The Raspberries return thirty years later with the original line-up and a live album recorded in 2005 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: The Raspberries
ALBUM: Live On Sunset Strip
LABEL: Rykodisc
YEAR: 2007
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Eric Carmen – lead vocals, keyboards, guitars * Wally Bryson – guitar, vocals * Dave Smalley – bass, vocals * Jim Bonfanti – drums, percussion * Jennifer Lee – backup vocals, keyboards * Billy Sullivan – keyboards, harmonica
TRACK LISTING: 01 I Wanna Be With You * 02 Tonight * 03 Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) * 04 Let’s Pretend * 05 I Don’t Know What I Want * 06 Should I Wait * 07 Party’s Over * 08 Don’t Want To Say Goodbye * 09 Hard To Get Over A Heartbreak * 10 Nobody Knows * 11 Ecstasy * 12 I’m A Rocker * 13 Go All The Way
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
With four exemplary studio albums that set the bar and defined American power pop for generations to come, The Raspberries return thirty years later with the original line-up and a live album recorded in 2005 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
As a fan from their early days that still gets chills when I hear ‘Go All The Way’ on the radio, the prospect of The Raspberries playing again is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Reunions come and go and some should never happen to begin with and some bands refuse to bow out gracefully and become nothing more than a sad parody of their former selves, Styx anyone?
With this said, The Raspberries of the 70’s were a formidable live act and the stuff of legend, can they at this late in the game pull off a return to the stage without embarrassing themselves and chip away at their golden reputation?
The Songs
Thankfully, the answer to that question is a resounding yes. This is a wonderful document of a band that has matured gracefully and can still bring the house down.
The band sound energized and excited as they should be and not just going through the motions. Ok, some the signs of age are here as the voices have become a little deeper with time and perhaps a couple tunes sound just a tad slower, but damn if they don’t still sound good.
All the harmonies are here and with the occasional help of a female back-up vocalist sound that much better. There’s a little more keyboard to be found in the performance than I ever heard on the records but it’s not necessarily a bad thing giving the music some size where needed.
No complaints on the set list either. All the classics are here including the uber-cool ‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)’, ‘Ecstasy’ and naturally ‘Go All The Way’ closing out the show and disc, but also included are some lesser heard, but choice Raspberries cuts like ‘Should I Wait’ and ‘Party’s Over’ which fill out ‘Live On Sunset Strip’ giving longtime fans more bang for the buck.
In Summary
It’s hard to say what’s next for The Raspberries. The news section of their web site hasn’t been updated since last year and I know I am not alone when I say I hope for a new studio recording from the band in the future and based on this CD that would truly be something to look forward to.
Video
Ecstacy
Overnight Sensation
