“Somewhere in this world,” Lindsay adds, “there's an eight-track recording of a live show we did in Hawaii. This would have been about ’68 or ’69. I don't know where the tapes are.” Neither Lindsay nor anyone else associated with the group knows of any live recordings of the ’66-67 era group.


In his personal collection, Roger Hart has an unreleased recording or two. “I have a complete set from The Division Street Corral in Portland, from May ’65. One of our early fans recorded us that night. It’s a muddy recording of everything from me introducing the group right through to ‘Oo Poo Pa Doo’. I’ve never listened to it all the way through,” he admits. “I never felt the need, mostly because I’ve heard it all before.”


THELEGACY


Looking back, the heavy exposure that Paul Revere & The Raiders enjoyed – especially at the height of their popularity in ’65-67 – was a double-edged sword. While it’s true that the group holds the record for most television performances of any group in the ’60s – more than 750, by Phil Volk’s count – that exposure, coupled with their costumes and zany onscreen image, may have worked against their long-term credibility. But beginning with the ’98 expanded release of the Nuggets box set, modern listeners have rediscovered the Raiders’ music alongside fellow garage-rockers such as The Sonics and The Wailers, and are drawing musical connections with those harder-edged strains of music. “When you take away the pictures,” notes Hart, “what you’re left with is a tough, Northwest-style garage-rock band that managed to make it, to get out of the north woods and take over the country.”


This is a contrast to the context of mid-60sAM radio, when a Raiders cut might be sandwiched between singles from, say, The Lemon Pipers and The 1910 Fruitgum Company. The group has won modern-day praise from David Letterman’s bandleader, Paul Shaffer, who often refers to the group as “The best show group ever.” Greg Prevost – leader of garage rockers The Chesterfield Kings – insists that “The Raiders are one of the most important groups to emerge in the US. Their albums and singles – both in content and production – are in the same league as the “Top 5” (Stones,


Beatles, Who, Kinks, Byrds).” And the new 3- CD singles set – most in punchy monaural mixes – is a fitting “Exhibit A” to support Prevost’s assertion.


Dick Clark Productions – creator and owner of Where the Action Is and many other programmes – has never put together a Raiders video retrospective, and none of the WTAI or Happening episodes have ever been released on video. In fact most of the episodes (with the exception of a high-quality dub of the unaired pilot) exist only as blurry kinescopes. Future release seems unlikely.


In the end, that fact might aid in critical re- evaluation of Paul Revere & The Raiders. Detached from the visual schtick, modern- day listeners are instead left with the music. And while the onscreen image of the group was almost always about comedy, the music rarely was. Hard-rocking hit singles like ‘Steppin’ Out’, ‘Kicks’, ‘Hungry’, ‘Good Thing’ and others demonstrate a no- nonsense rocking combo that produced an era’s worth of finely wrought, hook-filled pop singles. The Raiders combined the exuberance and fun of youth with a bit of the abandon and attitude of wild rock ’n’ roll.


Reflecting on the group’s legacy, Mark Lindsay says, “I’d rather people remember us as a kick-ass rock ’n’ roll band than as humorous, because there wasn’t a lot of slapstick onstage. That came with TV.” Keith Allison agrees, adding that “The Raiders don’t always get credit for the quality of the records.” Jim Valley expresses the pleasure he gets from fans approaching him, saying things like, “You made us feel good. You were the reason we came home after school to watch Where The Action Is.” Phil Volk sums it up, “First and foremost we were musicians. That’s very apparent if you listen to some of the B-sides. Those are us playing spontaneously from our gut, from our soul. We played with taste, with soul, with chops. We were the real deal.”


•


With grateful thanks to Mark Lindsay, Jim Valley, Phil Volk, Roger Hart, Keith Allison and Greg Prevost.


The Complete Columbia Singles is out now on Collectors Choice.


THINGS GOOD


ABEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE RAIDERS’ CLASSIC 1960S ALBUMS


JUST LIKE US (1965) Breakthrough hits ‘Steppin’ Out’ and ‘Just Like Me’ are here along with TV show theme ‘Action’ and covers of the Stones, Them and Donovan.


MIDNIGHT RIDE (1965) ‘Kicks’ established the Raiders as a pop band par excellence but ‘Louie Go Home’ and the original ‘I’m Not Your Stepping Stone’ are garage classics. ‘Ballad Of A Useless Man’ and ‘Melody For An Unknown Girl’ show growth.


THE SPIRIT OF ’67 (1966) The last album to feature the classic Raiders line-up with Fang, Harpo and Smitty sees members vying for writing space with surprising results (‘Why? Why? Why? (Is It So Hard)’, ‘Our Candidate’). The hits keep on coming in the shape of ‘Hungry’, ‘Good Thing’ and ‘The Great Airplane Strike’, the latter being the first of several singles re- recorded for inclusion on albums. Probably the best Raiders album and certainly the best place to start.


GREATEST HITS (1967) This 25 minute round-up of 45s and better-known album tracks thus far was a huge seller in ’67 and confirmed the Raiders’ reputation as one of the biggest American rock bands of the day.


REVOLUTION! (1967) ‘Him Or Me –What’s It Gonna Be?’ may be the best Raiders recording of ’em all. Elsewhere, the “new” Raiders struggle with occasionally weak material although ‘Gone –Movin’ On’ and ‘Tighter’ do rock.


SOMETHING HAPPENING (1968) A production tour de force helmed by Lindsay dominated by increasingly complex psych- tinged workouts like ‘Too Much Talk’ and ‘Burn Like A Candle’.


HARD & HEAVY (WITH MARSHMALLOW) (1969) Fellow Where The Action Is renegade Keith Allison joins the band for a joyful ragbag of bubblegum, blue-eyed soul and proto hard-rock. The hits continue with ‘Mr Sun, Mr Moon’ and ‘Cinderella Sunshine’.


The ’69 model with Joe Carrero Jr (left), Keith Allison (second right) and Freddy Weller (far right).


ALIAS PINK PUZZ (1969) ‘Let Me!’ signals a return to the garage-rock of yore amid stabs at country-rock and gospel sounds.


51


Photo courtesy of Gino Rossi


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