MUNGO JERRY
''BABY JUMP: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, DISC ONE''
JANUARY 4 2005
230:16
DISC ONE
1/In the Summertime
Ray Dorset/3:31
2/Mighty Man
Ray Dorset/4:46
3/Dust Pneumonia Blues
Woody Guthrie/5:46
4/Baby, Let's Play House
Arthur Neal Gunter/2:50
5/Johnny B Badde
Ray Dorset/3:01
6/San Francisco Bay Blues
Jesse Fuller/3:39
7/Sad Eyed Joe
Paul King/2:49
8/Maggie
Ray Dorset/4:09
9/Peace in the Country
Ray Dorset/3:01
10/See Me
Ray Dorset/3:53
11/Movin' On
Paul King/4:10
12/My Friend
Ray Dorset/2:36
13/Mother *! *! *! Boogie
Ray Dorset/2:48
14/Tramp
Paul King/4:59
15/Daddie's Brew
Colin Earl/3:35
16/Baby Jump
Ray Dorset/4:05
17/The Man Behind the Piano
Paul King/3:26
18/She Rowed
Ray Dorset/3:14
19/Somebody Stole My Wife
Ray Dorset/2:55
20/I Just Wanna Make Love to You
Willie Dixon/9:00
DISC TWO
1/Lady Rose [Single Version]
Ray Dorset/3:09
2/Memoirs of a Stockbroker
Ray Dorset/4:05
3/Follow Me Down
Ray Dorset/3:14
4/You Better Leave That Whisky Alone
Ray Dorset/4:00
5/Coming Back to You When the Time Comes
Ray Dorset/3:37
6/Have a Whiff on Me
Ray Dorset/3:56
7/Milk Cow Blues
Traditional/5:08
8/Little Louis
Paul King/3:50
9/You Don't Have to Be in the Army to Fight the War
Ray Dorset/3:13
10/The Sun Is Shining
Ray Dorset/3:38
11/O'Reilly
Traditional/4:32
12/We Shall Be Free
Traditional/2:56
13/Ella Speed
Ray Dorset/3:04
14/Take Me Back
Ray Dorset/3:25
15/Hey Rosalyn
Paul King/3:45
16/Northcote Arms
Ray Dorset/3:15
17/There's a Man Going Round Taking Names
Ray Dorset/3:06
18/Simple Things
Ray Dorset/3:52
19/Keep Your Hands off Her
Ray Dorset/2:48
20/On a Sunday
Ray Dorset/3:16
21/That Old Dust Storm
Woody Guthrie/3:21
DISC THREE
1/Open Up
Ray Dorset/3:25
2/Going Back Home
Ray Dorset/2:15
3/I Don't Wanna Go Back to School
Ray Dorset/3:57
4/No Girl Reaction
Ray Dorset/4:35
5/See You Again
Ray Dorset/4:49
6/Demon
Ray Dorset/5:25
7/My Girl and Me
Ray Dorset/4:27
8/Sweet Mary Jane
Ray Dorset/2:41
9/Lady Rose
Ray Dorset/4:14
10/Brand New Car
Ray Dorset/3:48
11/Summer's Gone
Ray Dorset/3:36
12/It's a Goodie Boogie Woogie
Ray Dorset/2:25
13/Say Goodnight
Ray Dorset/4:02
14/Alright, Alright, Alright
Jacques Dutronc/2:47
15/Little Miss Hipshake
Barry Murray/2:32
16/Wild Love
Joe Strange/3:08
17/Glad I'm a Rocker
Barry Murray/2:49
18/Long Legged Woman Dressed in Black
Ray Dorset/2:54
19/Gonna Bop Till I Drop
Joe Strange/2:53
20/Don't Stop
Ray Dorset/2:29
21/Shake Till I Break
Ray Dorset/1:41
22/Too Fast to Live and Too Young to Die
Ray Dorset/1:45
23/Burnin' Up
Ray Dorset/2:12
24/All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
Ray Dorset/2:04
REVIEW
by Dave Thompson
Hmmm, "definitive," you say? Well, let's see. The need for a truly all-encompassing Mungo Jerry collection has been evident ever since the early '90s brought the first in the long line of CD compilations that simply followed the same laws as the LPs that preceded them -- here are the hits, here's the odd B-side, here are a couple of randomly selected album tracks. Mungo Jerry meant so much more than that, even if that brief does sum up most listeners' total knowledge of the band's output. With 60 tracks at its disposal, Baby Jump certainly comes close to the ideal. Concentrating on their years with the Dawn subsidiary of Pye Records, it travels from the debut chart-topper "In the Summertime" through the surprisingly peerless run of hits that were spread over the next four years, before