Midnight Ride by Paul Revere & The Raiders

The British are coming! The British are coming! Just how did the American music scene respond to the British Invasion? Judging by this 1966 album, the answer was to wear revolutionary era uniforms and produce a lot of songs that sounded suspiciously like the Merseybeat sound of three years previously, by which time the Beatles had already moved on to more mystical and drug influenced pastures. 

Aside from a couple of cringeworthy and borderline creepy love songs (Little Girl in the 4th Row and Melody for an Unknown Girl) this album improves a lot when they stop trying so much to sound like they’re from Liverpool and throw in a bit of west coast garage rock and R&B. Their best known song on this is probably I’m Not Your Stepping Stone (later covered by bands as diverse as the Monkees and the Sex Pistols).

Another highlight amongst the bonus tracks on this release is a bit of bouncy surf guitar called SS-396 which fortunately turns out to be about a sports car and not the other sort of SS (always wise to check these days).

Tricorn-hat-tastic!

https://album.link/gb/i/771271444