At one time, this group was known as the Sparrow. They had emigrated from Canada, settled in the Bay Area, played a lot of the minor clubs and were terrible.

Now they are the Steppenwolf, live in Los Angeles and have a record which is quite good. The material and their instrumental style is nothing too original; in fact, their first record is a compendium of current and past techniques, attitudes and material. But it works and works very well.

The recording opens with their subsequently released single, "Skookie,, Skookie," by Don Covay. Covay, although not very well known, is one of the best R&B writers in the world ("Chain of Fools," "Mercy, Mercy") and it is appropriate that they would feature his songs. They do it very well and with an overlay of modern techniques, notably fuzztone.

Then they have this track called "Berry Rides Again," a small musical tribute to the rhythms, runs and reality of Chuck Berry. Memphis, Tennessee, Nadine and Johnny B. Goode are done up in an attractive instrumental package that is tight and that rocks perfectly. It's a straight, obviously intentional, steal from Berry, but it is brought right up to date in is performance.

Following this is Willie Dixon's classic "Hootchie Kootchie Man," a song primarily identified with Muddy Waters. Although this number seems to fit well into the concept of the LP, the vocal really doesn't make it because the mimicry is on the wrong side of flattery.

The original material — with one or two exceptions — sounds pretty much the same, but that's good.

The fascinating thing about this album is not that it is just a tasteful and well-executed look at the various modes of rock and roll, but that those modes also include a sampling of the most attractive varieties that are heard in San Francisco. For instance, "Your Wall's Too High" opens like a Country Joe and the Fish number and closes like a PigPen piece from the Grateful Dead. "Desperation," which is one of the best tracks on the record, including the R&B tributes, sounds exactly like the Quicksilver Messenger Service. The vocal has a deep, throaty sound that is very effectively mournful. The piece — five minutes long — works wonderfully. "A Girl I Knew" contains fuzz-tone guitar, a feedback guitar solo and the bass and drums working at once the same tones and notes. There's also a harpsichord. It all falls somewhere between Quicksilver and Buffalo Springfield.

The main thing about this album is that it's just nice. (RS 9)