Your typical garden-variety
rock historian says that
Big Star never went over with American record buyers because the kids were more interested in
hard rock or
prog than smart
power pop at the time -- but that logic conveniently ignores the fact that
the Raspberries were scoring hits and selling tickets all across the nation at the same time
Radio City was dying on the vine. And while
Eric Carmen may have lacked
Alex Chilton's snazz as a freak-genius guitarist or songwriter, at their best
the Raspberries were the band who succeeded where
Big Star failed, crafting gloriously hooky but potently rockin' three-minute tunes that moved the
British Invasion musical ethos ten years into the future. (And one could argue that
Wally Bryson,
Jim Bonfanti, and
John Alleksic were a more potent backing band than
Chilton had at the time, even if they lacked a visionary along the lines of
Chris Bell.)
Greatest covers most of the same territory that was charted out on previous
Raspberries compilations (most notably the
Capitol Collectors Series set from 1991), but the material has been remastered using 24-bit technology for greater punch and power, and the liner notes feature relevant commentary from
Carmen,
Bryson, and
Bonfanti on the songs. From the glorious teenage lust anthem
"Go All the Way" to
"Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," still the best song about the rush of hearing yourself on the radio,
Greatest is an excellent one-stop shopping place for your
Raspberries needs. You may not need this to replace any of the previous greatest-hits sets, but anyone looking for a great introduction to this great band can buy this with confidence. ~ Mark Deming
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