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

I don't remember and I don't have the LP's to check credits.

 

the rascals really need a COMPLETE box set.......it would not take that much to get it all on one box set, maybe 4 - 6 CD's should hold everything they ever did.

the turtles almost did it with their set last year until they left off a couple of songs that appeared on their first greatest hits.

and rascals rhino handmade did the exact same thing.

 

Since we have never seen much or any Rascals outakes, alternates, etc, I am wondering if they even still exist. I honestly dont have any idea. One would think that a few session tapes would have leaked out by now, somewhere.

The Rascals first album really needs a complete remix from the multitracks if they still exist.
The drums, (not Dinos playing, I mean the recorded quality of the drums themselves) in particular dont sound as good as they should have for 1966. I think the overall sound of this GREAT album could be improved.

 

That would totally honor their legacy if they could get the licensing to get the Atlantic and Columbia recordings on one box. That type of thing has been done many times before, but sometimes record company politics get in the way.

 

Additional thoughts on Freedom Suite: There are some here who rate the first record of this double album pretty highly but don't care much for the second record. I personally think that "Cute" holds up as well as any other side-filling one-chord jam I can think of, and it shows off their instrumental chops like never before, including Eddie who plays a pretty mean break on congas.
Boom!" certainly displays Dino's amazing drumming skills, but people who like 13-minute drum solos are in a very small minority. If Freedom Suite were condensed down to a single album, I would include all of the songs on the first record, but I would also have to squeeze in the great "Adrian's Birthday" from Side 3 which is up there with some of the best of Booker T. and the MGs. There would be plenty of room for it on Side 1 (which clocks in at less than 15 minutes). I might even want to squeeze in "A Beautiful Morning" for a killer 13-track album. I would eventually want to hear "Cute" again, though, so I guess I like it just the way it is.

 

I Just picked up a copyof this LP just for kicks and grins. Heck, I like anything on Picwick.....the Capitol Records Farm Team.

 

I recently listened to them all in order. All excellent CDs

 

I've had a couple of those Rascals marathons (but all of mine are on vinyl).

 

I went and saw "The New Rascals" ( Gene, Dino, Wally, some Felix clone ) several years ago .

I guess I had taken Gene's guitar parts for granted previously . When they were running through their hits though and Gene played his parts from the records it made me realize how much they actually added to the songs.

Almost none of the parts are particularly flashy, but like George Harrison's Beatles guitar parts , the Rascals songs would sound " wrong" if another guitar player tried to substitute their own licks for Gene's parts .

It's always great to see the Rascals brought up on the forum but I love them enough that I can't rank their albums.

I hosted a Rascals album by album thread a few years ago (closed now) but some newer Rascals fans here might enjoy reading through it.

The Young Rascals/Rascals Album by Album Thread

 

I see that I got involved in that thread in its later days, which exposes the redundancy of some of my posts in this thread. Sorry!

 

No problem at all. Any of us that are here any length of time are bound to repeat ourselves once in awhile, me included.

 

While I like a lot off each album.
I still prefer Groovin' to all the rest. If it would have also contained 'Beautiful Morning', I'd venture to say it would be a perfect LP.

 

Rereading that thread, I see you and others mention the seeming lack of interest on this forum for The Rascals. It makes me sad that less space seems devoted to these great albums than albums that don't even exist!

 

Yes, I was kind of surprised at the lack of traction that the album by album thread received here.
I thought the band would have a bigger following around these parts.

 

That was a great thread, Glenn! I enjoyed reading it. It was from before I joined the Forum (or else I would have been all over it). There was also a later album by album thread on the Rascals that I remember commenting on.
I didn't know that "Hold On" was actually the B side to the "I Believe" single. I never heard "I Believe" on the radio but in my area, "Hold On" got a fair amount of airplay so I always thought it was a moderate hit, and I couldn't understand why it wasn't included on the 2-CD Anthology. Like you, I never heard "Carry Me Back" on the radio, but it totally blew me away when I heard it on the See album. Interesting bit of trivia: They actually recorded 2 songs called "I Believe". There was their cover of Ervin Drake's inspirational classic ("I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows") and later, their original song called "I Believe." It's a good thing you can't copyright a song title, or Todd Rundgren would have been sued by Hank Williams' estate for "I Saw the Light."

 

Hear it again for the first time! I probably have not put the See LP on the turntable since the 80's. This thread inspired me to pull out the Rascal albums and listen again. The See LP probably did not suit my taste back then but upon further review its a pretty amazing record! Like The Beatles, The Rascals have their early catalog and their later. Groovin' would be their Revolver and Once Upon A Dream would be their Sgt. Pepper's. I have to move this record up in my rankings at least to the top of the later period!

 

Eddie Brigati interview :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155079531231933

 

Groovin'
Once Upon A Dream
See
Collections
Freedom Suite
The Young Rascals
Search and Nearness

One of my all-time favorite bands. I only ranked the albums with the original four members.

 

Once Upon A Dream is easily my favorite from start to finish. Classic record

 

Love The Rascals. The later years are really underrated. Here is my list and a favorite song from each. All great albums!

1. Once Upon a Dream- My World
2. See - Temptation's 'Bout to Get Me
3. Freedom Suite- A Ray of Hope
4. Collections- Come on Up
5. Island of Real- Brother Tree
6. Search and Nearness- Almost Home
7. Groovin- How Can I Be Sure
8. Young Rascals- Baby Let's Wait
9. Peaceful World- Happy Song

 

groovin'
the young rascals
peaceful world
collections

 

No mono singles collection?

 

Great albums that most all pop fans should own:
1. Groovin'
2. Once Upon A Dream
3. Collections

Good albums that should appeal to fans:
4. Search And Nearness
5. The Young Rascals
6. The Island Of Real
7. Peaceful World

Flawed albums best left for fanataics:
8. Freedom Suite
9. See

 

See and Freedom Suite have some of their best songs. I think those are must have records.

 

Unfamiliar with Rascals.
Picked up 1988 Warner special product CD
Groovin’ The Young Rascals.

Looks like I’ve got a treasure trove of future goodies to discover.