(TLK/Jetfighter/FM www.thinklikeakey.com)
By Eleni P. Austin
A little more than a decade ago, Gen Z’ers and Millennials got a dose of pure Power Pop perfection, courtesy the action-packed Marvel Comics Space Adventure film, Guardians Of The Galaxy. A crucial plot point hinged on a cassette tape dubbed Awesome Mix Vol. 1. It featured several boss and bitchin classic ‘70s hits, the most potent being The Raspberries’ “Go All The Way.” The song hit the Top 5 on the Billboard charts when it was originally released in 1972. Thanks to exposure in the wildly successful movie, 42 years later, the song was back on the charts.
The Raspberries formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1970. They rose from the ashes of two popular local bands, Cyrus Erie and The Choir. Eric Carmen was lead singer in Cyrus Erie and Wally Bryson (guitar), Jim Bonfanti (drums) and Dave Smalley (bass), anchored the sound for The Choir. As The Raspberries, Eric switched from rhythm guitar to bass and Dave took up rhythm guitar. Even though Eric was the primary vocalist, Wally and Dave also took turns fronting the band. Their sound drew inspiration from pioneering British Invasion acts like The Beatles and The Who.
All told, The Raspberries released four excellent albums, their 1972 self-titled debut (original copies were raspberry scented, yes, the ‘70s were a time for olfactory innovation), it featured “Go All The Way,” and shot to the #1 spot on the album charts. Fresh arrived seven months later and Side 3, in late 1973.
On those three albums, the band refined their signature sound which matched crisp melodies and snappy lyrics to taut instrumentation accented by thundering drums. It was around this time that intra-band tensions began to escalate, and Dave Smalley was booted from the band. Not long after, Jim Bonfanti quit and bassist Scott McCarl and former Cyrus Erie drummer Michael McBride were recruited for the band’s final album, Starting Over.
Eric went on to a moderately successful career, scoring hits like 1976’s “All By Myself” and “Hungry Eyes” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Jim and Dave formed their own short-lived band, Dynamite. Meanwhile, Wally resurfaced in Tattoo, then joined Fotomaker for three albums.
Fast-forward 30 years later and the impossible occurred. After years of rumors and stalled reconciliations, Eric, Wally, Dave and Jim reunited Coincidently, the House Of Blues was opening a club in Cleveland, it felt wholly apropos to play their first show there. It was so successful that a nationwide tour followed. It was accompanied by VH1 special and Capitol Records released a newly minted Greatest Hits collection. In 2017 Omnivore Recordings issued Pop Art Live, a three-record/two-CD set that captured that first magical show in its entirety.
In the last five decades, The Raspberries has become a touchstone for so many artists. You can hear their influence in the music of The Shoes, The Cars, The Posies, The dB’s, The Knack and The Bangles, Matthew Sweet, Tommy Keene Jellyfish and The Lemon Twigs. (Just to name a few).
To demonstrate the Cleveland combo’s durability, producer/multi-instrumentalists Ken Sharp and Fernando Perdomo have teamed up to pay homage to The Raspberries with Play On: A Tribute To The Raspberries. The pair have helmed other all-star tributes including Ram On: The 50th Anniversary Tribute To Paul And Linda McCartney’s Ram, and Someone/Anyone? A 50th Anniversary TRibute To Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything album. For this record, they’ve enlisted a mix of heavy-hitters as well as up-and-coming acts.
The record kicks into gear with the Raspberries’ toppermost-poppermost signature hit, “Go All The Way.” Distorto guitar riffs careen out of the speakers, followed by boomerang bass lines, crushed velvet keys and a pummeling beat. Rick Springfield unleashes a Daltrey-esque yowl of epic proportions before downshifting into a (still) boyish croon, as sweet lyrics downplay his powers of seduction: “I never knew how complete love could be, till she kissed me and said ‘baby, please go all the way, it feels so right, being with you here tonight’.” Guitars ricochet through the mix as drums pound a triple-time tattoo. The arrangement builds to a final sweaty crescendo punctuated by a rumbling drum salvo. This one will have listeners reaching for that post-coital cigarette.
The 37 song set boasts nearly every track from The Raspberries original four albums. Even though they aren’t presented in chronological order, for this review, it seems more efficient to go album-by-album. Along with Rick Springfield’s muscular take of “Go All The Way,” their self-titled debut is well-represented with six more cuts.
