Search - Paul Revere & Raiders :: Something Happening

UNDERRATED MASTERPIECE OF THE 60s.

Lucchini Freire Aurelio | Montevideo. Uruguay | 12/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Along with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's and the Beach Boys' Pet Sound, the Raiders' Something Happening can be easily considered as one the masterpieces of the 60s. Wisely produced, composed and sung by leader Mark Linsay, the album shows an umparalled quality of songs hardly achieved in previous Raiders albums. Mark was by far the more talented Raider, and every song here is beautifully and carefully produced to give its best, from Too Much Talk, Happens Every Day, to the gems Burn Like a Candle, Observation From Flight 285, the hit Don't Take It So Hard or The Good Times, along with Yesterday one of the best 60s ballads.By 1968 it was clear the Raiders was not a garage band anymore. But this is by no means bad, it is great. From an experienced rock musician, take this advice: if you still do not have it, you do not know what you have been missing all these years."

My favorite Raiders album

Ron | Tacoma, WA | 03/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was very glad to see this album get a CD release, as it is my favorite of all the Raiders albums. The early records of Paul Revere & the Raiders were basic boogie woogie, rhythm and blues, danceable rock and roll. They progressed into a more commercial, guitar and organ based pop rock sound with their mid-60's albums "Midnight Ride" and "Spirit of '67". "Something Happening" finds Mark Lindsay leading the band into the psycadelic sounds of the late 60's, but with enough of a pop feel to remain accessible to their younger fans. This album is really Mark's vision - he produced it, wrote all the songs, and of course is the lead singer on every song. Mark is a master of the studio, utilizing all the then current technology to bring his vision to life. Listen to this CD with headphones! There is so much detail that can be missed just playing it through your stereo system's speakers. "Happening Intro/Too Much Talk" is a masterpiece! This ranks right up there with the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" in my book, and the lyrics are as relevant today as they were back in 1968. "Happens Every Day" is a happy go lucky song that could be considered the Raiders' "Penny Lane". "Burn Like a Candle" is a fuzz-tone laden caution against drug abuse. Drummer Joe Correro Jr. duels it out at the end with several guitar tracks. The intro to "Obeservation from Flight 385" sounds similar to the orchestral climax in the Beatles "Day in the Life", but the song itself is a haunting view of planet Earth from eight miles high. "Get Out of My Mind" is the famous Ferrari track, and by the end of the song the eerie sound of the strings feel's like Mark has lost his mind! "Don't Take it So Hard" features one of the most difficult bass lines I have ever heard - it's actually the hook of the song. Joe Jr. blows us away with another killer drum break. "Communication (Part 1 & 2)" has a Motown style bass line, and another great guitar duel in part 2. This is a killer song that should have been released as a single (part 1 on the A side, part 2 on the B side). "Love Makes the World Go Round" balances 60's idealism with daily realities - riots, starving children, war, political inaction ("too much talk and not enough action"!). "Free" sounds to me like a utopian vision of peace and love ("you and me can be free, love is the way"), and once again Mark uses some very creative stereo panning. "The Good Times" is by far the most syrupy track on the album, but it's a nice vision of Mark and his future wife growing old together. "Happening '68" will sound familiar to many fans as the theme to the tv show of the same name. We get the full length album version here, as well as the previously released television version. There's also the theme to "Happening '68"'s summer spinoff show "It's Happening", and the mono single version of "Too Much Talk". With Mark as producer/songwriter/singer, Paul on organ, Joe on drums, Freddy Weller on guitar, Charlie Coe on bass, and Tommy Smothers on the liner notes, this group really makes it! Also thanks to Sundazed for caring enough to bring back the Raiders albums!"

A stunning act of musical bravery

Kurt H. Selvig | Portland, Oregon USA | 08/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No band worth hearing stays in one place. With The Beatles, every song was different; even the Rolling Stones eventually moved into areas of greater complexity. So it should be to no one's surprise or disappointment that a group as talented as Paul Revere & The Raiders does the same.



No, this is not Sergeant Pepper's or Dark Side of The Moon - the somewhat less-than-stellar cover pretty much gives that away - it is Mark Lindsay testing his production talents in areas new to The Raiders and their image as a squeaky-clean American party band extraordinaire, and one might find disappointment in the results if that image was expected to be left behind.



Theirs is still a good-time message, set to the sounds of the times. However, it is a message drenched in superior production and flawless musical execution - if you don't believe it, listen to it through a good set of headphones (I wore my vinyl copy out through a set of Koss Pro 4AA's) - you'll find it stands up very nicely with The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons. No, the message is not the same, but this is not a band targeting an audience searching for higher meaning - it's Paul Revere & The Raiders doing something different, stepping out of their comfort zone (and that of much of their audience, probably) and evolving from a choreographed, zany good-time band into something more deliberate, more intentional, and most definitely more complex. While I have no doubt that Mark and the guys could have performed much of this live with great effectiveness, I doubt that was the impetus behind this effort.



Whatever else this album is or isn't, it is an essential part of anyone's collection who claims to know something about rock 'n roll in the Sixties, Raiders fan or not. As for Linday's production abilities, he can produce my albums any time he wants!



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