Midnight Ride
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Midnight Ride
- Artist: Paul Revere & the Raiders
- Rating:
- Release Date: May 09, 1966
- Total Time: 29:08
- Genre: Rock
Review
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.). It was this stylistic break, coupled with disputes over which bandmembers were to get their songs represented on the group's albums, that led to Levin's departure following the release of this album, which helped precipitate a stylistic drift away from the sound that defined the group. The Sundazed reissue, released in February 2000, has been remixed from the original three-track session masters, yet remains true to the band's original sound, and the album has been enhanced with the presence of three rocking bonus tracks (two of them car songs -- cool!). "Kicks" is still the coolest song here, but the Sundazed version rocks a lot harder with the extra tracks, and is a lot more fun. There are also new notes by Volk and Levin, in which both look back with honesty yet a great deal of warmth and enjoyment for what they did, and what they were doing around the time of this album. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi| Midnight Rhythm Combo (2004 Album by Midnight Rhythm Combo) | |
| Midnight Ride (1994 Album by Barbara Pennington) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Midnight Ride (album)
| Midnight Ride | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Paul Revere & the Raiders | ||||
| Released | May 6, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 1966 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, garage rock | |||
| Length | 29:08 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Terry Melcher | |||
| Paul Revere & the Raiders chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Midnight Ride is the fifth studio album by American pop rock group Paul Revere & the Raiders. Produced by Terry Melcher and released in May 1966, the album featured the U.S. top five single "Kicks."[2] The album also includes "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", a song The Monkees covered and became a U.S. top 20 hit in 1967.[3]
The album is unique in the band's discography in that it contains songwriting credits by all five bandmembers.[4] Stylistic changes, combined with arguments over which group members were to get their songs included on the band's albums, resulted in lead guitarist Drake Levin quitting the group following the release of Midnight Ride.[4] The album also marked the end of the band's relationship with the Brill Building music publishing house, where "Kicks" and "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" were written.[5]
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Contents
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Release and reception
Midnight Ride peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart.[6] The album was certified gold in the U.S. on March 20, 1967.[7] Music critic Bruce Eder said the album "marked just about the pinnacle of Paul Revere & the Raiders' history as a source of great albums."[4] The album was described in Billboard magazine as a "package of hard driving, pulsating rockers."[8] Serene Dominic of the Phoenix New Times called the album "proof that [the band] squandered not a minute of that massive TV exposure."[5] It is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery and Michael Lydon.
In 1986 the song "Kicks" was covered by the Monkees as an album track on their album Then & Now... The Best of The Monkees.
Midnight Ride was remastered and re-released on February 1, 2000 by Sundazed Records with bonus tracks.
Track listing
Side 1
- "Kicks" (Mann, Weil) — 2:28
- "There's Always Tomorrow" (Levin, Smith) — 2:39
- "Little Girl in the 4th Row" (Lindsay, Revere) — 2:58
- "Ballad of a Useless Man" (Levin) — 2:08
- "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" (Boyce, Hart) — 2:31
- "There She Goes" (Lindsay, Revere) — 1:47
Side 2
- "All I Really Need Is You" (Lindsay, Revere) — 3:27
- "Get It On" (Levin, Volk) — 3:12
- "Louie, Go Home" (Lindsay, Revere) — 2:41
- "Take a Look at Yourself" (Lindsay, Revere) — 1:48
- "Melody For an Unknown Girl" (Lindsay, Revere) — 1:59
Sundazed Records 2000 version
- "Kicks" (Mann, Weil) — 2:28
- "There's Always Tomorrow" (Levin, Smith) — 2:39
- "Little Girl in the 4th Row" (Lindsay, Revere) — 2:58
- "Ballad of a Useless Man" (Levin) — 2:08
- "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" (Boyce, Hart) — 2:31
- "There She Goes" (Lindsay, Revere) — 1:47
- "All I Really Need Is You" (Lindsay, Revere) — 3:27
- "Get It On" (Levin, Volk) — 3:12
- "Louie, Go Home" (Lindsay, Revere) — 2:41
- "Take a Look at Yourself" (Lindsay, Revere) — 1:48
- "Melody For an Unknown Girl" (Lindsay, Revere) — 1:59
- "Shake It Up" (Bonus track)
- "Little Girl In The 4th Row" (Italian Version) (Bonus track)
- "SS 396" (Bonus track)
- "Corvair Baby" (Bonus track)
Chart performance
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200[6] | 9 |
Credits and personnel
- Bob Irwin - mastering
- Drake Levin - lead guitar, vocals, liner notes
- Mark Lindsay - lead vocals (except where noted)
- Terry Melcher - arranger, producer
- Paul Revere - organ, vocals, arranger
- Rich Russell - design
- Mike "Smitty" Smith - drums, lead vocals on "There's Always Tomorrow"
- Phil "Fang" Volk - bass guitar, vocals, lead vocals on "Get It On", liner notes
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "Paul Revere & the Raiders - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p118074. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ "The Monkees - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4940. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ a b c Eder, Bruce. "Midnight Ride - Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/album/r47836. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ a b Dominic, Serene. "Phoenix Music - Paul Revere and the Raiders". Phoenix New Times (New Times Media). http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-03-09/music/paul-revere-and-the-raiders&page=222. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ a b "Paul Revere & the Raiders - Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p118074. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 78 (21): 68. 1966-05-28. http://books.google.com/?id=6xAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=RA1-PT1#v=onepage&q=. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
External links
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