The Young Rascals/"Groovin'" (1967)
Issued at the very height of the Summer of Love, it's really absurd that this record isn't generally considered to be among that season's very best. Obviously though, it's up against some fairly fierce competition ("Sgt. Pepper", "Surrealistic Pillow", "Headquarters", "Are You Experienced", "Younger Than Yesterday", "Forever Changes", etc.).
Nonetheless, it is one of those rare records where nearly every single cut is a classic. The only song I have the very slightest of beef with here is also the only cover; namely Stevie Wonder's "A Place in the Sun". Don't get me wrong, it's all very nice'n'smooth, but also so very unnecessary. Why does a band that can come up with self-penned classics such as "Groovin'", "A Girl Like You", "How Can I Be Sure" (covered by everyone from Dusty Springfield to David Cassidy) and "You Better Run", all on the same album, need to cover anyone - even though it's a genius like Stevie Wonder?! Well, I might be 45 years late, but I'm just asking...
Their third and last LP as the YOUNG Rascals, "Groovin'" is also their best - bar none. In it, all the elements of the unparalleled Rascals sound come together and blend perfectly. Garage rock meets Pop meets Psychedelia meets Latin, via their ever winsome Blue-eyed Soul which no other band of any era ever bettered.
Unusual for albums made in the late '60s which were more often than not issued both in Stereo and Mono, this is a record clearly made just for Stereo. One of its highlights, "Find Somebody" is a good example of that.
Apart from the obvious hits - AND "Find Somebody" - Gene Cornish's "I'm So Happy Now" and "I Don't Love You Anymore" are also eye-openers and prove that he was another songwriting force to be reckoned with within the Rascals' ranks, although Felix Cavaliere's and Eddie Brigati's songs were usually chosen as the singles.
So "A Girl Like You", the album's opener and another Cavaliere/Brigati composition, became one of the record's biggest hits. And as this following live performance from the Ed Sullivan Show on June 4th, 1967, goes to show - regardless of the screaming girls in the audience - The Rascals were an amazing bunch of musicians. Their drummer Dino Danelli just might be one of the unsung heroes of '60s Pop.
Curiously, "You Better Run" was more than a year old when it appeared on the "Groovin'" album. Issued as a single in May 1966, it owed a lot more to the (Young) Rascals' Garage rock roots than the rest of the album. The excellent "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" from the Young Rascals' self-titled debut LP is another good example of that particular side of the Rascals.
Never mind The Kinks, along with Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Rascals were responsible for bringing Garage rock - a predecessor to Punk - into the American mainstream...and Top 10.
After "Groovin'", the Rascals certainly continued to make great singles, but, unfortunately, never made another great album. Good albums - yes, but "Groovin'" remains their sole crowning moment in that area.
tbc.
