The Ultimate Rascals

Performer: The Rascals
Producer: The Rascals
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Rascals: Gene Cornish (vocals, guitar, bass); Felix Cavaliere (vocals, keyboards); Eddie Brigati (vocals, percussion); Dino Danelli (drums). A wonderful collection of songs, most of which were major hits for this quartet, The Ultimate Rascals was one of the early compilations released when compact discs were still fairly young. As such, the tapes from which this recording was mastered were obviously not first generation, with the resulting subpar sound the disc's only weakness. But, oh, the music: a cornucopia for any baby boomer weaned on AM radio in the mid- to late '60s. The band's development is traced here from the early rock & roll sides, like "Good Lovin'" and "You Better Run," through the blue-eyed soul era of "Groovin'" and "A Girl Like You," to the band's social relevance period, exemplified by "People Got to Be Free" and "A Ray of Hope." During their peak period from 1966-1969, the Rascals cranked out a batch of popular hit singles, and all are here, along with some of their better album cuts. This is the disc that many fans rushed to buy when they first acquired CD players, and it's still a good place to start for the uninitiated. For the true fan, however, the two-disc anthology released in the early '90s is much better. ~ Jim Newsom A wonderful collection of songs, most of which were major hits for this quartet, The Ultimate Rascals was one of the early compilations released when compact discs were still fairly young. As such, the tapes from which this recording was mastered were obviously not first generation, with the resulting subpar sound the disc's only weakness. But, oh, the music: a cornucopia for any baby boomer weaned on AM radio in the mid- to late '60s. The Rascals' development is traced here from the early rock & roll sides, like "Good Lovin'" and "You Better Run," through the blue-eyed soul era of "Groovin'" and "A Girl Like You," to the band's social relevance period, exemplified by "People Got to Be Free" and "A Ray of Hope." During their peak period, from 1966-1969, the Rascals cranked out a batch of popular hit singles, and all are here, along with some of their better album cuts. This is the disc that many fans rushed out to buy when they first acquired CD players, and it's still a good place to start for the uninitiated. For the true fan, however, the two-disc Anthology (1965-1972), released in the early '90s, is much better. ~ Jim Newsom Released towards the beginning of the CD era, way back in 1986, THE ULTIMATE RASCALS has a few flaws--some of the tracks are in ping-pongy fake stereo instead of as-nature-intended mono--but it's still about as good a single-disc (Young) Rascals anthology as you're likely to find. Staring with their classic first single "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out No More" and continuing through 19 other jazz-inflected slices of blue-eyed soul, THE ULTIMATE RASCALS charts a course from the hyper rock of "Good Lovin'" through the suave sophistication of "Groovin'" and "How Can I Be Sure" to the band's more complex and artsy later work, like "A Ray of Hope," which features Alice Coltrane. Excellent stuff, and possibly the only Rascals album you'll need.

The kings of blue-eyed New Yawk soul, The Rascals (n� The Young Rascals) were veterans of local bar bands when they got signed by Atlantic in 1965 and scored the raucous #1 shouter "Good Lovin'." They eventually moved beyond their R&B roots to a more produced pop sound, and scored six Top Ten hits ranging from the dreamy "Groovin'" to the funky message song "People Got to Be Free," to the sublime elegance of "How Can I Be Sure," before disbanding in 1971.

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