We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
How many bands do you know that have the best song they ever did be the first song on their debut record? I would imagine the list is short but would have to include the Raspberries.
The Cleveland outfit debuted in April of 1972 and from the first notes of “Go All The Way” you knew you were listening to a pop classic.
We didn’t have a genre known as power-pop yet but this band would be one of the pioneers. Led by Eric Carmen and guitarist Wally Bryson they delivered retro-pop music as an answer to the glam-prog-metal that seemed to be ruling the day.
Carmen even admitted in interviews that the band didnt like prog rock and wanted to deliver something more along the lines of Beatles/Beach Boys/Who songs of the 60’s.
Although “Go All The Way” was rockier than much of the LP, there are some other pleasures. I enjoyed Bryson’s “Come Around and See Me” and the song “Don’t Want To Say Goodbye”, which was actually the first single on the album.
Dave Smalley, the other guitarist and Jim Bonfanti on drums completed the quartet. Carmen and Bryson would lead them to more hits along the way and a second LP would quickly follow later in 72′ but they would be hard-pressed to match the high-flying exuberance of that first track.
Comments