Commando 4941 Ram Raiders

Midnight Ride marked just about the pinnacle of Paul Revere & the Raiders' history as a source of great albums. Even more to their credit, most of the music on Midnight Ride was written by the bandmembers themselves, and not just Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere, but Phil Volk, Drake Levin, and Mike Smith getting a shared songwriting credit. The irony is that this was the last album on which that egalitarian spirit was to dominate; alongside the tight, hard, eminently danceable rock & roll sounds that comprise about two-thirds of this album, there are signs of the softer, more introspective balladry that lead singer Mark Lindsay was starting to favor in his songwriting ("Little Girl in the Fourth Row," etc.)…

This double-CD set presents a real conundrum, on a lot of levels. For starters, on its face, 55 songs may well seem like overkill to the casual fan who only knows or remembers (or thinks they only remember) five or six big hits by Paul Revere & the Raiders. And there are more modest single-CD collections to be found on this band that seem less daunting. But as it turns out - for those who give this set a try - Paul Revere & the Raiders did have just enough hits, when coupled with a sufficient number of respected album tracks and B-sides, to sustain a double-CD set. And that goes double for anyone who likes plain old rock & roll - even when this band got ambitious and a little bit progressive and serious, they never lost sight of the value of a great beat and carefully placed vocal and instrumental hooks, and they were always fun…

Hungry for Kicks: Singles & Choice Cuts 1965-69 does an effective job of chronicling the majority of Paul Revere & the Raiders' biggest hits from the mid- to late '60s. Most of the familiar radio tracks are featured, including "Kicks," "Hungry," and "Good Thing." Also included are the 45 versions of seven tracks and several great album cuts, many of equal quality to the hits. Tracks like "Why? Why? Why? (Is It So Hard)," "Ballad of a Useless Man," and "Louise" are would-be chart-toppers that got away. What separates this set from similar PR&R compilations is the omission of the R&B cover versions that were prevalent on their original LPs. Raucous and fun as they are, the discarded R&B covers leave the listener focused on the Raiders as an innovative pop band as opposed to the kings of frat party rock. Rev-Ola did a fantastic job putting this package together, with rare photos, picture sleeves, and informative liner notes.

The Surf Raiders were among the few bands who were considered the originators of the surf music revival. The members were Robert Dalley, lead guitar, Neal Kuzee, guitars, Loyd Davis, bass, Linda Dalley, keyboards and Dave Rodriguez, drums. Eventually Neal retired and was replaced by Tom Moncrief. This was the core of the group until 1989, when the group disbanded.