Artist: Paul Revere & The Raiders
Album: Midnight Ride
Year: 1966
Paul Revere & The Raiders are a band I had not heard before listening to Midnight Ride just now. On this album they played a standard blend of the prevailing rock at the time, displaying a knack for really catchy melodies on this uneven set.
I really liked the opener "Kicks," an anti-drug song--a rarity in this era of copious use. It's just a great rock song with a really catchy riff in its chorus. The Eastern-tinged "All I Really Need Is You" is an awesome little garage rock song with buoyant harmonies in its chorus. It sounds quite a bit like The Moody Blues, a band I've always liked. "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" has that "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida" haunted-house organ thing going on...great melody on this one with a little psych freakout in the chorus.
Not a whole lot else to say about this one. It's a 28-minute album that's over before you know it. They do a nice job assimilating the various successful sounds of the era into their music. Psych rock, Beach Boys-esque harmonies, some bluesy parts, some Bob Dylan-inspired lyricism, some upbeat proto-punkers...it's all represented here. Apparently they were one of the most popular bands of the era. It's easy to see why, even if they are a little second-rate.
Rating: Worth a listen
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