JUKE BOX JURY

You don't often see me this excited, seldom to the point where I collar people the minute they walk in the door and drag them over to the record player to hear some new single, pacing the room and grinning, saying �See, isn�t it great? Isn't it?� Blame it on the Hollies, whose �Long Cool Woman� (Epic 4-10871) has been driving me berserk since the day it came out. You remember the Hollies, limping along through unnoticed records that have varied from fairly good to nondescript. Who could have expected this? It sounds like Phil Spector got hold of Creedence Clearwater or something, echo right out of �Heartbreak Hotel,� guitars harder than a rockpile, the whole thing raw and relentlessly wild. Like their last good record (�Hey Willy�) this one was written by t)ie seasoned team of Greenaway and Cook with the aid of Allan Clarke, but the lyrics are nearly unintelligible and it doesn�t make a damn bit of difference. If you haven�t offered fervent prayers of thanks that this record exists, you�re no rock & roll fan in my book.

While speaking of excellence, we shouldn�t fail to mention Dr. John. Not only did Gumbo redeem him from the failures of a hitherto wasted career, but hard on its heels comes a knockout single of �Wang Dang Doodle� (Atco 6898) that�s superior to anything on that admittedly brilliant album. He is so well controlled here that his not inconsiderable talent has a chance to really shine, and shine it does. Hope he can keep it up.

It wasn�t until somebody pointed out that Elton John�s �Rocket Man� (Uni 55328) was bad science fiction that I realized it isn't science fiction at all. A better term fo* this stuff would be comic book rock, all stylized and romanticized. You could include Hawkwind and all those kind of bands, and scattered songs by various groups, like the Kinks� �Supersonic Rocket Ship� (soon to be released here). Anyway now that Elton John is unabashedly on a comic book level, his songs seem a lot more honest. Honestly dumb, that is, which is okay with me.

I truly think Todd Rondgren is a worse

threat to rock & roll than James Taylor ever was. Here�s a guy whose music is so hopelessly bland that trying to criticize it is like punching at a cotton candy fog, and because he sounds a bit like Carole King he can make ridiculous statements about being the next Elvis and manage to get all the so-called critics to believe him. If this pap is accepted as what rock & roll should be, we�re in serious trouble. (Send all hate letters in c/o Greil Marcus.)

It�s been awhile since Eric Clapton recorded anything, and I guess most of us miss him. Duane Allman too, come to think of it. An old record�s not as good as a new one, but it�ll do — as Atlantic found out when they reissued �Layla� (Atco 6809) and watched it leap up the charts with a bullet. The long version, too. I�m not complaining.

Maybe you heard about a record that came out in 1951 consisting only of two voices repeating each other�s names, �John and Marsha.� It sold six million copies despite or because of being banned in many places for reasons we can only speculate on. The record was by Stan Freberg, the foremost parodist of his day, and it has been re-released (Capitol 3355) with �Try,� a Johnny Ray sendup, on the flip. You oughta pick it up for the sake of history.

Promising single from a new group called Cargoe is �Feel Alright� (Ardent 2901; dstr. by Stax) which combines solid but not overlyheavy chords with good singing and a tight structure. Hit potential all the way. Also scoring highly on the HP meter is �Get Up and Dance� by the Doors (Elektra 45793), although the vocals are a bit weak. Fine record, though. Sorry I can�t say the same for Neil Young�s �War Song� (reprise 1099). As a rock & roll record, it doesn�t make it at all, and as a political statement it�s pretty vague. Is this supposed to be a pitch for McGovern? If so (and I wish it were) he should say so, otherwise it just sounds like more mealymouthed America stuff.

Your favorite and mine Commander Cody went back to the studio to wax a new version of �Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar� and the results can be heard on Paramount 169. It�s a \iice, stretched-out take, including even a

whistle chorus ala �Big Noise From Winnetka�, another boogie record that was popular around the same time as Will Bradley�s original version of �Beat Me Daddy,� circa 1941. Also of interest is the fact that Chess has released Chuck Berry�s �My Ding-A-Ling� (2131), cut down to four minutes. The other side is �Johnny B. Goode� and they even left in the audience�s near-riot at the end. Good show, Chess.

