Ranking the Rascals' albums from best to "worst".

Such a great band. Groovin is #1 for me followed by Once Upon A Dream.

 

Yes. This Bronx boy grew up with them...

 

Possibly the best reunion tour I've ever seen.

I may as well gripe here again that there have been absolutely no archival releases from this band, ever. No alternates, unreleased, or live tracks have ever been put out.

I was hoping that when Rhino reissued their albums in the '80's that a project along the lines of the Monkees' "Missing Links" series was in the works.

 

Well Said. Eddie really was a GREAT singer, he just had the burden of having a another fine singer in the band whose soulful voice was perhaps more "topical" to the music scene in 1967/8.

 

I agree. For me, what I REALLY have wanted to hear for years, is the 1965 demo of songs they recorded that helped get them signed to Atlantic. No one seems to know where that is.

 

I have always loved Felix but he seems to miss the fact that this was a BAND in every sense. The reunion tour cemented this in my own mind and re-enforced what a phenomenon they were on stage. The obvious first take was that Felix and Eddie propelled the band but it never would have been what it was without the rhythm and drive that Dino provided. The member that I always gave short shrift to was Gene as his songwriting never could stand up to the classics that Cavaliere/Brigati were coming up with, However he showed his importance to the group on the reunion tour in spades.

Really will not forgive Felix for not taking the few years that the band had left together and taking advantage of the magic! The magic was in the FOUR of them and what they all brought to his brilliant songs! He can't approximate the sheer power on his own with bit players!

 

1) "Once Upon a Dream"
2) "Groovin'"
3) "See"
4) "Collections"
5) "Island of Real"
6) "Freedom Suite"
7) "The Young Rascals"
8) "Search & Nearness"
9) "Peaceful World"

"Once Upon a Dream" is great from start to finish and to me, "Silly Girl" and "Rainy Day" are beautiful songs, gorgeously orchestrated. "My World" is another standout. "Groovin'" is loaded too. Other than the usual tracks everyone mentions, I really like Gene's "I Don't Love You Anymore" "It's Love" and "If You Knew". "You Better Run" is still one of my all-time favorite Rascals tracks. "See" is solid. "Collections" is a few notches up from the debut album even if it's in relatively the same vein. "What is the Reason" and "Lonely Too Long" are brilliant. "Come On Up" rocks like no other Rascals tune. Ralphb singled out "More" as a favorite of his and I need to add "Since I Fell For You", one of my favorite songs. I love their version. "Island of Real" isn't getting much love here but I think it's pretty strong. To my ears, the funk elements work well. "Brother Tree" is a very moving song and "Lucky Day" just always makes me feel up and positive when I hear it. "Freedom Suite" is pretty good but it gets a few demerits for "Boom" and "Cute". The self-titled debut is passable with a handful of standout tracks. "Search & Nearness" has only about 3 or 4 quality songs. As for "Peaceful World", I have to admit I haven't heard this album in ages. I no longer own it and I remember being quite disappointed when I bought it. Maybe if I hear it again, I'll have a different opinion but since I have virtually no memory of it (except for liking "Love Me") I had to rate it last. If I see a cheap used copy somewhere, I'll pick it up and try again.

 

Groovin'
Collections
The Young Rascals

to a lesser extent...

Once Upon A Dream

The rest.... meh!

 

They had quite a large number of remarkable deep cuts, both in their signature blue-eyed soul vein and in their more psychedelic, jazz fusion, and Baroque pop excursions. "Sattva" (from Once Upon a Dream) and "Stop and Think" (from See) even have Felix playing sitar, Eddie on tamboura, and Dino on tabla. Gene even went a bit country on "Remember Me" (from See). The double albums Freedom Suite and Peaceful World even have some epic length jams.

 

I have a couple of those demos on a budget label various artists comp.

 

That would be wonderful! I'd love to see some live recordings released. I remember seeing them on a variety show doing "Beautiful Morning", "Mickey's Monkey", and "Temptation 'Bout to Get Me" (before they released it on See). On Tom Jones' show, I remember them doing "Midnight Hour" with Felix and Tom Jones trading vocal lines. Why doesn't someone release that stuff?

