Mungo Jerry Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
Mungo Jerry's first album following the departure of Paul King (already onto his second album by the time this was released), Boot Power's imposing skinhead cartoon cover is an exact match for the music within. Fears that the recent departures (keyboard player Colin Earl departed alongside King) might disrupt the band altogether were dashed when "Open Up" emerged to give them their fourth undisputed classic hit single; indeed, with his control over Mungo Jerry's creative output now complete, Ray Dorset was finally free to expand the group in the directions he saw fit, a lusty, lucid, but most of all good-time party band whose folky jug roots were intact only till the beer ran out. After that, anything could happen -- and usually did. The five-plus-minute "Demon," the revisited "Lady Rose," and the plaintive, wrecked "Looking for My Girl" all trail "Open Up" to the album's peak, but in truth, the group barely put a foot wrong all album, turning in a set that didn't simply please the fans, it absolutely astonished the critics. Sales were low, however, and morale in the band turned out to be lower. It would be four long years, just a couple more hits, and a near-fatal deluge of obituary-writing best-ofs before another Mungo Jerry album finally appeared, by which time Boot Power's brilliance was ancient history -- and its artwork seemed even more archaic. The album was worth a lot more than that. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
'You Don't Have to Be in the Army'
Release Date 1/1/1971
Tracks 12
Label Dawn
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Bedecked with one of the most terrifying covers of the early '70s -- a vast, bemedalled military harridan striking a scornful pose of "come and get it" allure -- Mungo Jerry's third U.K. album was titled for one of their best-loved (but, contrarily, least-successful) hit singles, a saga of all the things that can and will go wrong as you try to live your daily life. This album, though the song doesn't mention it, would appear to be one of them. From beginning to end, it is one of their weakest, with Ray Dorset now firmly entrenched in writing according to the established band style and Paul King simply squeezing in his less-typical songs where he can. That he was saving the best for his own forthcoming solo album seems blatantly obvious, though -- his "Hey Rosalyn" is no more a shining triumph than Dorset's "Pigeon Pie" and "Give Me Love," and it's telling that the best songs on the album are the traditional pieces, "Ella Speed" and "Take Me Back." Mungo Jerry would bounce back (briefly), and You Don't Have to Be in the Army's defeat would quickly be forgotten. At the time, however, it was difficult not to believe that the summertime was finally over. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
No less than its predecessor, Mungo Jerry's second album hit the stores in the wake of a massive hit single, the lascivious "Baby Jump" -- still one of the most sexually raw records ever to land regular daytime airplay. And, again like its predecessor, the full album proved that the hit was no fluke. Indeed, while Mungo Jerry road-tested the sheer musical versatility of the still-infant band, Electronically Tested (titled for the legend found on British-made packets of condoms) hit the highway with both feet on the accelerator. "Baby Jump" and the later single "Somebody Stole My Wife" are the commercial highlights of the album, of course, the former a thread-by-thread deconstruction of a beautiful woman, the latter a rollicking tale of desertion set to a deliriously drunken boogie. The true gems, however, are a nine-minute marathon stomp through "I Just Wanna Make Love to You," laced with fuzzed guitar and hard rock growling, and, at the opposite end of the musical spectrum, "Memoirs of a Stockbroker," a wry look back on a mischievous childhood that has, with the passing years, transformed itself from comic routine to painful confessional. That same song would also title the album's U.S. release, a set that largely adhered to its British counterpart, but did succeed in shedding one of the album's finest moments, the gruesome blues "Black Bubonic Plague," in favor of "Have a Whiff on Me" and "Daddies Brew." The joyous merits of the former notwithstanding, it's a lousy exchange. A medieval melodrama that certainly puts our modern coughs and sneezes in perspective, "Black Bubonic Plague" is one of Mungo Jerry's finest moments, both lyrically and musically, and would reappear the following year as "One Legged Man in a Goldfish Bowl," from guitarist Paul King's Been in the Pen Too Long solo album, a reminder that it was the preponderance of Ray Dorset compositions on Electronically Tested that rendered inevitable King's eventual departure from the band. Though he was a far more versatile songwriter than Dorset, King's work was increasingly regarded as unsuitable for Mungo Jerry, all the more so once the hits started flying. Still, his "Man Behind the Piano" serves up another of Electronically Tested's most memorable moments, while the 1991 Repertoire CD reissue appends another King classic, "Little Louis," among seven bonus tracks drawn from period singles, B-sides, and EP releases. Of the others, three tracks recorded live at the 1970 Hollywood Festival capture the band in full-blooded flood, while the non-LP hit "Lady Rose" joins the aforementioned "Have a Whiff on Me" as a further reminder of Mungo Jerry's brilliance. With or without these additions, however, Electronically Tested stands as Mungo Jerry's all-time masterpiece, and a last gasp of rambunctious cohesion before the chaos that would scar the remainder of the band's career. