PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS
Alias Pink Puzz (Sundazed)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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By 1969, Paul Revere & The Raiders were no longer the hit machine they had been a few years before. FM radio was becoming the thing, and the pop formula that The Raiders had worked so well on tunes like "Hungry," "Steppin' Out," and "Kicks" wasn't welcome there. Singer Mark Lindsay came up with an unusual solution: make a record and put an acceptably psychedelic name on the label. Before the stations knew what was happening, they were spinning records by Pink Puzz and the public was responding. Great trick! How's the music? Some of it is forgettable, some of it makes your foot tap, and a few songs fit right in among The Raider's greatest. "Let Me," which appears here in album and single versions, has plenty of hooks and drive, and "Freeborn Man" is classic southern rock by a Northern band. The bonus tracks include the aforementioned single version of "Let Me," the ultra-catchy "Too Much Talk" (as a demo version), "Get Out Of My Mind," with its dark and mysterious vocal break, and an alternate version of "I Don't Know." There's even a pair of vintage radio commercials for the album. For fans of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Alias Pink Puzz is indispensable for two reasons: it has historical significance for the way it was slipped into the radio stations, and it contains most of the hooky sounds that endeared the band to them in the first place. Sundazed Records continues to champion this wonderful band, and I continue to be grateful.

Track List:

Let Me! * Thank You * Franfort Side Street * Hey Babro * Louisiana Redbone * Here Comes the Pain * The Original Handy Man * I Need You * Down in Amsterdam * I Don't Know * Freeborn Man * Let Me! (Single Version) * Too Much Talk (Demo Version) * Get Out of My Mind (Demo Version) * I Don't Know (Alternate Version)

© 2000 - DJ Johnson