Of the eight tracks on Hour of the Wolf, the second LP from the re-formed Steppenwolf, six are vacuous exercises that serve only to demonstrate the band’s raunchy rock style. Laced with redundancies, adages, and utter gibberish, the tunes’ lyrics prove forgettable, and their “melodies” hardly merit the term.

Lacking the infections hooks that powered Steppenwolf’s early hits, these songs would seem tediously long even if the group had clipped them each at three minutes. But Steppenwolf, which has never been known for self-discipline, chose to render most of them in four- and five-minute versions.

The pair of songs that succeed, however, are enough to suggest that it might be a bit early to write off Steppenwolf. On “Someone Told a Lie” and “Mr. Penny Pincher,” the band delivers the sort of pyrotechnics that helped it to sell $40 million of records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While neither composition is lyrically profound, both avoid the preachiness that has marred much of the aggregation’s recent output. And the music is excellent. Jerry Edmonton’s driving percussion and the sandpapery vocals of group leader John Kay, both of which are mixed prominently, combine with the keyboard work of group newcomer Andy Chapin to build an effective wall of sound.

Still, two good songs do not an album make. And unless Kay and company can more consistently deliver such material next time around, another retirement might be in the offing.

The album is available here.