 

I actually went to one when I was 14 in '68. An upstairs neighbor who was a couple of years older thought it would be fun to sneak me into this (at that point) near remnant of the early to mid sixties discos. It was in Queens and the band had horns and was doing very loud cover versions of whatever was currently popular. It was quite an eye opener, all lights and noise and flash.

 

I agree about Time Peace missing the later hits (which of course were recorded after its release). It also missed out on giving us another rarity (in addition to "A Beautiful Morning" available on no other album at the time) by not including the crazy ending of "It's Wonderful" (for many years, only available on the 45). The later 2-disc Anthology includes most of the later hits as well as some sublime deep cuts, but inexplicably omits the hit "Hold On."

 

Folknik: Actually, what you have on the Budget Label comp are Felix and/or Genes very early 45s made before they were in The Rascals.
When the Rascals hit, those budget labels dug up those 45s, dubbed them and released them under the Name of "The Rascals", which they or course, arent.

These are most of them:

Felix Cavaliere : The Syracuse / Saved (This single got released the most on those Budget comps)
Gene Cornish : Winner take All, Since I Lost You , Oh Misery, I Wanna Be A Beatle, Lets Do The Capri, What I Say

I think Eddie sang lead on some Starlighters stuff, but if course not released under his name.

Dino, I dont believe had any singles released under his name.

 

Thanks for the info. It is indeed those first 2 that I have. I have the Starliters' Live At the Peppermint Lounge album. I knew Eddie's brother Dave was in that band but didn't know Eddie did any lead vocals with them (although I do remember reading about Eddie helping them out and Dave returning the favor by singing lead on "Once Upon a Dream"). Eddie and Dave also sang some backup on Danny O'Keefe's first album and I'm guessing they probably did a lot of other studio work, like Flo and (the other) Eddie.

 

I have an old cheapie comp with "The Syracuse" and "Saved". Also listed under Young Rascals tracks are "La La La" and "My Love Will Never Die" . The reason I bought it was that I was hoping that "My Love Will Never Die" was the old doo-wop ballad originally done by The Channels and it was. The vocals on "My Love..." could possibly be Eddie singing in a lower register but the other track is a mystery as to who is singing. None of the Gene tracks you listed is on this LP. The other tracks are Four Seasons, The Buggs (?) and Johnny Rivers.

 

The Brigati harmonies are pretty audible on this. (the same track appears three times on the Peppermint Lounge album, with fake applause added).

 

Only have their first LP but prefer it to the other stuff I have heard by them.

 

Bob: Yes, I have that same album. Nice picture of Dino's Rascals Sparkle Ludwig drum set.As for "La La La" and "My Love Will Never Die" , I do not think those 2 songs have any Rascal member involvement, I think the just made the LP say that to get buyers to pick it up.

 

They were a kickass band, deep roots, true blue-eyed soul. First four albums are all classics. You won't be disappointed.

 

More than likely, you're right. After another listen, I doubt it's Eddie on "My Love Will Never Die". I can't pick up any nuances of Eddie's vocal style. Now I wonder who the band/artist on that track is.

 

Hi Bob: Agreed. Putting on my "1960s Budget Record Label Owner" hat, the only explanation that makes sense to *me* is this: Felix did 'The Syracuse" and "Saved" as Felix and The Escorts in 1962. There was another Escorts group, a Doo Wop group, around the East Coast (Newark, New Jersey, I think) in 1962 and they released 45s on several obscure labels. Perhaps,"La La La" and "My Love Will Never Die" was one of their releases, and the compiler at Coronet Records thought that "The Escorts" and "Felix and The Escorts" were the same group, and dubbed "La La La" and "My Love Will Never Die" for this album. Sure this is a Wild Guess, but it makes about as much sense as anything else I've heard!

 

Heres the Album:
The Young Rascals Also Starring The Buggs, The Four Seasons, Johnny Rivers - The Young Rascals

 

With "The Young Rascals" in large print and their picture on the cover to try to fool potential buyers (who may not take time to read the fine print) into thinking it's a Rascals album. Some of these labels did the same type of thing with Johnny Rivers, the 4 Seasons, and some other big name artists.