Though not as acclaimed in underground circles as The Standells, Sonics or Chocolate Watch Band, PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS were surely one of the hardest-working – and trail-blazing - Garage rock outfits to emerge from the US during the 1960s.
Hailing from unfashionable Boise, Idaho instead of San Francisco, Chicago or New York may have left Revere and co. at a geographic disadvantage, but they were borne of a serious work ethic. They soon established a reputation as a shit hot live act and were quite probably the first of the US garage rock outfits to make an album: 1961's 'Like, Long Hair'. Bear in mind we're talking an impressive 18 months before The Beatles had made an LP, let alone any of Revere's later US rivals.
For many (this writer included), The Raiders were previously known primarily for their beefy, r'n'b-inspired 'Just Like Me': a 1965 hit which graces the extensive 'Nuggets' 4-CD set. Thanks to studious German label SPV, we discover there was a lot more where that came from, with this great 'twofer' CD issue collating their third album 'Here They Come!' (1964) and 1966's fifth LP 'Midnight Ride'.
'Here They Come!' proves what a sweaty and exciting live draw The Raiders must have been at the time. The first half of the record is chock full of hi-octane r'n'b covers including Berry Gordy's 'Money' and Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie', but The Raiders knock them out with a hard-edged enthusiasm and verve all their own.
The second half of the album is a studio affair, showcasing the band's gentler, smoochier side – perhaps what you might expect from a Terry Melcher LA production in pre-Byrds days. It's equally impressive for all that, with the best tunes including the drawly, harmonica-assisted swagger of 'These Are Bad Times' and a couple of superior nostalgic love songs in the Melcher and Bruce Johnstone-penned 'Gone' and the band's own Northern Soul-style ballad 'A Kiss To Remember You By'.
'Here They Come!' hangs together pretty well for an album recorded at a time when singles were the currency and long players were often flooded with fillers. But by the time of 1966's 'Midnight Ride' The Raiders had really begun to hone their tough and tender pop presence and made an album in keeping with those times that were a-changin'.
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Songs like 'Kicks', 'Louie, Go Home' and 'Take A Look At Yourself' have a no-nonsense pop-meets- r'n'b approach akin to Spencer Davis or The Stones circa 'Aftermath'. 'There's Always Tomorrow' and the Eastern-influenced 'All I Really Need Is You' are gently tinged with proto-psychedelia and Boyce & Hart's 'I'm Not Your Stepping Stone' is the perfect vehicle for The Raiders' snotty pop sound. It's a lot more suited to their them than The Monkees, even if The Sex Pistols' later update shades it in the nihilism stakes.
The Raiders had a great frontman in Mark Linsdey: a guy who could tip back his throat and howl in a way akin to The Small Faces' Steve Marriott or The Chocolate Watch Band's Dave Aguilar. Guitarist Drake Levin's excellent down and out tale Ballad Of A Useless Man allows him to really let rip, although he's equally adept when the band's three-way harmonies kick in on the jaunty, country-influenced likes of There She Goes.
'Midnight Ride' would be due an unreserved thumbs-up if it wasn't let down by its' weak finale. The closing 'Shake It Up' is a groovy enough, but entirely disposable instrumental, showcasing keyboard player Revere's harpsichord prowess but little else. The real culprit is the horribly schmaltzy 'Melody For An Unknown Girl', which inserts a gauche 'Moulty'-style spoken word bit and some dreadful jazz sax. It's more like Ray Conniff than a decent Garage Rock outfit and I'm being charitable in letting it go with the description 'deeply naff'.
Still, we're all permitted a blemish or two and hindsight smiles benignly on most of 'Here They Come!' and 'Midnight Ride'. Amazingly, The Raiders still tread ths boards under Revere's tutelage to this very day and the best of these two albums suggest they have a bonzer back catalogue to offer. Their elevation in the hallowed pantheon of Garage Rockers is long overdue, it seems.
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