Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Rascals

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There's really no good reason why the Rascals' Atlantic albums - even the sometimes-obstreperous "Freedom Suite" - should remain out of print in the United States (they can be found as various import sets). The best white soul band of the 1960s deserves better than just a greatest-hits-plus anthology...but what an anthology this is. (It beats the earnest but lesser "Very Best of the Rascals" hollow.) Not just because it reminds you just why the Rascals were one of the prime reasons the top 40 was a legitimate wonderland between 1965 and 1969 (you have to be a real sourpuss to say you've heard as much of "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore," "Good Lovin'," "Groovin'," "A Girl Like You," "How Can I Be Sure," "A Beautiful Morning," or "I've Been Lonely Too Long" too many times), but because it includes the absolute best of their handful of near-misses from those years, particularly the oddly delightful "It's Wonderful" and the badly-underappreciated "See."

As a songwriting team, Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati for long enough were at least on a par with Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and (before the dope ate the muse) John Phillips. As a band, the Rascals need no apology, particularly Dino Danelli (the no-questions-asked best white R and B drummer of his time) and Cavaliere (if he seemed like a seminar study in every known soul style, he still managed to sound completely like himself). Nor does singer Eddie Brigati need apology; he could shout with the best but his way with a ballad (remind yourself, if nothing else, with "Groovin'" and, especially, "A Beautiful Morning") was equally gripping. And since he's almost the forgotten Rascal, I'll give him his props right here: Gene Cornish was an excellent rhythm guitarist - he couldn't pull off a solo to save his life, but he didn't have to; you could call him the Ringo Starr of the guitar: he delivered just what was needed, added just a few subtleties of his own, and the Rascals would no sooner have sounded the same without him than without Danelli's deep drumming (if any 1960s drummer could have been called his own Wall of Sound, Danelli was he) or Cavaliere's broad keyboards.

Just why Cavaliere and Danelli forsook their smartly evolving soul for an ill-fated excursion into jazz (with the forgettable if well-enough played "Peaceful World,"), almost as though apologising for having "wasted" their time before, remains a mystery to me. If the pair (Cornish and Brigati were gone by 1970) thought they needed to get to a "next level," all they proved in the end was that they didn't appreciate they were already on their own level, one no one else could approach. (Lacking their songwriting acumen, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels - the only other white soul act of the time who played with the Rascals' bristling fire and then some - were goners within two years.) Perhaps by now the endurance of their classic Atlantic recordings has shown them. The Rascals as the world preferred them remain timeless. And until their Atlantic albums are resissued in full, the proof begins here.

There is one reason why you should purchase "The Ultimate Rascals", over the Rhino collections, "Best Of", or "Anthology". The Warner collection is the only one that has the full album length version of "Lonely Too Long". It is hard to believe that Rhino would place a short edit version of the song and eliminate a whole verse? The "Ultimate", collection is just the perfect sampler for the casual fans, who would like a nice 20 song overview of this great band at a great price. All the chart-toppers are here as well as several great album cuts.

This compilation contains all The Rascals' big AM hits and many other fine songs. Indeed, this '60s band's earthy sound blending R&B and soul turned out to be a good fit for AM radio, and The Rascals also achieved substantial commercial success with their LPs. The veritable classic "Good Lovin'" and the anthem "People Got to Be Free," along with the group's trademark smoothie, "Groovin'," were all No. 1 hits. A superb cover of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" is a noteworthy omission, but this CD does contain The Rascals' rendition of Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally," Pickett's version of which is more well known, and it is one of their best moments. The group could be pretty, too, with songs like "It's A Beautiful Morning" and the syrupy "How Can I Be Sure." The gorgeous soul masterpiece "Love Is A Beautiful Thing" is my favorite. "The Ultimate Rascals" provides an opportunity to experience quite thoroughly one of the more important '60s groups.

Like another reviewer I was skeptical when I first bought this way back when. At the dawn of the CD age in 1986 there were far too many companies rushing out discs using re-done material and, more often than not, limiting the selections to 10 or 12. But since I had lucked out on another Warner Special Product [The Coasters] I took the chance. The first song I played was, of course, Groovin' and as soon as I heard this anthem to a long, lazy 60's afternoon I knew I had made a good choice.

