“Angel Eyes” (Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul)

Your song with the word “angel” in the title song of the day is “Angel Eyes” from Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Little Steven, of course, is Steve Van Zandt. also known as Miami Steve, also known as Bruce Springsteen’s right-hand-man in the E Street Band. The Disciples of Soul is the band he put together for his first solo album, 1982’s Men Without Women, which is one of my all-time favorite albums, period, even if it’s little known outside a small group of admirers.

“Angel Eyes” is a real soul stomper. It starts with a straight-ahead rhythm section riff then kicks into high gear when the horns enter in measure nine. The chorus is pure joy, propelled by that horn section, and the whole song just drives and drives. It’s high-energy soulful New Jersey party music and I love it.

The whole Men Without Women album rocks like that. It’s a blend of the E-Street Band and the Asbury Jukes and the Rascals, just pure Steve Van Zandt with lots of distorted guitars and horns and big drums and catchy melodies and unadulterated early ’80s New Jersey rock and soul. It kicks off with the all-out rocker “Lyin’ in a Bed of Fire” and ends with the pensive rock ballad “I’ve Been Waiting,” making a few stops along the way for “Princess of Little Italy,” “Angel Eyes,” and more should-have-been classics. I don’t know why or how this album got lost in the shuffle, it certainly wasn’t the standard made-for-MTV fodder of the time, but it’s solid and soulful and just keeps punching you in the gut, track after track. If you like Springsteen or Southside Johnny or anything of that ilk, you will love this album.

Steve Van Zandt had been branching out from Springsteen’s shadow for a bit before he decided to do a solo album. He’d been writing and producing for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and also produced two comeback albums for Gary “U.S.” Bonds, all of which are terrific albums and were continuously spinning on my turntable during the late ’70s and early ’80s. When he decided to do his own solo album, Mr. Van Zandt put together a group of backing musicians that included pals from the E Street Band, the Asbury Jukes, and the Miami Horns. Former Rascals drummer Dino Danelli, one of my favorite drummers of all time, played drums on a few tracks. Little Steven also got old friend Bruce Springsteen to do backing vocals on a few of the tunes so, yes, that’s the Boss singing backup on “Angel Eyes.” The whole thing is like a meeting of the New Jersey Musical Mafia, and that’s a good thing.

Men Without Women didn’t make much of a mark in the market, unfortunately, only hitting #118 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. “Forever” was the main single and, while it received some airplay on MTV, it only got to #63 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Angel Eyes,” as good as it is, was only an album track, never released as a single. That didn’t deter Mr. Van Zandt, however, who has since released several other Disciples of Soul albums, including 1984’s follow-up Voice of America, which is almost as good as Men Without Women, and up to his most recent, 2019’s Summer of Sorcery. Little Steven also takes the band on the road, touring regularly with the Disciples of Soul in venues across the country.