winding up with the final gasp of glory that was "Wild Love," an insanely contagious number that really should have been a bigger hit than it was. In between times, each of the band's studio albums is cherry-picked for highlights, with the group's practice of unleashing non-LP B-sides flavored by the inclusion of numbers that are almost as well known in their own right as the hits that accompanied them -- the banned-by-the-BBC "Have a Whiff on Me," some genuinely exciting live performances, and more. Of course, it's no substitute for picking up the original albums (and singles), and a full-scale Mungo Jerry reissue campaign remains a promise for which listeners should all be hoping. In the meantime, this anthology certainly allows the collector to finally shed all those repetitive compilations, and offers a much-needed tribute to a band that really was worth a lot more than "In the Summertime."
BIOGRAPHY
by Bruce Eder
Mungo Jerry is one of rock's great one-hit successes. Outside of England, they're known for exactly one song, but that song, "In the Summertime," is a seasonal anthem known by listeners who weren't even born when it was released. Mungo Jerry was a solid blues outfit as well -- in fact, one suspects they were the kind of blues band that purists Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies would have loved, had they ever intersected -- and knew how to get the most out of their jug band sound, which has helped them survive for three decades.
Mungo Jerry was formed in 1970 by singer/guitarist Ray Dorset (born March 21, 1946), who had a fascination with early rock & roll sounds, as well as skiffle and blues. The other original members were Mike Cole on upright bass; Paul King on guitar, kazoo, and jug; Joe Rush playing washboard; and Colin Earl at the keyboards. Dorset and Earl had first hooked up in the Good Earth, a group with a mixed rock & roll and blues sound, which cut some tracks for the mid-priced label Saga, none of which sold. Cole, King, and Rush came aboard and the lineup was complete. The name Mungo Jerry -- from a T.S. Eliot poem -- came next, with a contract from Pye Records.
The quartet had a pleasing, low-key jug band sound, folk-like but also bluesy, which was unusual in 1969, a time when most British bands that were into blues were shooting for high-wattage virtuosity. They sounded less like Cream or Blind Faith and a lot more like Jesse Fuller or Tampa Red, or even Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood). Mungo Jerry became one of the very first acts placed on the Pye label's new Dawn Records imprint, a progressive label that was intended to update Pye's image. In May of 1970, following an appearance at the Newcastle Hollywood Festival, their debut single "In the Summertime," written by Ray Dorset, was released. The record, an easygoing, catchy skiffle-like piece reflecting the mood of the season in its title and the sexual ethos of the late '60s was an instant hit, shooting to number one in England in only two weeks and riding the charts for much of the summer. Concerts and television appearances followed in profusion, although the most often seen among the latter is a performance mimed to the single. It was a Top Ten hit in America, riding the charts for weeks, and was a success in practically every country in which it was released, ultimately selling between eight and 16 million copies around the world.
