Customer Reviews

Alias Pink Puzz

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Folks, this is hands-down the best album ever recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders (with the possible exception of "Collage"). Too bad it's taken so long to appear as a CD. Besides the #20 hit "Let Me," the album contains other gems like "The Original Handy Man," "Frankfort Side Street," and "Freeborn Man." Lead singer Mark Lindsay is in top form, the songs are well-arranged and the playing is tight. With Freddy Weller on guitar, Keith Allison on bass and Joe Correro, Jr. on drums, Mark could finally take full advantage of the best musicians the band ever had. Enjoy it now!

Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay are at their best on "Alias Pink Puzz". Musically, it's the logical step forward from "Hard 'N' Heavy (with marshmallow)", with Freddy Weller's Fender Telecaster prominent in the mix and a strong country rock sound on many songs. At the time this album first appeared, Mark was starting a solo career recording middle of the road material, and Freddy was recording country records, but the Raiders were on the charts with one of their hardest rocking efforts ever, the volcanic "Let Me!" The album version included here includes an extended jam at the end, and sounds great with the stereo turned up loud! Mark Lindsay wrote all of the material, including several collaborations with Keith Allison (Raiders bassist/guitarist/keyboard man). Their song "Freeborn Man" has become a minor classic, having been recorded by many artists, including both Allison and Weller on their solo records (and more recently by country star Junior Brown), but this is the definitive version. Another Lindsay/Allison song, "Louisiana Redbone", takes the Raiders into Cajun land, with great guitar from Weller. "The Original Handy Man" is a simple rhythm and blues based rocker, while "Hey Babro" is almost bubblegum (with a supposedly censored lyric). "Frankfort Side Street" and "Thank You" feature more great guitar work from Weller and Allison, as does "Here Comes the Pain", one of Mark and Keith's best ballads. The CD version adds several excellent bonus tracks, including a softer version of "I Don't Know" (probably recorded during the sessions for the followup album, 1970's "Collage"). Two "Something Happening" songs are heard here in early demo version recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, "Too Much Talk" and "Get Out of My Mind", and sound as good to my ears as the familiar versions. There's also a couple radio ads for "Pink Puzz" which are a lot of fun to hear. Once again, kudos to Sundazed for bringing this music to CD, and to Paul, Mark, Freddy, Joe and Keith for their enduring legacy of music.

I have enjoyed the music of Paul Revere & The Raiders for many years; however, I am rather disappointed at the quality of this CD. It seems as though the right channel is overmodulated and therefore experiences many dropouts during the first verse of "Let Me". Otherwise, this is an outstanding album to own. So buy it at your own risk

This was a comeback effort and the results are mixed. Rock and roll changed on the Raiders in 1967, thanks to Sgt. Peppers, the San Francisco sound and the advent of harder rock. Up to that point, The Raiders were best known for Kicks, the anti-drug anthem that appeared a couple of years earlier. By 1968-69, Paul Revere and crew were widely regarded as relics of a bygone era.
Alias Pink Fuzz was their attempt to re-enter the rock fray. When songs from the album were initally played on the radio, the Raiders were not identified as the artist...by design. Several of the songs are worth price of admission. The LP version of Let Me is a nice novelty and it's nice to get the single and LP versions in the same package. Energetic highights include Original Handy Man, Hey Babro and I Need You. Some of the songs, Frankfort Side Street, for example, foreshadow what Mark Lindsey would subsequently record as a solo artist...sentimental pop.
This isn't a great album. Too much filler. When viewed in the context of what was being produced by others in 1969, it does not hold up well. The next album, Collage, was far more interesting...although it did not sell well and went out of print quickly.