Katie Ferrara recasts the Latin twang of “Come Around And See Me” as a delicate piano ballad. Playing all the instruments himself, Robin Taylor Zander (scion of the Cheap Trick dynasty), navigates the hairpin turns of “Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye,” shapeshifting from a piano-driven weeper to a mid-tempo groover, to a stompy, Blues-inflected cri de Coeur. Adelaide Estep strips-down “I Saw The Light” to it’s bare essentials. Piano and strings serve as gauzy accompaniment to her tender vocals. Meanwhile, Olivia Rubini’s majestic vocals edge “Waiting” into Torchy chanson direction. Willie Wilcox hews pretty closely to the Beatles-meet-British Music Hall “With You In My Life.” Karla DeVito has the last word on the epic “I Can Remember.” Something of a pocket Rock Opera, it closed the Raspberries debut with a flourish. Karla, best known as Meatloaf’s singing partner and for her turn on Broadway in The Pirates Of Penzance, (and for marrying my teenage crush, Robbie Benson-I forgive you Karla), deftly maneuvers the lyrical peaks and valleys. Her performance is theatrical, but neither showy or histrionic. She completely emotionally invested in the twists and turns of a whirlwind romance gone wrong. At times, she sounds like a one-woman Girl Group.
The Raspberries’ sophomore effort, Fresh, is played in its entirety, spread across two discs, Kicking it off with some much-appreciated distaff energy are sisters (and Bangles), Vicki and Debbi Peterson taking possession of “I Wanna Be With You.” A walloping beat collides with chiming guitars, thrumming bass and blustery sax as sororal harmonies limn the limits of teenage sexual frustration.
The Caulfields take charge on the Country Rock/Power Pop confection, “Goin’ Nowhere Tonight.” Beatlesque harmonies coalesce atop guitars that snarl and twang, walking bass lines and an urgent backbeat. The Toms add a tinge of Psychedelia to “Every Way I Can.” Bird Streets paints “I Reach For The Light” in dayglo New Wave colors, but his vocals retain the jittery angst of the original. Chris Price injects some Motown Soul into his buoyant take on “Nobody Knows.” His effervescent arrangement and fresh-faced vocals nearly camouflage bleak lyrics that offer a treatise on teenage alienation and unrequited love. The Spongetones’ sanguine version of “It Seemed So Easy” echoes the Fab Four’s “Please Please Me” era, as smoky harmonica rumbling bass and stinging guitars connect with a batter-ram beat. Jesse Bryson (son of Wally, and an acclaimed musician in his own right), offers up a bit of Country Sunshine on “Might As Well.”
Pithily entitled Side 3, The Raspberries third effort arrived in late 1973 and was the last album, to feature the original line-up. Rock & Roll Hall of famer and Foreigner founder Lou Gramm acquits himself nicely, tailoring his stentorian yowl to the candy-coated crunch of “Tonight.” Conversely, Evan Stanley imbues “Last Dance” with a courtly grace as finger-picked guitars color his choir boy croon. Brasko employs fuzz-crusted guitars, caffeinated guitars, piledriver beat and stacked vocals on “Making It Easy.”
“On The Beach” arrives replete with cawing seagull sounds, orchestral strings, plinky piano shivery keys, anchored by wiry bass and thundering beat, courtesy Wondermints architect (and Brian Wison whisperer) Darian Sahanaja. The technicolor arrangement aligns with the song’s cinematic sprawl. Then Parthenon Huxley’s Power Pop combo, P-Hux takes a swing at “Hard To Get Over A Heartache,” blending buzzy guitars and falsetto harmonies.
On “Should I Wait,” The Raspberries hewed more closely to the Flying Burrito Brothers than The Beatles, Marshall Crenshaw doubles-down on that legacy as his yearning vocals lattice a phalanx of guitars, moody keys, lanky bass and a ticklish beat. Meanwhile, Eric Dover’s take on “Ecstasy,” simply crackles with authority. A staccato back-beat rides roughshod over whipsaw guitars and flinty bass lines, without sacrificing the elastic melody or the lyrical concupiscence.
Although The Raspberries final album, Starting Over was praised by John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen, it would prove to be the band’s swansong. The long-player opens with their magnum opus, “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).” It’s in good hands with the Illinois Power Pop four-piece, Shoes. Rather serendipitously, the Zion band formed he same year as this record hit the shelves.