A self-titled debut album was rush-released that summer to capitalize on the hit. By the time the LP was recorded, washboard-player Rush was gone, and Cole had left by the time the record was issued, the beginning of a dizzying series of personnel changes. The group's second single, "Baby Jump," was a chart-topper in England but didn't fare as well overseas, and heralded a second album, Electronically Tested, and was followed by a third, You Don't Have to Be in the Army, that same year, with a parallel U.S. release, Memoirs of a Stockbroker (Janus Records). "Maggie," "Johnny B Badde," "Mighty Man," "Lady Rose," and "You Don't Have to Be in the Army to Fight in the War" all charted in England and got decent, if not spectacular, airplay at various other points around the globe.
The membership of Mungo Jerry began coming apart almost from the outset of their success. Cole, who was replaced by John Godfrey, was followed out of the lineup by King and Earl, although their exit was somewhat more acrimonious. They attempted to take the name Mungo Jerry, but Dorset, as the singer, guitarist, and songwriter, held onto the name. Instead, King and Earl cut solo albums for Pye and went on the road as the Earl King Boogie Band with former bandmate Rush in the lineup. Meanwhile, Dorset recruited keyboard player Jon Pope and drummer Tim Reeves for Mungo Jerry.
Essentially, from 1972 onward, Dorset was Mungo Jerry, even more than Ian Anderson was Jethro Tull. Drummer Paul Hancox (ex-Chicken Shack), bassist (and future Ozzie Osbourne alumnus) Bob Daisley, and keyboard man John Cook passed through, as did piano player Ian Milne and guitarist Dick Middleton, and that was just during the band's time on Pye through 1975. In the later '70s, when the band was signed to Polydor, original members Earl and Rush were back in the lineup. Earl and King later formed a group called Skeleton Crew.
Mungo Jerry's chart hits stopped coming, but they continued to attract audiences on-stage everywhere from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. Ironically, Dorset found himself unable to emerge from the shadow of his group's identity. His solo albums, including 1987's A Case for the Blues, featuring Peter Green on guitar, failed to attract any attention. Twenty-nine years after its founding, Mungo Jerry, which can consist of any lineup from a quartet down to Dorset with taped accompaniment, continues to work on-stage and "In the Summertime" remains their signature tune.
''BABY JUMP: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, DISC ONE''
JANUARY 4 2005
230:16
DISC ONE
1/In the Summertime
Ray Dorset/3:31
2/Mighty Man
Ray Dorset/4:46
3/Dust Pneumonia Blues
Woody Guthrie/5:46
4/Baby, Let's Play House
Arthur Neal Gunter/2:50
5/Johnny B Badde
Ray Dorset/3:01
6/San Francisco Bay Blues
Jesse Fuller/3:39
7/Sad Eyed Joe
Paul King/2:49
8/Maggie
Ray Dorset/4:09
9/Peace in the Country
Ray Dorset/3:01
10/See Me
Ray Dorset/3:53
11/Movin' On
Paul King/4:10
12/My Friend
Ray Dorset/2:36
13/Mother *! *! *! Boogie
Ray Dorset/2:48
14/Tramp
Paul King/4:59
15/Daddie's Brew
Colin Earl/3:35
16/Baby Jump
Ray Dorset/4:05
17/The Man Behind the Piano
Paul King/3:26
18/She Rowed
Ray Dorset/3:14
19/Somebody Stole My Wife
Ray Dorset/2:55
20/I Just Wanna Make Love to You
Willie Dixon/9:00
DISC TWO
1/Lady Rose [Single Version]
Ray Dorset/3:09
2/Memoirs of a Stockbroker
Ray Dorset/4:05
3/Follow Me Down
Ray Dorset/3:14
4/You Better Leave That Whisky Alone
Ray Dorset/4:00
5/Coming Back to You When the Time Comes
Ray Dorset/3:37
6/Have a Whiff on Me
Ray Dorset/3:56
7/Milk Cow Blues
Traditional/5:08
8/Little Louis
Paul King/3:50
9/You Don't Have to Be in the Army to Fight the War
