Cheap Something Happening (Music) (Paul Revere & the Raiders) Price

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Customer Reviews of Something Happening

My favorite Raiders album
I was very glad to see this album get a CD release, as it is my favorite of all the Raiders albums. The early records of Paul Revere & the Raiders were basic boogie woogie, rhythm and blues, danceable rock and roll. They progressed into a more commercial, guitar and organ based pop rock sound with their mid-60's albums "Midnight Ride" and "Spirit of '67". "Something Happening" finds Mark Lindsay leading the band into the psycadelic sounds of the late 60's, but with enough of a pop feel to remain accessible to their younger fans. This album is really Mark's vision - he produced it, wrote all the songs, and of course is the lead singer on every song. Mark is a master of the studio, utilizing all the then current technology to bring his vision to life. Listen to this CD with headphones! There is so much detail that can be missed just playing it through your stereo system's speakers. "Happening Intro/Too Much Talk" is a masterpiece! This ranks right up there with the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" in my book, and the lyrics are as relevant today as they were back in 1968. "Happens Every Day" is a happy go lucky song that could be considered the Raiders' "Penny Lane". "Burn Like a Candle" is a fuzz-tone laden caution against drug abuse. Drummer Joe Correro Jr. duels it out at the end with several guitar tracks. The intro to "Obeservation from Flight 385" sounds similar to the orchestral climax in the Beatles "Day in the Life", but the song itself is a haunting view of planet Earth from eight miles high. "Get Out of My Mind" is the famous Ferrari track, and by the end of the song the eerie sound of the strings feel's like Mark has lost his mind! "Don't Take it So Hard" features one of the most difficult bass lines I have ever heard - it's actually the hook of the song. Joe Jr. blows us away with another killer drum break. "Communication (Part 1 & 2)" has a Motown style bass line, and another great guitar duel in part 2. This is a killer song that should have been released as a single (part 1 on the A side, part 2 on the B side). "Love Makes the World Go Round" balances 60's idealism with daily realities - riots, starving children, war, political inaction ("too much talk and not enough action"!). "Free" sounds to me like a utopian vision of peace and love ("you and me can be free, love is the way"), and once again Mark uses some very creative stereo panning. "The Good Times" is by far the most syrupy track on the album, but it's a nice vision of Mark and his future wife growing old together. "Happening '68" will sound familiar to many fans as the theme to the tv show of the same name. We get the full length album version here, as well as the previously released television version. There's also the theme to "Happening '68"'s summer spinoff show "It's Happening", and the mono single version of "Too Much Talk". With Mark as producer/songwriter/singer, Paul on organ, Joe on drums, Freddy Weller on guitar, Charlie Coe on bass, and Tommy Smothers on the liner notes, this group really makes it! Also thanks to Sundazed for caring enough to bring back the Raiders albums!

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Great LP
If the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson put their name on the album cover, all the "hip" critics would be calling it "Son of Pet Sounds" and a classic.
Cars, Girls, great production, and psychedelia.
It was the '60's you know, and this is a great album!

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HOLDING PATTERN
The Raiders, now prominently featuring Mark as exclusive lead singer and songwriter, put SOMETHING HAPPENING out in 1968. They had started a new TV series called "It's Happening", which didn't last long, and were moving away from their rock and roll beginnings toward a more pop sound. This album does have its moments, such as "Too Much Talk", "Get Out Of My Mind" (except for the sounds of the Ferrari racing round your speakers for WAY, WAY too long) and "Don't Take It So Hard", but much of the album is filler. They had ditched by now the revolutionary war outfits for a more hip look, and were trying to make their way in an ever more serious, ever more psychedelic musical scene. Like the Rolling Stones with their album "Their Satanic Majesties Request", this LP is a misstep, an attempt to integrate the band into a musical form in which they appeared unsure and uncomfortable. I'm a fan, but I have to tell the truth: this one is for fans only. Bob Irwin, as usual, has given us three bonus trax: the original single version (which differs radically from the LP version) of "Too Much Talk", the unissued TV version of "Happening '68", and the single version of the theme of "It's Happening". Bob's remastering work is always outstanding, so a very big thank you to him and all the nice folks at Sundazed, one of the best reissue labels around.