Tiny Tim is back with �Am I Just Another Pretty Face� on Scepter 12351. I guess VicTim Records fell apart when his marriage did. Anyway, I assume you can imagine what this sounds like. Ditto for �Mary Had a Little Lamb� by Wings (Apple 1851) which is almost smecky enough to be a hoax by John & his cohorts. I�ve been trying hard to like Paul now that John�s gotten so obnoxious, but records like this don�t make it any easier. I wonder how any of �em sleep.

Lead singer Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry has embarked on a solo career, seemingly patterned after that of Dave Edmunds. �I Need It� (Pye ,65,008) is a sure-fire raver, heavy on the echo but npt as badly overdone as his previous rocker attempts. It�s the B side, by the way. The A is �Cold Blue Excursion,� a strange song but a little cute for me. I think I like him better with the group, who also have a new one out, �Open Up� (Pye 65,009). They're starting to sound kinda like T. Rex. Both sides of this one are excellent.

A popular record around Detroit recently was �Rouge Plant Blues� by Stix and Stoned, on the local Bumpshop label (131). It�s typical heavy hippie blues, like Edgar Winter, and not bad for what it is. If that�s your meat, write to 14611 E. 9 Mile, E. Detroit, 48021. �Please Send Me Someone to Love� backed with �Shake a Hand� (RCA 74-0746) is from a welcome newcomer named Linda Hopkins who sounds a lot like Esther Phillips. Soul fans watch out!

Wand has re-released �Louie Louie� by the Kingsmen, kids. I don�t have the number but your record store should have it in stock. This is one record�you have to own, if only to say you�ve paid your dues as a rock fan. There�s also a new version by Heavy Cruiser (Family 909), produced by Neil Merryweather. It adheres pretty closely to the basics, no attempts at modernization beyond increased volume. One of the better versions I�ve heard, actually. And are you ready for a new Troggs record? Thanks to Audun Tylden of Norway I have an English pressing (Pye 45147) of �Feels Like a Woman� and let me tell you they haven�t changed a bit. This is fine, fine stuff, much better than their Miller Beer commercials, which are also available on record if you know where to look. Go ahead and order it from England.

It sometimes happens that if someone doesn�t like the selection of records on hand, he puts out his own. This goes on all the time, and with the help of you readers (hint) we�ll be reporting on it from time to time. Oftentimes fans persuade small record companies to reissue old records that are now rare, which they will usually do if you promise to buy 500 copies. Latest in this line is �Red Hot Rockin� Blues�/�South�s Gonna Rise Again� by Jesse James (Kent 214), which according to the label was �Especially Pressed For the Hollywood Rock �N� Roll Fan Club.� This is not the best old rocker that could�ve been repressed, but it is frantic and you might dig it. It�s only available from the Club (164 N. Hayworth, Hollywood, CA 90046) at $2.00. Also highly recommended for $4.00 is their bootleg album of old rockabilly singles, including �Don�t Mess With Muh Ducktails.� Limited quantity, don�t pass this by. And send along 65c for their insanely wild magazine Rollin� Rock, which includes lists of other rare old records and reissues, at cheap prices.

If it�s cheap prices you want, you can�t beat 75c, which is all you have to pay to get either of two exciting releases by Mogan David & His Winos on the Kosher label. This is for real, it�s another LA rock critics� band but for my money much better than Christopher Milk, (on record anyway) — even if they sound to have been recorded in a garage. Kosher-1 is �Nosfe Job,� the old Mad Magazine bonus record song you might have on one of the albums Mad put out on Swan, and it�s at least as good as the original. But release #2 is really, honestly interesting. �Street Baby� is based on the guitar sound of the early Who and a bit of �Jumping Jack Flash�, without all the difficult stuff of course, but nice chords anyway. The playing is primitive but adequate, and the lyrics show real talent. Same for the flip, �Party Games.� Both songs deal with adolescence, �Street Baby� with a type of 16-year-old girl we�ve all seen around, and �Party Games� with teenage frustration:

I went to a party just the other night Ooh the girls looked fine and I felt all right They were sitting on sofas, not saying much They were sitting in chairs, afraid to be touched.

And it goes on from there. Records like this are vital to the rock & roll process, if you know what I mean. Send $1.50 for both of them to Harold Bronson, 6414 W. 86th PI., Los Angeles, 90045. You won�t be sorry.