Even though the glam-touched folk-rock songs on The Wackers’ 1971 debut album, Wackering Heights, failed to compete with Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd, Elektra Records decided to let the band record a sophomore long-player—this time in a Montreal studio. While the aptly titled Hot Wacks still reveals Fab Four worship (dig the mellow cover of John Lennon’s “Oh My Love”), most of the songs better reflect the band’s harder-rocking live performances. The album starts strong with the contagiously catchy “I Hardly Knew Her Name,” which plays a bit like The Monkees borrowing The Who’s instruments. “Wait and See” grooves on a Marc Bolan–inspired glam strut, replete with hard-boogying rhythms and subtle nods to '50s rock ‘n’ roll in the guitar leads. Fans of the band’s Crosby, Stills & Nash–inspired harmonies from the preceding Wackering Heights will be pleased to hear a return to folk-rock form with “Do You Know the Reason” and “Time Will Carry On.” Still, the gritty “Anytime/Anyday” hinted at the direction of 1973’s Shredder.