The Smiley Smile Message Board

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So we didn't have a Raspberries thread yet, right? What's up with that?? Given their influence on much of the music many of us love (please pardon the presumption), the quality of their work and their general awesomeness, I thought it was high time.

I was listening to Fresh Raspberries just now - a collection of really strong tracks, and it's not even their best album. "I Reach for the Light"..(http://i.imgur.com/CCzLXVZ.gif)!


So what's your favourite Raspberries track/album?

"My mate Lowie is right, Raspberries are awesome. I like me some." (John Lennon)
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P.S. I just saw a couple of old threads on rather specific Raspberries questions. Maybe a mod could fuse those with this general thread?

Ohhh I love the Raspberries. Positively irresistible cheese.
Reminds me, I gotta start spinning Fresh - that's a fantastic summer album.

Ha!  Lowbacca, You been reading over at SHF, by chance?  Now we know where you've been hiding out.   :lol

We had a thread on the Main a couple of years ago - around the time Eric was putting out The Essential 2Cd set.  On the Main board because Eric had tagged on "Brand New Year" with a few of the cats from Brian's Band (of the time) as the one new track to get his die-hard fans to buy it.  I passed.  I already have all the Raspberries and Eric stuff over, under, sideways, and down.  But somebody gave it to me last Christmas.  I'll write up some details and get a post up.

Off the top of my head tho, I remember reading the genesis.  When Eric started the re-master project that became the Cd set, it was to be something else entirely:  A Cd of all the old Cyrus Erie material, Single a and b-sides, live, outtakes...  For whatever reason the project fell apart, and the essential was released instead.  We only got one Cyrus Erie track.  Of course lots can be found on youtube.  People still pine on-line, hoping one day that Eric will get it together.  There is plenty of Eric's solo outtakes and live tracks/concerts that could be released.  Like the Beach Boys, the Big If is would it sell beyond the uber fans.  Good luck on that, in both cases.

Essential has great liner notes by Eric and Ken Sharp (who wrote Eric's biography).  I'll tap-in a paraphrased (for legal reasons) version of one.  If it's not legal, they will probably move my whole post to the Sandbox, or up in smoke.  Lost in the merge.

"Go All the Way"  - Inspired in part after I watched the Stones on Sullivan, with Mick rolling his eyes every time he had to sing let's spend some time together.  Ed's producer/director thought the Stones were so threatening, they made them change the lyric.  (The Stones were not the only ones.)  In the meantime, the Beach Boys were getting some pretty suggestive lyrics on the radio because they sounded like "choir boys."  I wanted to craft a song that could sneak a "suggestive" line past the censors so I turned it around and had the girl say it to me.  They still banned it in the UK, but went to #5 in America.

Paul Stanley:  I saw them at Carnegie Hall (tickets were $6.50) in 1973 - they were absolutely awesome, so uncool, they were cool, just brilliant.  The beginning of "Deuce" was me ripping off "Go All the Way."

Courtney Love:  "I grew up on it.  Their sound is all over Hole's Celebrity Skin."  Really?  I'd say that statement is a bit of a stretch!

It's strange, most of the musicians they asked for comments were Punks and Hard Rockers.  Couldn't he have asked Brian or Bruce?  Guess not.  Included - Slash, Steve Jones, Cherie Currie... here's Alex Chilton:  I remember when I first heard the Raspberries.  Big Star were in a van traveling around doing some dates and we heard "Go All the Way" on the radio and we said, "Wow, those guys are really doing It!"  So wordedly put together there, Alex!  My spell-check keeps telling me I'm spelling that wrong.  Isn't wordedly a word, or something I picked up in the South.  Call in the captain.  He'll sort it out.

They didn't put Judd's favorite on the Cd, so no insights to share, you'll have to go over to SHF to see his thoughts.  irresistible cheese fans we are -Will

and...welcome back to the commoner ranks, Lowie.  That's Rock'n'Roll.

Before someone jumps on my wordedly word, or Smiley shuts down again (it did just that while I was searchin' the word online), what I meant by wordedly was bland.

Alex was not usually bland.  Maybe they were misquoting him.

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