I, too, would have liked to have seen some liner notes but, unfortunately, that was also a fault with most of the early CDs. This group formed when Felix Cavaliere [vocals, organ], Gene Cornish [vocals, guitar] and Eddie Brigati [vocals, persussion] bolted from Joey Dee & The Starlighters to join drummer Dino Danelli in the formation of The Young Rascals in February 1965.

At the Choo Choo Club in Garfield, N.J. they donned plus-fours for their "young" look and, later that year, secured a recording contract with Atlantic. From their first hit late in 1965 - I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore which peaked at # 53 early in 1966 - to 1967's It's Wonderful [# 20 early in 1968] they racked up nine hits as The Young Rascals, including the # 1 Good Lovin' as well as the immortal Groovin' [# 1] and I've Been Lonely Too Long [# 16], both of which crossed over to the R&B charts at # 3 and # 33 respectively.

They then dropped the plus-fours and, changing their name to The Rascals, went on to score another nine hits, begining with A Beatiful Morning [# 3], People Got To Be Free [# 1], and A Ray Of Hope [#24], all three of which also crossed over to the R&B charts [going to # 36, 14, and 36 respectively].

When the group disbanded in 1972, Cornish and Danelli joined with Billy Hocher, Eric Thorngren, and John Turi to form Bulldog and, that year, had a # 44 hit with No. The same two then hooked up with Wally Bryson, Lex Marchesi, and Frankie Vinci in 1978 to form Fotomaker and had a # 81 with Where Have You Been All My Life and a # 63 with Miles Away that year. The original Young/Rascals were inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1997.

Normally I would deduct one star for lack of liner notes and the omission of four charted hits from the 18 they had: 1967's I've Been Lonely Too Long [# 16 as The Young Rascals]; 1970's Hold On [# 51] and Glory Glory [# 58 with The Sweet Inspirations]; and 1971's Love Me [a # 95 for Columbia and their last charted hit]. Instead, they filled out the CD with Mustang Sally [the flip of Good Lovin'], What Is The Reason [the flip of Come On Up] and two obscure cuts - Easy Rollin' and Find Somebody.

But, for a 1986 original release, this is a gem, and the fact that it's still available after all these years - albeit with a different cover - reflects that assessment.

Not unlike some other unfairly overlooked bands like the Hollies, the Grass Roots or the Turtles, the Rascals may have suffered somewhat from being a largely "faceless" band, but they sure made some great music, and this single disc, 20-song collection is an excellent overview...All the Top-40 hits are here (and there were 13 of those, including three #1's and two other Top-5 hits), as well as their first chart record ("I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore") and other nuggets like "Easy Rollin'," "Come On Up" and "Love Is A Beautiful Thing"...This is like an AM radio soundtrack from 1966-68, and what could be better than that? Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati and company produced some of the best "blue-eyed soul" and pop music of an era which arguably was the apotheosis of a time when pop, rock and soul could all be played on the same station. My only quibble is that the liner notes are minimal, so you don't get any band history as one would normally expect with such a collection. Otherwise: awesome, and essential.

The Rascals made a career of proving that rock didn't have to be loud, dischordant or intrusive, and that soft, gentle harmonies could and did make musical magic.

The Ultimate Rascals includes all of their best-loved offerings, like Lonely Too Long and the enchanting How Can I Be Sure?

But, if you must have up-tempo, driving beats, the Rascals can deliver those too, with cuts like Good Lovin' and People Got to be Free.

Beyond these rather obvious hits, there are a number of solid secondary offerings, including an excellent cover of Mustang Sally. The Ultimate Rascals showcases all of the groups many facets, providing a totally satisfying musical experience. A wonderful way to spend a Beautiful Morning or any time you just feel like Groovin'!

If you're looking for the best Rascals collection, you can stop right here. I excitedly bought the 2 disc collection when it came out years ago, and was disappointed with the sound and the fact that most of the first disc was mono. I knew this collection existed, but was leary as it was released at he dawn of the CD age (way back in '86). I finally took a chance and it's fantastic! All the tracks are stereo, all the essential Rascals tracks are here, and it sounds better than the 1992 remaster! Go figure.

If you're looking for the perfect 20 song distillation of essential Rascals, you've found it. Ah, go ahead. Remind yourself why these guys had so many hits between 1966 and 1968. They were awesome!

This is a great CD with most of the early material in STEREO unlike the 2 CD set. The only complaint I have is that "In The Midnight Hour" is'nt here.