It's very rare to see an electric folk jug band at the top of the charts. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I'm seeing one now - but how else would you describe Mungo Jerry? Led by Ray Dorset, Mungo Jerry (named after one of TS Eliot's 'Cats' fact fans) served up a raggle taggle image of ne'r do well travelling folk playing on instruments (including that jug) they'd knocked up in their shed. One can only wonder if a young Kevin Rowland had been paying close attention.Accordingly, 'In The Summertime' has the ramshackle, mechanical feel of a Victorian steam engine riding over cobbles, and that good natured groove alone is enough to plant a grin on anyone's face. Despite it's general busy-ness and the 'ooh' and 'ahh' stuffing, 'In The Summertime' moves at its own sweet pace with every instrument playing in the key of 'laid back', giving Dorset all the time in the world to tell his tale of good times and good women until he starts babbling like a fool with the happiness of it all - "Sing along with us, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee Da-da-da-da-da, yeah, we're hap-happy Da-da-da-da-dah alright, alright, alright".
True, the "Have a drink, have a drive" lyric is unfortunate to modern ears, but only the most churlish could suggest that the band were advocating drunk driving; after all, Dorset isn't singing 'Have a drink and a drive", and the sheer positive hedonism of "When the winter's here, yeah it's party time. Bring a bottle, wear your bright clothes, it'll soon be summertime" shows that no harm is intended to anyone beyond pissing off those who hate to see the young enjoying themselves. All rather timeless.
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