Various Artists – Play On: A Raspberries Tribute (A PopEntertainment.com Music Review)

PopEntertainment
2 days ago
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Various Artists – Play On: A Raspberries Tribute (Think Like A Key Music)

Raspberries packed a whole lot of rocking in during their two years of recording. The Cleveland-based band featured Wally Bryson (guitars), Eric Carmen (vocals and multiple instruments), Jim Bonfanti (drums), Dave Smalley (bass) and later Scott McCarl (bass) and Michael McBride (drums). Together with contemporary bands like Badfinger and Big Star, they were considered one of the founding bands of power pop.

They debuted in 1972 with a self-titled debut album which featured the smash hit “Go All the Way.” Two years, a few albums and several hits later, Raspberries broke up. Lead singer Carmen went on to a successful solo career and the others had differing levels of success in the music world. The band reunited briefly in the mid-2000s, but rumors of new original music never came to be, other than a terrific two-disc concert album Live on Sunset Strip.

Their influence in power pop music is borne out by the staggering breadth of guests playing on the tribute album Play On, which includes hitmakers like Rick Springfield, Vicki and Debbi Peterson (The Bangles), Lou Gramm (Foreigner), John Waite, Marshall Crenshaw, Karla DeVito (Meat Loaf), Cherie Currie (The Runaways) and Shoes. Cult favorites and up-and-comers include The Lemon Twigs, Bird Streets, Adelaide Estep, The Kennedys, The Caulfields, Olivia Rubini and Robin Taylor Zander.

Members of bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Babys, Utopia, Brian Wilson’s touring group, The Georgia Satellites and Nada Surf also contribute to songs, even ones where they are not the lead artists. Original Raspberries drummer Jim Bonfanti lays down the beats on four songs and the band’s late lead vocalist Eric Carmen contributed the countdown leading into the song “Tonight.” Raspberries guitarist Wally Bryson’s son Jesse also contributed a track.

Play On: A Raspberries Tribute is co-produced by musician (and Raspberries biographer) Ken Sharp and musician producer Fernando Perdomo.

This compilation contains covers of 36 of the 39 tracks from the four albums Raspberries released between 1972 and 1974 as well as a non-album demo track called “Please Let Me Come Back Home.” (For the record, the three missing tracks from the original albums are “Rock & Roll Mama” and “Get It Moving” from the self-titled debut album and “Money Down” from Side 3.)

The first disk leads off with a powerful grouping of some of the band’s best-known tunes. First off, 80s rocker Rick Springfield takes off with a blistering cover of “Go All the Way,” one of the most perfect power pop singles of all time. Then Vicki and Debbi Pederson do a joyful take on the poptastic hit “I Wanna Be With You.” This is followed up by The Lemon Twigs’ swooningly gorgeous take on the sweet and near-flawless ballad “Let’s Pretend.”

However, as the disks get deeper into the weeds of the Raspberries’ song book, it quickly becomes clear that the band was so much more than its biggest hits. There are wondrous forgotten tracks like Katie Ferrara’s stunning piano-based take on “Come Around and See Me,” Robin Taylor Zander’s falsetto-voiced redo of the psychedelic rock ballad “Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye” and former Jellyfish / Slash’s Snakepit member Eric Dover’s hard-hitting “Ecstacy.”

The second disk rocks out with more favorites and almost-hits. Former Foreigner singer Lou Gramm and Babys leader John Waite rock the house with “Tonight” and “I Don’t Know What I Want” respectively. Co-producer Ken Sharp – one of two artists to do two songs here, the other is The Lemon Twigs – jams out to “I’m a Rocker.”

Raspberries’ final top 40 hit “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” is given a spare reading by another early ‘70s power pop band, the cult faves Shoes. Speaking of early ‘70s bands, The Hudson Brothers (who knew they were still around?) rough up “All Through the Night.” That is followed by 80s fave Marshall Crenshaw’s jangly country-vibed take of “Should I Wait.”

Tori Holub wraps her Karen-Carpenter-like vocals around the relaxing “Starting Over,” and The Chefs (a supergroup featuring Dan Baird of the Georgia Satellites and Stan Lynch of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers) bring the AOR in their reimagining of “Party’s Over.” And then there is Cherie Currie of the Runaways’ punk/new wave variation of “Hands on You.”

So much great music, much of it undeservedly forgotten. Play On reminds us of what could have happened if Raspberries became as huge as they should have been. And if you like this stuff, go back and check out the original recordings.

You can purchase Play On: A Raspberries Tribute at: Various - Play On: A Raspberries Tribute. THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC.

Jay S. Jacobs