RASPBERRIES, FRESH
(RPM; CDs)

By David Bash

If at the dawning of the New Millennium you had taken bets that in the year of some people's lord, 2004, the following two things would have happened:

1. Brian Wilson would release the Smile album, and would tour it around the world

2. Raspberries would do a reunion show, with all four original members
you'd have been richer than Donald Trump on his best day, and would never have to hear the words "you're fired" for the rest of your life! Perhaps in celebration of the Raspberries reunion, or perhaps in recognition that Raspberries were a damn fine band, RPM has reissued their four albums, with the first two available now.

Raspberries was a debut album that displayed a strong sense maturity, and a variety of styles within the pop framework. The three songwriters of the band, Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, and Dave Smalley were able to flex their creative muscles, and each was able to forge their own musical identity. The album starts, fittingly, with the track that the band is most identified with, "Go All The Way." What a masterpiece this is—three minutes and twenty-five seconds of pure pop power! Bryson's "Come Around And See Me" is a nice piece of folky pop that is accented by Bryson's flamenco like guitar playing and sense of humor. "I Saw The Light" is a delicate romantic piece, highlighted by Carmen's urgent, though restrained lead vocal, wonderful harmony vocals, and one of the most memorable choruses you'll ever hear. "Waiting" has a spare yet powerful arrangement and a melody of fragile beauty. The magnificent "Don't Want To Say Goodbye" carries a more than vague influence of The Bee Gees, and perhaps for this reason Capitol records decided to make it the first single from the album (unfortunately, either due to poor promotion or an uninterested public, it got no higher than #86 on the Billboard charts). Smalley's "Get It Moving" is very similar in style and quality to Joey Molland's Badfinger tracks, and the album's magnum opus, the eight minute "I Can Remember" features many transitions, both musical and emotional, and is a definite catharsis for the listener.

The next album, Fresh is considered by many Raspberries fans to be their best and most cohesive, with the teaming of Carmen and Smalley as songwriters. The first track on Fresh, "I Wanna Be With You" might be titled "Go All The Way" Junior, in that it's similar in structure and lyrical content and almost as intense. "Let's Pretend" is a beautifully innocent paean to the girl of one's dreams; Carmen codified every aural element of a blooming romance, and his soaring lead vocal reflected the wonders of being in love, but being too young to spend your whole life together. "I Reach For The Light" is probably the most self-centered (in the true sense of the term, in no way implying anything negative) Carmen gets on the album. This lyrically and musically introspective song incorporates some new elements, including some Sgt. Pepper inspired trumpet, and would do McCartney proud. Speaking of The Beatles, "Nobody Knows" is probably the track most directly influenced by the Fab Four, as it would have fit perfectly on Beatles For Sale. "Might As Well" is the sole Bryson composition on the album, and it's a pretty number with Bryson's familiar folkiness and British inflections, making this track very reminiscent of The Merry-Go-Round. "If You Change Your Mind" is one of Carmen's saddest sounding tracks, and this is the perfect milieu for the lyrics, which are about a man resolved to the fact that his woman is leaving him. The final track on the album, the Carmen/Smalley-penned "Drivin' Around" is a wonderful ode to the Beach Boys and to a time when we could cruise the streets for chicks with the top down and the radio turned up loud.

Unlike RPM's Power Pop series of a few years ago, Raspberries and Fresh are on individual CDs, with the original cover art. Thanks to RPM for releasing these quintessential albums in their proper form, and these discs will serve to whet our appetites for the next two Raspberries reissues, due in February.

Shindig! / February 5, 2005