Inspirational Title: 'The Lady Makes Demands.' B Still, a lot of the ersatz-funk macho has disappeared from the lyrics, Peter Wolf's singing has picked up several layers of sweetness and nuance, and a couple of times they even try a harmony-group move. So much better than Bloodshot that for a while I thought it was something special, and in a way it is-an r&b album that includes a song about wind chimes. Humor? Their idea of a funny is to rhyme'shiny' and 'heinie.' I hope they know where to shine this one.

Resourceful material? The borrowed songs are almost as bad as the originals. Low-profile funk? Peter Wolf now shows off every emotional inadequacy of his phony growl. Tight arrangements? They boogie endlessly through riffs they were playing three years ago. Never has the mass audience blunted a group's fine points so quickly. Tight, funky, and what else is new? Well, three good songs: 'Looking for a Love,' 'The Usual Place,' and (especially) 'So Sharp.' All of which are old. But the vocals don't do much for John Lee Hooker (no surprise) and the two instrumentals hobble the album's build (also no surprise, since great r&b instrumentals are almost as hard to come by as great white blues singers). Side two pops out of the box with covers from Otis Rush and the Contours and then slows down in style with two originals that deserve to get covered back. I find this gritty Jewish r&b band from Boston fun but somewhat retrogressive, which is admittedly the way I once felt about Creedence. You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd B.

The j. geils band blow your face out