PMellEagle's Full Review: Refreshed [EP] by The Raspberries
A Generation in the Making... the legendary Raspberries return with their first album in a quarter century!
Wally Bryson, Scott McCarl, and Dave Smalley are and were 3/6 of the four-man band known as Raspberries... THE acknowledged grand-fathers of "Power Pop" who lit up the charts and ignited the radio airwaves with songs like "Go All The Way", "I Wanna Be With You", "Let's Pretend", "Tonight", and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)." Wally and Dave were "original" members, having recorded the first three of the four original 'Berries albums in '72 & '73... Scott replaced Dave for the fourth album; in '74... (Original members Eric Carmen and Jim Bonfanti declined to participate; from what I can tell, Mike McBride, the drummer who joined with Scott, replacing Jim, was not asked to participate...)
This album was and is probably the most desired and sought after album I've ever savored. (Although, as a young man, I remember letting out a shout-for-joy at seeing the long overdue "Boats Against the Current" album from Eric Carmen in the local Camelot Music. Sadly, this album, aptly titled "Refreshed, has yet to grace the shelves of most mainstream music outlets. It is available from the guys, however, at http://www.raspberries.net.
The album is too short; six songs totaling about eighteen minutes... but to a man stranded and parched in the desert, it is a most refreshing sip of cool, sweet water.
The Songs
1. Would You Say Yes Again? - Scott writes a very romantic and sweet love ballad; of the three men representing the 'Berries, Scott's music most exemplifies the original feel of the band... and that's a mixed blessing, both good and bad! Scott had joined the group in time for the critically acclaimed "Starting Over" album and his musical skills shone on that album. Here he seems to be trying to recreate the original, self-titled "Raspberries" album... the one that launched the band, but was trashed by the critics as "Beatles derivative"...
2. When Is Your Dream? - Wally's first cut on this album is also a romantic ballad, comparable to his efforts on the groups first two albums; the afore-mentioned "Raspberries", and "Fresh", the second and arguably most commercially successful of the four original albums... Excusable because Wally WAS part of those albums, but inexcusable because it's not an original piece written for this album! (Hey, it's been 25 years! Why dust off songs you've recorded elsewhere when the 'Berries are and were originals?)
3. Pop Teasers - Dave checks in with perhaps the catchiest tune on the all-too-short album; a song inspired by a post at an internet website calling the group "pop-teasers" for teasing and talking up a reunion tour and album that never seems to happen... Dave reportedly loved the line and when it came time to really do the album, he worked it into a song...
4. Someone Like You - Dave's second cut (each guy wrote 2 of the 6...) is his catchy-love-ballad for the album; a love song with a country flair! (Dave's musical tendencies to lean toward country were but one of the many things that he and Eric butted heads over and led to his split with the group in '73... many fans; especially me believe that had he been allowed to follow his musical instincts and given a share of the singles, Raspberries could have been as big as the Eagles... a band that could mix the love song, the rocker, and country... Dave's cuts on "Side 3", his final album before the split, would have done no worse, and probably better, than the stall-at-the-bottom-of-the-chart that Eric's two singles from that album did... "Tonight" barely missed Top 40, garnering some airplay, it should have been huge... it was featured on the television series "Go!", hosted by Don Imus as they chronicled how a record was made... supposing that it would be a hit record... The follow-up, "I'm a Rocker" was an odd choice... the only thing it had going for it, from the record company point of view I'm sure, was that it was an "Eric song..." The story is that Capitol had in fact wanted to release one of Dave's singes then... but he was too far gone by then to be agreeable to it... My point is; and yes, I do have one; that "Should I Wait?", "Hard to Get Over a Heartbreak", or "Making It Easy" were quality songs... and so is "Someone Like You."
5. Love in My Eyes - Scott's second song on the album is much like the first, reminiscent of the Beatles; a sweet love-ballad. Technically correct, musically sound, but out of place... the 'Berries were not just sappy love songs, they were and are the grandfathers of Power Pop and one of Scott's songs should have reflected that as well... at least in my epinion!
6. Rock 'n Roll Kids - Wally hits it on this song... a kind of auto-biographical tale about aging rock 'n rollers, it's the kind of stuff you'd expect from the 'Berries... except it's so darn short! Clocking in at 1:51, you wonder if Wally's stamina has been affected by age as well! But the song is indicative of Bryson's talent as a songwriter and guitarist and of the brevity of his work... both in this song's length and in the lack of songs he's written for the many projects he's been part of over his career...
The Guys
1. Dave Smalley - Starting with Dave because he's the guy it'd been the longest since hearing from! When Smalley left the original group in '73, there were rumors that he and Bonfanti were forming a new group! The rumors were true, and they recorded an album under the name Dynomite... an album that for some reason was never released. It was the last that Dave recorded... that I'm aware of... until "Refreshed." Dave's talent as a song-writer and guitarist/bassist and his vocals equate a career that should have been... and still may be. Dave's planning his own solo-album this year; and with his ability to blend country and rock, he just may take both musical genre's by storm!
2. Wally Bryson - Wally is probably the most under-rated guitarist alive... bar none! It was he who penned and played the memorable guitar intro for "Go All The Way", the 'Berries biggest hit. He's done the most and the least since the band split. He worked for two albums with the band Fotomaker and also recorded with the band Tatoo, but neither group scored the national prominence of the Raspberries. Wally also worked with several Cleveland based bands; having performed for the past decade and finally recording an album a couple of years ago with The Sittin' Ducks. Bryson had been offered an opportunity to record a solo album years ago, but chose to not leave Cleveland for L.A., where the album would have been done... But through it all; through the 'Berries years, and the subsequent quarter century, Wally's not seemed to write enough songs... he's good, but not prolific... and that's a tragedy in-and-of-itself...
3. Scott McCarl - Scott got to ride the train called "Raspberries" from it's next-to-last stop to the end-of-the-line. His musical style fit where the group was trying to go at the time... and like the guy on a train to nowhere, Scott's seemed to have been in limbo since. The liner to his '97 compilation album, Play On, chronicle's his post-berries career... and how he missed chances, and played the club-circuit for years... before retiring from music for a time. He is, however, the driving force that got this reunion started... when "Play On" was released, he scheduled a gig in Cleveland and got Wally, Dave, and Jim to join him along with The Sittin' Ducks... and thus was this particular rendition of Raspberries spawned... Scott's music, for this album anyway, seems to be focused on recapturing the essence of the "pre-McCarl" Raspberries, and I think that's a mistake... perhaps he's doing it in deference to his lack of "original" status? Regardless, the songs he contributed to "Starting Over" were all superior to his efforts on this album... unlike my chastisment of Wally for not bringing original tunes, Scott would have done better to rehash a couple from his "Play On" album... notably "Go Down Swingin'" or "Run For The Sun.
Wrap Up
I loved this album and was disappointed at the same time. It was and is great to hear the guys together again, but it was too little and too late! I'd have expected far more after 25 years... but am most grateful for what they gave... and hope beyond hope that it won't be another 25 years before they record again!
Plus I was one of the lucky-first-500 to get my CD autographed by the guys! Like the "Master-Card" ad says... some things are priceless...
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