Ray Dorset/3:13
10/The Sun Is Shining
Ray Dorset/3:38
11/O'Reilly
Traditional/4:32
12/We Shall Be Free
Traditional/2:56
13/Ella Speed
Ray Dorset/3:04
14/Take Me Back
Ray Dorset/3:25
15/Hey Rosalyn
Paul King/3:45
16/Northcote Arms
Ray Dorset/3:15
17/There's a Man Going Round Taking Names
Ray Dorset/3:06
18/Simple Things
Ray Dorset/3:52
19/Keep Your Hands off Her
Ray Dorset/2:48
20/On a Sunday
Ray Dorset/3:16
21/That Old Dust Storm
Woody Guthrie/3:21
DISC THREE
1/Open Up
Ray Dorset/3:25
2/Going Back Home
Ray Dorset/2:15
3/I Don't Wanna Go Back to School
Ray Dorset/3:57
4/No Girl Reaction
Ray Dorset/4:35
5/See You Again
Ray Dorset/4:49
6/Demon
Ray Dorset/5:25
7/My Girl and Me
Ray Dorset/4:27
8/Sweet Mary Jane
Ray Dorset/2:41
9/Lady Rose
Ray Dorset/4:14
10/Brand New Car
Ray Dorset/3:48
11/Summer's Gone
Ray Dorset/3:36
12/It's a Goodie Boogie Woogie
Ray Dorset/2:25
13/Say Goodnight
Ray Dorset/4:02
14/Alright, Alright, Alright
Jacques Dutronc/2:47
15/Little Miss Hipshake
Barry Murray/2:32
16/Wild Love
Joe Strange/3:08
17/Glad I'm a Rocker
Barry Murray/2:49
18/Long Legged Woman Dressed in Black
Ray Dorset/2:54
19/Gonna Bop Till I Drop
Joe Strange/2:53
20/Don't Stop
Ray Dorset/2:29
21/Shake Till I Break
Ray Dorset/1:41
22/Too Fast to Live and Too Young to Die
Ray Dorset/1:45
23/Burnin' Up
Ray Dorset/2:12
24/All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
Ray Dorset/2:04
REVIEW
by Dave Thompson
Hmmm, "definitive," you say? Well, let's see. The need for a truly all-encompassing Mungo Jerry collection has been evident ever since the early '90s brought the first in the long line of CD compilations that simply followed the same laws as the LPs that preceded them -- here are the hits, here's the odd B-side, here are a couple of randomly selected album tracks. Mungo Jerry meant so much more than that, even if that brief does sum up most listeners' total knowledge of the band's output. With 60 tracks at its disposal, Baby Jump certainly comes close to the ideal. Concentrating on their years with the Dawn subsidiary of Pye Records, it travels from the debut chart-topper "In the Summertime" through the surprisingly peerless run of hits that were spread over the next four years, before winding up with the final gasp of glory that was "Wild Love," an insanely contagious number that really should have been a bigger hit than it was. In between times, each of the band's studio albums is cherry-picked for highlights, with the group's practice of unleashing non-LP B-sides flavored by the inclusion of numbers that are almost as well known in their own right as the hits that accompanied them -- the banned-by-the-BBC "Have a Whiff on Me," some genuinely exciting live performances, and more. Of course, it's no substitute for picking up the original albums (and singles), and a full-scale Mungo Jerry reissue campaign remains a promise for which listeners should all be hoping. In the meantime, this anthology certainly allows the collector to finally shed all those repetitive compilations, and offers a much-needed tribute to a band that really was worth a lot more than "In the Summertime."
BIOGRAPHY
by Bruce Eder
Mungo Jerry is one of rock's great one-hit successes. Outside of England, they're known for exactly one song, but that song, "In the Summertime," is a seasonal anthem known by listeners who weren't even born when it was released. Mungo Jerry was a solid blues outfit as well -- in fact, one suspects they were the kind of blues band that purists Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies would have loved, had they ever intersected -- and knew how to get the most out of their jug band sound, which has helped them survive for three decades.
