Cheap Midnight Ride (Music) (Paul Revere & Raiders) Price

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Customer Reviews of Midnight Ride

Rockin' Paul Revere
1966 was possibly the greatest year in rock & roll history. The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds", Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde", "Revolver" by the Beatles, and "Face to Face" by the Kinks were all released in 1966. I add to that list"Midnight Ride" by Paul Revere & the Raiders. It was their third album for Columbia (fifth overall), and the first not to rely heavily on cover versions of other people's songs. "Kicks" and "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" were supplied by the songwriting teams of Mann-Weil and Boyce-Hart. Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay wrote six of the songs on the album, and one of the CD bonus tracks, "Shake it Up". Guitarist Drake Levin contributed "Ballad of a Useless Man" and collaborated with drummer Mike Smith ("There's Always Tomorrow") and bassist Phil Volk ("Get it On"). Most of the songs have the basic sound of the band playing together. Revere's Vox organ is prominent in the mix, and Levin's rhythmic guitar is unmistakeable. Also of note is the strong bass lines from Volk. 60's recordings usually buried bass guitar in the mix, unless it was a Motown record. Maybe the Raiders learned a few tricks from them. The clarity on this CD is eye opening. I've never heard "Kicks" sound as good as it does on this CD. "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" will have you forgetting all about the Monkees version - Mark growls out the lyrics like nobody's business! "Louie Go Home" is a killer Revere - Lindsay collaboration that should have been a single. It would have been a smash. "Take a Look at Yourself" is another killer rocker with strong lyrics. On the lighter side, there's Mark singing to the "Little Girl in the 4th Row" - some of the band members hated it, but Lindsay's teen fans loved it; "Melody for an Unknown Girl", an instrumental featuring Mark's sensitive sax; and "There She Goes", an up pop number with producer Terry Melcher on background vocals. The Raiders were to go on to make more sophisticated pop albums (with practically unlimited studio time as they desired), but it doesn't get any better than this: one of America's greatest bands rockin' it out with a great batch of songs.

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Ahead of their time
NOT just a pop group (although they were the stars of 16 magazine and other such mags). Take a listen to "Louie Go Home" and hear the very first sounds of the psychedelia to come. This band was playing heavy, rapid guitar solos and riffs (Kicks) when others weren't even close.
If it's just pure pop you want try "there She Goes". Great stuff.

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Asombroso y olvidado rock norteamericano
A pesar de haber sido un grupo muy exitoso a mediados de los 60's, el nombre de Paul Revere rara vez aparece mencionado en las historias del rock o como influencia en bandas posteriores. No es un caso aislado, pero si llama la atención considerando además su prolífica trayectoria. Midnight Ride deja a un lado todas las injusticias y muestra a Revere & The Raiders en su mejor etapa, con una solidez vocal e instrumental (inconfundible órgano y potente guitarra), y una combinación de pop, rock y garaje a la altura de ese decisivo año en el desarrollo del rock.

La atrapante Kicks es tan sólo uno más de los excelentes temas aquí presentes, la mayoría compuestos por ellos mismos, y que sin excepciones mantienen una elevada calidad. El otro cover, la desafiante (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone es una joya de puro garaje y sobrepasa a la versión más pop de The Monkees. Ballad of a Useless Man y Louie, Go Home están en el mismo concepto, con un agresivo ataque instrumental inconfundible órgano y potente guitarra . There's Always Tomorrow y Get in on, con dosis de pop y blues tampoco dejan de lado los toques garajeros, por su parte Take a Look At Yourself se acerca a territorios Byrds y la magnífica All I Really Need Is You, con sus constantes giros melódicos ya anticipa músicas más rupturistas.

Después de tanta energía desplegada, Melody for an Unknown Girl parece sacada de otro lugar, con suaves voces, un agradable saxo y un aire más Shadows que otra cosa. Esto es inspirado rock sesentero con atractivo comercial (fue número 9 en su país) pero sin hacer concesiones y perfectamente ejecutado, mezcla nada fácil de encontrar, aunque muchos críticos sigan sin considerarlos muy en serio.