by Max Conroy:
Today’s generation probably has a rough time of it when it comes to collecting some older rock records. I’m 28 and most of the people my age whose parents didn’t listen to oldies stations in the car don’t have the same reference point that I do with some classic and oft overlooked oldies and classic rock. Groups like the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Dave Clark Five, Manford Mann, the Turtles, Tokens, all that shit’s drifting further into obscurity. They’re part of the mortar-pocked no man’s land of 60’s pop acts that were popular then that haven’t been fortunate enough to have a significant cult following, like the Nuggets garage bands or a constant following like the Stones or the Dead. Some of these bands are truly great and don’t deserve the dustbin quite yet.
I was watching the Dead Boys Live at CBGBs DVD’s extras and Stiv Bators was asked what bands were his influences: uuuh, Iggy Pop, all of his bands, the early Stooges, ya know, the New York Dolls, I really like the New York Dolls, and Paul Revere & the Raiders, yeah Paul Revere & the Raiders, they’re for me. What? I can definitely see Iggy and the Dolls, but Paul Revere & the Raiders. I remembered that there was a bar where I went to college called Paul Revere’s and naturally they had a Paul Revere & the Raiders CD on the jukebox; their version of Stepping Stone was one that I’d play every time I went there. Stepping Stone rocked, but I assumed it was a fluke or something. I watched this interview a few years back and have had it in the back of my mind ever since to pick up one of their records and finally got around to it a month or so ago. I picked up their first album on Colombia Here They Come! from 1965 for $2. Frankly the record store didn’t have much else to offer, I was hung over and didn’t have attention span for proper digging and this record was in their new arrivals bin.
Half of the record is live and half is studio. It apparently took Colombia two years after signing them to release a full-length record; they released numerous singles that were regional hits in the Northwest. The Northwest was a shockingly good area for R & B influenced garage acts. It was home to the Wailers, the Sonics and the Kingsmen to name a few, and these bands were fiercely competitive, constantly playing against each other in battle of the bands competitions. So by the time this album was released, the band had been together for the better part of eight years, breaking up briefly after Revere was drafted, and had developed a powerful live act as the first side of this record testifies. Paul Revere was the keyboardist’s real name, he was usurped as the lead singer after Mark Lindsay joined the band, and was at the age where rock stars die, 27, when this record was released.
It’s about a three star album, certainly worth the $2. The live side swings with reckless abandon and the studio side has a protopunk/pop jangle to it, so it’s no wonder the latter-day Flamin’ Groovies chose to cover the track Sometimes. The Raiders’ version has a lot more character though.
Sometimes
You Can’t Sit Down
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*Cousin Geoff adds:
We get their records in quite a bit, but at the same time they sell fast too. We have the greatests hits album in the store, you can buy it here.
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March 18th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Cousin Geoff
An album that comes to mind that goes along with the title of this post, but turned out to be one of my favorites is Mitch Ryder. For the longest time, I ignored their albums, until I finally took their first one home, where I ignored it again for a while and then put it on, and was quite blown away. Sometimes it’s a shame that some of the best selling artists are scoffed at just beause their albums aren’t rare or valuable, but that’s how it goes with record collecting I guess!
March 18th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Max
I guess that Paul Revere & the Raiders were only behind the Beatles and Stones in the 60s with regards to rock and roll singles sales. They eventually turned into an almost comedy oldies act, which is a shame. I most definitely agree about Mitch Ryder. Justin, Jess, Allison and I saw him at the Blowout backed by Scott Morgan’s Powertrane and I was blown away. He was the highlight of the event. He’s still got it. The Rascals are another group that you wouldn’t think are good, but have a lot of chops and are some of the best blue eyed soul out there. I think I might try and make this a regular post topic.