Mungo Jerry was formed in 1970 by singer/guitarist Ray Dorset (born March 21, 1946), who had a fascination with early rock & roll sounds, as well as skiffle and blues. The other original members were Mike Cole on upright bass; Paul King on guitar, kazoo, and jug; Joe Rush playing washboard; and Colin Earl at the keyboards. Dorset and Earl had first hooked up in the Good Earth, a group with a mixed rock & roll and blues sound, which cut some tracks for the mid-priced label Saga, none of which sold. Cole, King, and Rush came aboard and the lineup was complete. The name Mungo Jerry -- from a T.S. Eliot poem -- came next, with a contract from Pye Records.
The quartet had a pleasing, low-key jug band sound, folk-like but also bluesy, which was unusual in 1969, a time when most British bands that were into blues were shooting for high-wattage virtuosity. They sounded less like Cream or Blind Faith and a lot more like Jesse Fuller or Tampa Red, or even Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood). Mungo Jerry became one of the very first acts placed on the Pye label's new Dawn Records imprint, a progressive label that was intended to update Pye's image. In May of 1970, following an appearance at the Newcastle Hollywood Festival, their debut single "In the Summertime," written by Ray Dorset, was released. The record, an easygoing, catchy skiffle-like piece reflecting the mood of the season in its title and the sexual ethos of the late '60s was an instant hit, shooting to number one in England in only two weeks and riding the charts for much of the summer. Concerts and television appearances followed in profusion, although the most often seen among the latter is a performance mimed to the single. It was a Top Ten hit in America, riding the charts for weeks, and was a success in practically every country in which it was released, ultimately selling between eight and 16 million copies around the world.
A self-titled debut album was rush-released that summer to capitalize on the hit. By the time the LP was recorded, washboard-player Rush was gone, and Cole had left by the time the record was issued, the beginning of a dizzying series of personnel changes. The group's second single, "Baby Jump," was a chart-topper in England but didn't fare as well overseas, and heralded a second album, Electronically Tested, and was followed by a third, You Don't Have to Be in the Army, that same year, with a parallel U.S. release, Memoirs of a Stockbroker (Janus Records). "Maggie," "Johnny B Badde," "Mighty Man," "Lady Rose," and "You Don't Have to Be in the Army to Fight in the War" all charted in England and got decent, if not spectacular, airplay at various other points around the globe.
The membership of Mungo Jerry began coming apart almost from the outset of their success. Cole, who was replaced by John Godfrey, was followed out of the lineup by King and Earl, although their exit was somewhat more acrimonious. They attempted to take the name Mungo Jerry, but Dorset, as the singer, guitarist, and songwriter, held onto the name. Instead, King and Earl cut solo albums for Pye and went on the road as the Earl King Boogie Band with former bandmate Rush in the lineup. Meanwhile, Dorset recruited keyboard player Jon Pope and drummer Tim Reeves for Mungo Jerry.
Essentially, from 1972 onward, Dorset was Mungo Jerry, even more than Ian Anderson was Jethro Tull. Drummer Paul Hancox (ex-Chicken Shack), bassist (and future Ozzie Osbourne alumnus) Bob Daisley, and keyboard man John Cook passed through, as did piano player Ian Milne and guitarist Dick Middleton, and that was just during the band's time on Pye through 1975. In the later '70s, when the band was signed to Polydor, original members Earl and Rush were back in the lineup. Earl and King later formed a group called Skeleton Crew.
Mungo Jerry's chart hits stopped coming, but they continued to attract audiences on-stage everywhere from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. Ironically, Dorset found himself unable to emerge from the shadow of his group's identity. His solo albums, including 1987's A Case for the Blues, featuring Peter Green on guitar, failed to attract any attention. Twenty-nine years after its founding, Mungo Jerry, which can consist of any lineup from a quartet down to Dorset with taped accompaniment, continues to work on-stage and "In the Summertime" remains their signature tune.
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