Search - Rascals :: Very Best of

Terrible Sound

scoop25 | Ridgefield, CT United States | 04/06/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Like another reviewer, I anticipated good sound on this CD, given that it was from Rhino. FORGET IT. The sound quality is dreadful, muddy, hopeless. This is irritating when the CD does a poor job of reproducing cuts from early in their career -- mono cuts that one would have thought no one can murder. But by the end of the disc, when the sound quality implodes during "People Got To Be Free" and the rest -- well campers, lights out.
This is an offensively bad job of remastering and reproduction."

A Groovin' Cd..You Better Run To Get It!

R. Barnes | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | 06/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The "Young" Rascals were one of the unique groups of the middle to late sixties to actually produce albums that you could listen to, not just 2 songs and 8 fillers. Their great early influences included Atlantic/Stax Soul ('Mustang Sally" "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" . and early R&B ("Good Lovin") (weren't we all at the time?) and as they matured, became a bit more "expansive" ("A Ray Of Hope", "Heaven"). Also, much of the original group came from "Joey Dee & The Starlighters", so they knew the business a bit before diving in. They were originally formed in NYC with Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, Eddie Brigati, and Dino Danelli This group was deservedly inducted into the 'Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame" in 1997.This was pure AM radio at its best ("Lonely To Long"). Even their superlative first GREATEST HITS (Time/Peace) was one of the biggest selling LP's for many years, as new generations discovered the music. This collection covers the main bases, (Groovin', People Got To Be Free , etc) and is a worthwhile purchase, at an excellent price. For those who do not have it, you should ,MUST, have it in your library. The alternatives include the much older "Ultimate Rascals" which is great at the same price (but the re-mastering is not as good), to the new 'Essentials" which I would NOT get, since it has less tracks, omits major hits, and is more expensive.For the completist, and really the best archive for The Rascals, the Multi Disk Anthology is the best, but a bit expensive. This one will do just fine, especially at 1/3rd the cost! I wish they would issue a wider 2 disk set, but until then, this is great and well worth the price. Highly recommended for "Good Lovin", "Groovin", "See" ALONE! Top down summer music, turn it up!"

Nothing But the Hits!

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 04/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How much Rascals does the average fan need? The Rascals Anthology (1965-1972) focuses too much on the band's experimental (read: non-commercial) period. Disc two of Anthology contains only one top ten hit. Consequently, if all you want are the hits, then The Very Best of the Rascals is the obvious choice. All thirteen of their top forty hits are here. [Only two minor hits are missing: 1970's "Hold On" (#51) and their last charting single from 1971 "Love Me" (#95).]What you do get is some of the best blue-eyed soul of the Sixties: the R&B charged "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Hart Out Anymore," the super-charged remake of the Olympics' "Good Lovin'," followed by "You Better Run," the first of eight singles co-authored by vocalist Eddie Brigati and keyboardist Felix Cavaliere. They also wrote the groups three million-seller singles: "Groovin'," "A Beautiful Morning" and "People Got To Be Free."This disc contains some of the most soulful music from one of the Sixties greatest bands. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"