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The title-track is still one of the most beguiling (if casually sexist) hits of its era, but the other 14 songs are even more interesting: Jesse Fuller-influenced jug band ("San Francisco Bay Blues," "See Me") and Tampa Red-style kazoo blues ("Maggie"), as well as the influence of Piano Red ("Mighty Man") and credible instrumental blues-rock ("Mother Fucker Boogie"). The hit "Johnny B. Badde" is here, and the band also covers rock & roll standards like "Baby Let's Play House," done in a surprisingly authentic manner for 1970. One of the CD reissue's two bonus tracks, "Tramp," busts up the mood a bit, with its fiddle accompaniment and a decidedly mournful tone, but the other, the hard-driving Howlin' Wolf-style "Mungo's Blues," which offers a tastefully lean Hubert Sumlin-influenced guitar solo, fits in perfectly with the existing album. The transfers are clean and bright, and the annotation is extensive. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'Memoirs of a Stockbroker'
Release Date 1/1/1970
Tracks 10
Label Janus
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Titled for one of the most bittersweet songs in the group's entire repertoire, Memoirs of a Stockbroker is essentially the U.S. equivalent of the British Electronically Tested album, itself named after the legend found on certain brands of a British condom. Memoirs drops one song ("Black Bubonic Plague") from its U.K. counterpart, but adds two: "Daddies' Brew" and the lighthearted, lighter-headed "Have a Whiff on Me." Either version emerges as Mungo Jerry's masterpiece. First time around, after all, the band was little more than a retro jug band novelty, a hairier Lovin' Spoonful riding the shock waves of the hit "In the Summertime." Few people hearing that song for the umpteenth time could ever have believed the band could ever improve on -- or even deviate from -- its formula. But with the lasciviously snarling "Baby Jump," one of the most knowingly sexual hard rock songs of its age, Mungo Jerry not only grabbed a second British chart-topper, they also reinvented themselves without ever stepping beyond their own confines. "Baby Jump" opens side two here; the triumphant "Somebody Stole My Wife," a U.K. radio fave at the time, appears midway through side one, but neither comes close to dominating the LP. Rather, every track has its own growling majesty, whether it's the not-too-cautionary "You Better Leave That Whiskey Alone," the loosely jammed "She Rowed," or the plaintive "Follow Me Down." And then there are nine minutes of "I Just Wanna Make Love to You," an Appalachian blues boogie which is simply relentless, the closest you'll get to the Jerry live experience without catching "Baby Jump"'s in-concert B-side. That's served up among the five bonus tracks on Repertoire's reissue of Electronically Tested. But even without the added material, the experience is complete, and it isn't just stockbrokers whose memoirs wind up memorable. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Mungo Jerry's debut album, released hot on the heels of the mega-selling "In the Summertime," was more or less a straightforward recapitulation of what was already regarded as among the hottest live shows around. Although a handful of concert favorites ("Mighty Man," for one) were lacking, the kazoo-powered "Maggie," the pounding country-bop "Johnny B. Badde," and a barnstorming reworking of "Baby Let's Play House" were all present and dynamically correct, together with the unequivocally titled "Mother*!*!*! Boogie," a knock-'em-dead instrumental duet for piano and mouth organ that says as much about Mungo Jerry's sense of fun as any of the band's better-known numbers. Although Mungo Jerry is clearly the work of a band still finding its feet, all the hallmarks of the group's future career are already visible, both good and bad. In the latter category, the songwriting conflict that would eventually see Paul King depart the band is painfully evident, as the haunting "Movin' On" and "Tramp" deliver melodies and arrangements far from the stamping, hooting, honking glee that was Ray Dorset's forte. Similarly, the somewhat samey style that would eventually scupper the band he left behind is mapped out by "See Me," a song that retrospect paints as a virtual medley of every great hit Mungo Jerry ever scored. At this stage, however, such fears and failings were far off in the future, and Mungo Jerry emerges triumphant, a mixed bag of jug-folk-blues that does indeed boogie like a mother*!*!*! ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
