Red Jerry

Mungo Jerry are 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 helped them survive for decades.

There have been so many Mungo Jerry collections available (and every one of them features "In the Summertime") that it's difficult to say where to begin, but The Early Years isn't a bad place to start. Its 17 songs are drawn primarily from the group's first three albums and the "Baby Jump" and "Open Up" maxi-singles (issued at a point when legal difficulties prevented Ray Dorset from releasing LPs). The expected hits are represented, along with the best of their LP and EP cuts right up through 1974, including songs by Paul King as well as Ray Dorset. The real treat among them is a pair of live cuts, "Midnight Special" and "Mighty Man," that give a good account of the group's appeal on stage.