I've been a fan of the Raiders since they were on TV (Where the Action Is / Happening '67). Up until Alias Pink Puzz, they played their traditional 60s fare and Pink Puzz was their 'conversion'. LP, moving them from bubble-gum to more serious fare . It also moved me (as a kid) into a more modern phase and served to change my appreciation of 'modern' music from that point on. I doubt that I would have moved much further if the Raiders HADN'T been the ones to put this out.
I think it's a great LP, and with the addition of Keith Allison and Joe Carrera Jr., it was certainly a distinctly different and (for the time) progressive sound.
One of my favourites, for sure. I'm glad to have found it on cd - it's been years since I listened to my album! I feel that Paul Revere and the Raiders have been truly overlooked by the music media. They could certainly get gritty and totally rock when they wanted to and if you get the chance to look up some of their less known recordings, you'll see what I mean. After all, they WERE the first band to perform Louie Louie...

At last this so far from what I've heard(compared to their other sixities albums) is their masterpiece. A unsung band pumped the hits but ALIAS PINK PUZZ stands alone tales of prostitutes in the song FRANKFORT SIDE STREET and the virgin sacrifice in I DON'T KNOW (sounds a bit like lennon's mother but done before)the ending is trippy. The lyrics in this album are a real surpise and the sound and arranging is one of sixites pop best.this ablum is better than any monkees album a band that their compare to. You will also hear country like LOUISIANA REDBONE FREEBORN MAN with it's fuzz guitars. The ORIGINAL HANDY MAN don't let him install your cable every song is simply groovy. if you dig psychedelic/art rock/krautrock/pop/jazz/blues/avant garde/ragas check out The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test every Thrus midnight-2am est on eyeQradio.com hosted by me Corneluis Capote

I have had the LP for 40 + years, so I already knew that it is one of the best of all time!

While many dismiss The Raiders as bubblegum lightweights, their reputation is gradually being restored as a band that produced some of the best singles and a few great albums in the 60s. While I think "The Spirit of `67" is the best Raiders' album, "Alias Pink Puzz" and "Collage" also constitute some of their finest work.

When I first bought "Alias Pink Puzz" in the mid 70s, it was not at all one of my favorite albums. But then it began to grow on me, and with each passing year I appreciate the craftsmanship and tunes more and more.

The level of musicianship on this album is the highest of any Raiders' album, with the exception of "Collage." Mark Lindsay surrounded himself with a group of competent musicians, and he began to assume complete artistic control of the Raiders' product.

I like the dynamic range of the songs represented on the album as well, which shows the versatility of the band at that time. While "swamp" rock is not my thing, the Raiders do it well enough here on several songs here. "Down in Amsterdam" is just a great rocker and one of the Raiders' catchiest tunes ("I don't speak much/ and not a word of Dutch"). "Let Me," the one hit from the album, is again, just a great rock tune with just enough of a hard edge to it. While I don't particularly like the country twang that Mark Lindsay puts on "I Don't Know," it's still a great, mournful song. And the end of the song, where the instruments quietly die away to leave an almost Gregorian chant, is hauntingly gorgeous and should not be missed. "Here Comes the Pain" is lyrical in every aspect. Mark's wistful voice perfectly accompanies the sad lyrics and the understated guitar and organ. Another of my all-time favorite Raiders' songs appears on this album: "I Need You." I know it's on the pop side of things, but I find it strikingly beautiful and just another example of the level of songwriting Mark Lindsay had achieved at this time.

The Raiders' had no reason to feel inferior to other bands of the time, if they'd consistently recorded at the level of "Alias Pink Puzz." Be sure to make "Alias Pink Puzz" one of the Raiders' albums you sample: it has something for everyone in it.

In 1969 the raiders gave this to radio stations under the name 'pink puzz'
people liked it. who are these new guys? you see prr were seen as old guard by some limited brains in the counter culture rock radio. Critics liked this new band too but it was really paul revere and his raiders. They had fallen out of fashion because they had had a bubblegum hit 'mr sun, mr moon' obviously they weren't smart enough to realize that even the beatles had a few of those. Anyways this cd is a great slice on straightforward rock writing by a good band with some good songs. Th next one 'collage' was even better plus you get the big hit single 'let me' on here which really rocks and is one of the best songs ever about a impatient man trying to get into his womans pants. when will the raiders get their due? hall of fame them now!

More pronounced backbeat, a wonderful display of the band's versatility and willingness to alter their style. The Raiders were an easy band to overlook, which was a shame. They were serious contenders.