Paul Revere & the Raiders

Paul Revere & the Raiders

Mojo Workout (Sundazed)

The best thing about Paul Revere & the Raiders' Mojo Workout is not the high-energy nostalgia of the three dozen-plus tracks spread out over this 2-CD set. No, the best thing about Mojo Workout is David Fricke's wonderful liner notes, making an excellent case for the Raiders as one of the Great American Bands. Paul Revere & the Raiders were already one of the top live acts on the Pacific Northwest ballroom/frat-party circuit when those Liverpool upstarts known as the Beatles invaded in February 1964; an early Raiders single, "Like Long Hair," went Top 40 in 1961. Even a cursory glance at early Beatles (and Stones and Animals and Yardbirds) albums make it clear that the purpose of bands on both sides of the Atlantic was not to make original music, but to be a live jukebox playing the hits of the day or cool blues tunes. That's why this collection of outtakes, B-sides, and live cuts recorded in September 1964 is a testament to the Raiders' explosive personality and incomparable showmanship. There are no hits traditionally associated with the Raiders included, except their self-penned "Louie Go Home," repeated three times across the album. Remember that in the days when being a cover band was no stigma, a band might well repeat songs throughout the evening, especially if the crowd responded well to them. "Louie Louie," "Night Train," "Fever," "Have Love Will Travel," and "Big Boy Pete" also repeat themselves twice, but that still leaves 21 crowd-pleasers: "Night Train," "What'd I Say," "Money," "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," "Twist and Shout," "Maybelline," and "Hi Heel Sneakers" are layered between Aaron Neville's "Over You" and Huey "Piano" Smith's "Don't You Just Know It." Other tracks like "Mojo Workout," "Whole Lotta Nothin'," and "Crisco Party" were simply rewrites of popular songs, in those cases Muddy Waters' "Got My Mojo Workin'," James Brown's "Night Train," and the Olympics' "Hully Gully" with a then-risqué intro. The year after these tracks were recorded, Paul Revere & the Raiders became a household name when they signed on as house band for Dick Clark's weekday show Where the Action Is. Their string of hits like "Kicks," "Just Like Me," and "Hungry" made them fodder for 16 magazine, and they were relegated to teeny-bopper status like the other band that stole their thunder, the Monkees. The Raiders' Colonial costumes were soon considered as passé as their music, and they lost their luster when lead singer and babe magnet Mark Lindsey went solo. Mojo Workout reinstates their considerable talents with all due honors. Forget about everything that came after, and just enjoy rock & roll when it was still played for fun.