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.