Originally from the Pacific Northwest, where they deservedly earned the reputation as a hotshot band, Paul Revere and the Raiders moved to Los Angeles, California in 1964 where they scaled even greater heights. Aside from starring on Dick Clark’s daily afternoon show Where They Action Is!, they gleaned 14 Top 40 hit singles between the years 1965 and 1971, making them one of the most visible groups of the era.
Spanning 1965 to 1967, Evolution to Revolution: 5 Classic Albums (Raven Records) asserts over and over again what a terrific band Paul Revere and the Raiders were. “Here They Come!,” “Just Like Us!,” “Midnight Ride,” “The Spirit of 67” and “Revolution!” are indeed prized platters, swollen silly with an embarrassment of riches that are as electrifying today as they were yesterday.
Propelled by scowling smirks, pile-driving rhythms and bouncing keyboards, “Kicks,” “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone,” “Hungry,” “Just Like Me” and “Steppin’ Out” shake and tremble with raw and urgent energy in the best garage rock band tradition possible. These tunes are so exciting and insistent that they’re guaranteed to leave the listener not only punching the repeat button, but gasping for air as well.
Jingle-jangle folk rock meets the blues wailing Yardbirds on “There’s Always Tomorrow,” while “Why? Why? Why? (Is It So Hard)” aches with melodrama, a neo-country influence creeps into the nimble picking pulsations of both “There She Goes” and “Take A Look At Yourself” and the swaggering sway of “Get It On” throbs and bobs to a catchy Bo Diddley-styled beat.
Gripping grooves, iced with powerhouse harmonies and super-sized hooks fire and wire “Good Thing,” “Tighter,” “In My Community,” “Him Or Me – What’s It Gonna Be” and “Louise,” not to exclude “The Great Airplane Strike,” which flutters and shudders with psychedelic-imbued distortion.
Although Paul Revere and the Raiders rocked as tough and nasty as the Rolling Stones and the Animals, they were marketed as teen dreams. Dressed in colonial costumes and staging slapstick comedy skits, the band’s image tended to garner more weight than their music. It’s really only in hindsight Paul Revere and the Raiders have been recognized for their artistic worth. Chock full of cool and creative sounds, Evolution to Revolution: 5 Classic Albums is where the action is!
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