While the original drafted off an ambitious sonic blueprint that echoes both Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, the Shoes’ take a softer approach, dialing in strummy acoustic arpeggios, angular bass lines and a rat-a-tat beat. A sharp precis on the vagaries of Rock & Roll songcraft, it split the difference between wide-eyed innocence and hard-boiled pragmatism. The lyrics insist “Well, I know it sounds funny, but I’m not in it for the money…but also confide “I’ve been trying to write the lyric, not offensive but satiric too.” And yeah, they nail the celestial harmonies.
The Chefs add a Dixie-fied edge on their ramshackle rendition of “Party’s Over.” A secret super group, it includes Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites), Joe Blanton (Royal Court Of China) and Stan Lynch (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers). John Waite takes the Raspberries’ Who obsession to new heights on “I Don’t Know What I Want.” Guitars strut and strafe, brushing up against caffeinated keys and nimble bass lines. The cavalcade of drums is courtesy Jim Bonfanti (he plays on three more tracks). John’s soulful vocals are the throughline, punctuated on the coda by his sly ad lib,“meet the new boss, same as the old boss”
Rob Bonfiglio gives a sweetly baroque read on “Rose Colored Glasses.” Upping the ante, The Hudson Brothers offer up a smorgasbord of sounds on the salaciously suggestive “All Through The Night.” John Powhida infuses “I Can Hardly Believe You’re Mine” with an ‘80s New Wave edge. Kasim Sulton takes “Cry” to new lachrymose heights.
The most welcome surprise of the collection comes from ex-Runaways frontwoman, Cherie Currie. She takes ownership of the shambolic sing-a-long, “Hands On You,” reconfiguring it as a Glam-tastic groover. Low-slung rhythm guitars, scuzzy electric licks, spring-loaded bass lines, vroom-y Mellotron and propulsive hand-claps are bookended by a Jackrabbit beat. Her authoritative voice, cushioned by heavenly backing vocals, add a jolt of erotic frisson to the proceedings.
The Raspberries proudly wore their Beach Boys fixation on their sleeves. Both “Drivin’ Around” from Popdudes and “Cruisin’ Music” from Ronnie D’ Addario honor that Cleveland-to-Hawthorne connection. Play On also allows some extra bandwidth for Ken Sharp and The Lemon Twigs.
The former not only co-produced the record and wrote the definitive Raspberries tome, Overnight Sensation: The Story Of The Raspberries, he’s also an acclaimed singer-songwriter who has recorded several critically acclaimed solo records. Ken concocts a kaleidoscopic blend of ‘60s Soul and ‘70s Pure Pop on “If You Change Your Mind”, a concise treatise on teenage alienation and unrequited love. Flipping the script, “I’m A Rocker” is a skittery slab of primitive Rock & Roll, that insists “Back beat boogie got a hold on me, makes me wanna jump and shout.”
The nucleus of the latter is a pair of preternaturally talented brothers who formed the Lemon Twigs as teenagers. Their protean sound is a synthesis of Power Pop, Glam, Art Rock and Jangle Pop. On “Let’s Pretend,” their keening harmonies are accented by plangent guitars, swirly keys, fluid bass lines and a chunky back-beat. The collection’s title-track, “Play On,” is fueled by squally guitars, fluttery keys, agile bass lines, a stuttery beat and raspy vocals.
Of course, the title-track from their fourth and final album was the last word from Cleveland’s finest. Here, it receives a tenderly poignant read from Tori Holub. The set’s closer is actually an unreleased demo, that got the band signed to Capitol Records. “Please Let Me Come Home,” finds the band Bambi Kino offering up a heady brew of Mersey Beat bluster and Hamburg grit. Jagged guitars. smoky harmonica and zig-zag bass lines are shackled to a rickety back-beat. Shaggy harmonies evoke Rock & Roll’s adolescence, echoing a time when bands banged out their sound in Garages, dive bars and strip clubs, chasing that ephemeral sound. It’s the perfect finish to a heartfelt tribute.
As usual, Ken Sharp and Fernando Perdomo have curated a flawless collection. Matching a coterie of intriguing artists to a thrilling set of tracks. Play On: A Tribute To The Raspberries offers a fresh spin on the entire Raspberries’ oeuvre (well, almost). Half a century after the Cleveland four-piece made their mark, their music remains sweet, tart and timeless.
