Customer Reviews

The Very Best of the Rascals

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The "Young" Rascals were one of the unique groups of the middle to late sixties to actually produce albums that you could listen to, not just 2 songs and 8 fillers. Their great early influences included Atlantic/Stax Soul ('Mustang Sally" "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" . and early R&B ("Good Lovin") (weren't we all at the time?) and as they matured, became a bit more "expansive" ("A Ray Of Hope", "Heaven"). Also, much of the original group came from "Joey Dee & The Starlighters", so they knew the business a bit before diving in. They were originally formed in NYC with Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, Eddie Brigati, and Dino Danelli This group was deservedly inducted into the 'Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame" in 1997.

This was pure AM radio at its best ("Lonely To Long"). Even their superlative first GREATEST HITS (Time/Peace) was one of the biggest selling LP's for many years, as new generations discovered the music.

This collection covers the main bases, (Groovin', People Got To Be Free , etc) and is a worthwhile purchase, at an excellent price. For those who do not have it, you should ,MUST, have it in your library. The alternatives include the much older "Ultimate Rascals" which is great at the same price (but the re-mastering is not as good), to the new 'Essentials" which I would NOT get, since it has less tracks, omits major hits, and is more expensive.

For the completist, and really the best archive for The Rascals, the Multi Disk Anthology is the best, but a bit expensive. This one will do just fine, especially at 1/3rd the cost!

I wish they would issue a wider 2 disk set, but until then, this is great and well worth the price. Highly recommended for "Good Lovin", "Groovin", "See" ALONE! Top down summer music, turn it up!

How much Rascals does the average fan need? The Rascals Anthology (1965-1972) focuses too much on the band's experimental (read: non-commercial) period. Disc two of Anthology contains only one top ten hit. Consequently, if all you want are the hits, then The Very Best of the Rascals is the obvious choice. All thirteen of their top forty hits are here. [Only two minor hits are missing: 1970's "Hold On" (#51) and their last charting single from 1971 "Love Me" (#95).]

What you do get is some of the best blue-eyed soul of the Sixties: the R&B charged "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Hart Out Anymore," the super-charged remake of the Olympics' "Good Lovin'," followed by "You Better Run," the first of eight singles co-authored by vocalist Eddie Brigati and keyboardist Felix Cavaliere. They also wrote the groups three million-seller singles: "Groovin'," "A Beautiful Morning" and "People Got To Be Free."

This disc contains some of the most soulful music from one of the Sixties greatest bands. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Like another reviewer, I anticipated good sound on this CD, given that it was from Rhino. FORGET IT. The sound quality is dreadful, muddy, hopeless. This is irritating when the CD does a poor job of reproducing cuts from early in their career -- mono cuts that one would have thought no one can murder. But by the end of the disc, when the sound quality implodes during "People Got To Be Free" and the rest -- well campers, lights out.
This is an offensively bad job of remastering and reproduction.

The Rascals have created some of the best rock 'n' soul music of all time. Of course everyone has heard "Good Lovin'" about a million times, but the band has so many other classics. They also had alot of range going from "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore", which is one of the most lowdown, gritty & dirtiest songs ever recorded to something like "It's A Beautiful Morning" which is one of the sweetest and prettiest. "I've Been Lonely Too Long", "Groovin'" & "A Girl Like You" could've been recorded by any Motown artist. "How Can I Be Sure" incorporates their Italian roots while they dabble in psychedelic sounds with "It's Wonderful". Later in their career their songs took on a more social awareness with songs like "People Got To Be Free", "Heaven & "See". Like most of the bands that peaked in the mid 60's, by the early 70's The Rascals broke up. This collection keeps their legacy alive and gives rock solid proof as to why they are enshrined in the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame.

My excitement quickly turned to disappointment upon hearing a recording that sounds as if it was transcribed from a portable cassette player with a hand held microphone.

Ok. The Rascals are great. One of the best 60s groups (but then what 60s group was bad!?).
This CD, compiled by Rhino - who are saving GOOD MUSIC (and the endangered white Rhino) by releasing great compilations of 60s rock n roll & soul stars such as this - is a great purchase, and features many of the hits, as some early and single tracks, by The Rascals.

Now, to gripe a little. Some reviewers said that sound quality on this disc isnt very good. That's crap. And people that say that get me angry beyond belief.

The sound quality would need to be really, really, really crappy for me to say that its bad.
I for one think that old music should sound old, remaster it sure, but I think people complain too much about poor sound remastering. part of what makes this 60s music great, is that fact that its from the 60s. The age is naturally going to be heard in the recording, which is part of the sound the songs should have. Its the way they were created. To me, if you dislike the sound, you dislike the music. It's age is what I love (partly).

That besides, the mastering is good anyway. Disregard the other reviewers, who should obviously be listening to modern music, that has "good sound quality", and who dont realize that remastering can only do so much for songs recoreded with older technology. These people got to be free...from their annoying idiocy lol

This CD is a must have.

The Rascals were one of the original blue-eyed soul bands. What set these guys apart from most of those other starter r&b bands of the 60's, was that they wrote many of their own songs, such as the hits "Groovin", "A Girl Like You", "Beautiful Morning", and "How Can I Be Sure". What I really liked about these guys though, was their 3 part vocal harmonies that floated on an ocean of sound from Felix Cavaliere's hammond b-3 organ. The perfect example of this sound was their number one hit "Good Lovin'", which erupts with such fury that's it's still one of the greatest feel good dance-rock numbers ever recorded. After the recent tragedies we've had in America, I had to put this in the player to give me a little pick me up. It's a perfect antedote for bad times, just like it was when this music came out in the 60's during the height of the Vietnam War. The Rascals were a good old all-American band, and a good alternative from those inferior British r&b invaders of the time. Get it and prepare to feel good again.

This is a good Cd for the true fan of classic rock. All original recordings by one of the only white soul bands ever to sound good are here, so, one hears the same exact sound he or she heard when each single was first released. The Rascals are one of those bands that never made it as big as they should have, but this collection, revamped and remastered but still the original recodrings, does them justice. It is absolutely worth buying.

The *Young Rascals' first release to get airplay [" I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore"] was possibly the greatest R & B-inflected garage rock tune of all time. But it didn't get much action . . . I remember hearing it only 3-4 times during its much-abbreviated heyday. Their first huge hit was the excellent soft-rock proto-bubble-gum "Good Lovin"**, which was followed by "You Better Run" with its intense, whining organ and matching vocal line - recapitulating the style of "Ain't Gonna Eat Out . . ." in a more up-tempo fashion.

After this, they pretty much morphed into one of the best of the blue-eyed soul-rock bands of the era, taking their place in the pantheon of that genre alongside Tommy James and the Shondells, and the Fifth Dimension. Most of their greatest efforts for a long span of time were ballads and/or mid-tempo ballad-like songs ["Groovin'", "A Girl Like You", "It's a Beautiful Morning", "How Can I Be Sure"], many of which climbed into the secret recesses of the hearts of an entire generation. Even more powerful was the up-tempo anthem "People Got to Be Free", which set toes tapping, minds humming, and hearts singing.

I can't really think of a song of theirs that is not worth a good listen. This is definitely a worthwhile CD for anyone to have in his/her collection.

* [At some point around the middle of their chart career, they changed their name to the Rascals.]
** [Actually, 'bubble gum' never, ever had it this good.]

Considering that the group charted 18 times, and only two of those are not here, this is one of the most worthy CDs around. Great liner notes and sound, and perfect for fans who want the hits.