Which is the best Raspberries album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by rockerreds, Sep 7, 2013.

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  1. rockerreds

    rockerreds Senior Member Thread Starter

    The only one I don't like a lot is the first but Side 3 is my choice as the best-if I wanted to introduce someone to Raspberries that is the one I'd put on.
     
  2. lee59

    lee59 Member Envy

    Location:
    Temecula, CA
    Love 'em all but I had to go with 'Starting Over'. Every track a winnah.
     
  3. Agent57

    Agent57 Marshall will buoy, but Fender control

    Location:
    PA
    "Fresh" for me, even with Carmen's ridiculous hair on the cover and all...
     
  4. ReadySteady

    ReadySteady Custom Title

    I picked their first album on the strength of "Go All the Way" and "I Can Remember".
     
  5. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Either the self titled debut or Starting Over, depending on my mood. #2 and #3 are good, but less substantial.

    I would have included the vinyl era best-of on the list, as that's really the band's best album (if you can only have one).
     
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  6. jeffrey walsh

    jeffrey walsh Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, Pa. USA
    Tie between Side 3 & Staring Over. Tonight & Overnight Sensation make it difficult to do.
     
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  7. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    I think their albums are like Eric's solo albums (except for his debut)...great stuff with a lot of filler. Like the above poster said, go with a compilation if you are just getting one. There is a great one on vinyl, and MFSL is getting ready to reissue it. I'm sure there are many on cd...I'm not a cd guy anymore so don't know which is the best, but I do have one I got years ago.
     
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  8. Agent57

    Agent57 Marshall will buoy, but Fender control

    Location:
    PA
    For compilations, I think this is a pretty damn good one:

    [​IMG]

    Go All the Way
    Come Around And See Me
    I Saw The Light
    Don't Want To Say Goodbye
    I Wanna Be With You
    Let's Pretend
    I Reach For The Light
    Nobody Knows
    If You Change You Mind
    Drivin' Around
    Tonight
    Last Dance
    Hard To Get Over A Heartbreak
    I'm A Rocker
    Ecstasy
    Overnight Sensation
    Party's Over
    Rose Coloured Glasses
    Cruisin' Music
    Starting Over
    Promo Spot #1 (CD only)
    Promo Spot #2 (CD only)
     
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  9. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Did DCC ever put out any of their albums ?
     
  10. music4life

    music4life Senior Member

    Location:
    South Elgin, IL
    Easily "Starting Over".
     
  11. jeffrey walsh

    jeffrey walsh Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, Pa. USA
    Y
    Yeah, right!?

     
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  12. jeffrey walsh

    jeffrey walsh Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, Pa. USA
    You've got great taste!
     
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  13. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    My vote goes to Fresh. I think there's only one bad track on it (unfortunately, Wally's lone one — "With You in My Life"). I like Dave Smalley's tracks on this LP in addition to the great Eric tunes.

    The first album loses out because the two Smalley tracks are so awful (though the Eric songs are great, along with the dual-composed "Come Around and See Me").

    There are many great songs on the third (including, perhaps, their crowning achievement in "Tonight") and fourth (both of Scott McCarl's are great), but there was also a sense that they had to be heavier or more significant. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

    Believe me, I love 'em all, but Fresh is the album I return to most often.
     
  14. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    You just can't beat the Raspberries' Best compilation: Super great track order, absolutely no filler (only track I would even consider replacing would be Drivin' Around), and some of the best and most extensive liner notes ever. And it's a vinyl era release, so it's a fair comparison to the original releases.

    [​IMG]
    1. "Go All the Way" (Carmen, Bryson) – 3:10 / Lead vocal: Eric
    2. "Tonight" (Carmen) – 3:40 / Lead vocal: Eric
    3. "Ecstasy" (Carmen) – 3:38 / Lead vocal: Eric
    4. "I Wanna Be With You" (Carmen) – 3:05 / Lead vocal: Eric
    5. "I Can Remember" (Carmen) – 8:00 / Lead vocal: Eric
    6. "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" (Carmen) – 5:34 / Lead vocal: Eric
    7. "Let's Pretend" (Carmen) – 3:41 / Lead vocal: Eric
    8. "Drivin' Around" (Carmen, Smalley) – 3:01 / Lead vocal: Eric
    9. "Starting Over" (Carmen) – 4:10 / Lead vocal: Eric
    10. "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" (Carmen, Bryson) – 5:05 / Lead vocal: Eric and Wally
     
  15. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That's the one I have and you are right...it's awesome. I think the op should just get that and call it a day.
     
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  16. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That seems to be considered the best comp on vinyl, inc audio quality...which they are legendary for having poorly recorded albums. Awful stuff in that regard and Eric says as much in his great biography. Even his debut album sounded dreadful. Why he stayed with Jimmy Ienner as producer is beyond me. However, it proves that what is most important is the quality of the songs and they had some great ones! Love Eric's voice.
     
  17. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That would be interesting....their stuff was horribly recorded....tinny sounding 8 track....would love to see if it could be improved. Guess we will see when MFSL releases the vinyl hits album later is year!
     
  18. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    They all have many great songs, but for me, it will always be "FRESH", as they're best as a band!

    How can anyone, especially on THIS forum, not love "Nobody Knows", as it is all of the great bands that we talk about around here, all wrapped up in one, plus it has that killer Beatles ending!

     
  19. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Yeah. Not to beat the horse into the ground, but at one point I created the Raspberries Best comp on CD by pulling the songs from the various CD reissues. A few listens in I realized I always skipped Drivin' Around, so I made a second version that replaced Drivin' Around with Nobody Knows. Perfect.
     
  20. jricc

    jricc Senior Member

    Location:
    Jersey Shore
    Soooo close for me, but it's Fresh, by an .008 E string over Side 3.
    I love them all but Fresh is the one I play the most.
     
  21. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Another great song from "Fresh", if you haven't heard it (and believe me, many people outside of Ohio never have), the killer ballad, "Let's Pretend"

     
  22. GV1967

    GV1967 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeastern US

    "With You In My Life" - a song I actually play at my gigs- is on the first LP.
     
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  23. apple-richard

    apple-richard *Overnight Sensation*

    Record Starting Over

    Comp on LP Raspberries Best featuring Eric Carmen

    Comp on CD Raspberries Best for completeness, 20 tracks out of 39 released

    Comp on CD best sound Raspberries Greatest Hits withdrawn, only BMG copies and promos exist. Also contains 4 song demo that got them signed to Capitol in the first place.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2013
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  24. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    Aaaackk! You're right, my apologies. No offense, but to me that really is a dreadful song.

    I meant to say "Might As Well," which is probably the weakest track on Fresh, although I've come to like it a bit more in the years since it came out.
     
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  25. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    To be fair, Carmen said in a 1973 interview that Ienner saved "Go All the Way" and made it into the classic track it is. Eric said the original mix was incredibly weak, but Ienner compressed the hell out of it and made it into the AM radio powerhouse it became.

    As with many classic tracks from that era and before, they really were mixing/mastering for AM radio airplay (as opposed to audiophile standards).
     
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