing of a classic Motown side with the sweaty blare of a amped-up garage band, and if that sounds like an odd combination, in both soul and garage rock, commitment is what counts, and Little Steven had that to spare along with a set of really great songs.
01. Lyin' in a Bed of Fire (Steven Van Zandt) - 4:34
02. Inside of Me (Steven Van Zandt) - 5:07
03. Until the Good Is Gone (Steven Van Zandt) - 3:54
04. Men Without Women (Steven Van Zandt) - 2:43
05. Under the Gun (Steven Van Zandt) - 4:01
06. Save Me (Steven Van Zandt) - 4:50
07. Princess of Little Italy
08. Angel Eyes (Steven Van Zandt) - 4:31
09. Forever (Steven Van Zandt) - 4:00
10. I've Been Waiting (Steven Van Zandt) - 3:54
Released: 1982
Recorded at: The Power Station, The Hit Factory, Clover Studios, Los Angeles
Genre: Rock
Length: 42:32
Label: EMI America
Producer: Steven Van Zandt
Engineer: Bob Clearmountain
Personnel
Steven Van Zandt – guitars, lead vocals
The Disciples of Soul
Jean Beauvoir – bass, backing vocals
Dino Danelli – drums
Monti Louis Ellison – percussion, berimbau, djembe
Zoë Yanakis – oboe, solo on "Under the Gun"
Clarence Clemons – backing vocals
Danny Federici – organ, accordion
Garry Tallent – bass
Bruce Springsteen – backing vocals
Max Weinberg – drums
Mark Pender – trumpet
Mike Spengler – trumpet
Stan Harrison – tenor sax, flute
Richie "La Bamba " Rosenberg
Eddie Manion – baritone sax, solo on "Forever"
Manolo Badrena – percussion
Gary U.S. Bonds – backing vocals
John "J.T." Bowen – backing vocals
Felix Cavaliere – piano, organ
Rusty Cloud – piano
Sammy Figueroa – percussion
Kevin Kavanaugh – piano
Benjamin Newberry – chimes
Bob Werner – tambourine
