1974s newley reformed Steppenwolf featured Kay, Edmonton and McJohn plus bassist George Biondo who had actually been with later line-ups of the band plus new guitarist Bobby Cochran who was the nephew of rock and roll icon, Eddie Cochran. The first album in a new deal with a short-lived Columbia subsidiary, Mums Records was called “Slow Flux” and was recorded in Kay’s own California studio. The album provided the group with a top 20 single in the Jerry Edmonton penned “Straight Shootin’ Woman”. “Get Into The Wind” written by Bobby Cochran has some echoes of “Born To Be Wild”. The song “Gang War Blues” was co-written by Kay, McJohn and Edmonton with a contribution from West Coast legend, Kim Fowley. The album’s finest moment though is probably the interpretation of Albert Hammond’s “Smokey Factory Blues”. British born Hammond was the Mums label’s biggest act having scored with “It Always Rains In Southern California” a No.3 hit the same year. Hammond also supplied hits to other artists the best known being The Hollies with “The Air That I Breathe”. Kay’s political stance is also present on the album via the song “Children of The Night” which deals with the death of the Hippie movement and references Richard Nixon. The album entered Billboard’s LP chart during September of 1974 and peaked at No.47 in a 3 month stay on the chart, their best showing since 1971.
The second album appeared exactly a year later, this time on Epic Records (who had absorbed Mums), “Night Of The Wolf”. The album entered Billboard on September 20th 1975 and like “Slow Flux” it was mainly recorded at Kay’s own studio again.
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