Mark Lindsay: Just Like Us!

JUST LIKE US.....

. . . the very FIRST Raider album to be awarded Gold status.....January 6, 1967

Paul Revere & the Raiders Just Like Us cover

Paul Revere & the Raiders Just like Us back cover

Originally released by Paul Revere and the Raiders on vinyl as Columbia CL/CS 9251 (May 24, 1965)

Reissued on CD as Sundazed #SC6127 (1998)

Produced by Terry Melcher

Back to Groovy Stuff: Just Like Us!

MARK'S LINER NOTES FROM THE JUST LIKE US! CD

Okay, I confess! I haven't really listened to these tunes since I wore out my vinyl long ago. So now I can hear to this collection from two perspectives -- one, Who are these guys, anyway? and two, Being there!

Under the first heading, after I listen to Just Like Us and the bonus tracks, I think, Wow, what a weird band! Kind of white greasy garage meets R&B. And although they seem to have a 'Don't give a rat's attitude,' the band obvious cares about the music somehow. Even on the cover tunes I can hear their spirit leaking through.

Ah, yes, and from being there I recall: I was personally having the time of my life, although I still couldn't believe that the tall skinny shy kid from Idaho and his buddies had really landed on their Raider-booted feet in Hollywood. It was our first full "studio" album with Terry Melcher. He was getting to know us, and we were learning what a record producer really did -- like how you can tailor your sound in the studio, and the magic of recording on 8 tracks. They had two such machines at the old CBS studios on Sunset and Vine. And Terry knew all the tricks -- how to fill up one, bounce it down to a 4 track, stick that back on a fresh 8 track and voila -- 4 more tracks to play with!

So, for the first time, Drake could do two or three guitars; Phil could put down a couple of bass parts; I could play tenor, bari, and alto; and we could all sing -- even Smitty. You can hear the growth and transition as we work our way through this album. For example, Revere progressing from his old Wurlitzer to an accoustic piano, then a Farfisa, and finally arriving at a Vox organ -- the quintessential portable rock and roll organ of the British Invaders and more than one American band.

This is the album a lot of you first heard on "Where the Action Is," our daily ABC-TV show conceived and produced by Dick Clark. By the time we released our next album, Midnight Ride, we were well-known, had gained some studio savvy, wrote lots of original material, and sounded slightly more sophisticated. Better? In some ways I suppose so, but there's a raw enthusiasm on Just Like Us that's hard to duplicate.

Thanks to Bob Irwin and the whole gang at Sundazed, Dick Clark, Terry Melcher, and of course all of my old Raider compatriots.

- Mark Lindsay

JUST LIKE US TRACKS:

1. Steppin' Out - CLICK TO HEAR REALAUDIO CLIP
(If you need to download RealPlayer, please scroll down)

2. I'll Be Doggone - CLICK TO HEAR REALAUDIO CLIP

3. Out of Sight

4. Baby, Please Don't Go

5. I Know

6. Night Train

7. Just Like Me

8. Catch the Wind

9. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

10. I'm Cryin'

11. New Orleans

12. Action - CLICK TO HEAR REALAUDIO CLIP

13. Ride Your Pony (previously unissued) - CLICK TO HEAR REALAUDIO CLIP

14. Just Like Me (alternate mix) - CLICK TO HEAR REALAUDIO CLIP

15. B.F.D.R.F. Blues - CLICK TO HEAR REALAUDIO CLIP
(previously only available as the B-side of Just Like Me,
and NO, Mitch Miller would NOT have wanted to know what the letters stood for...)

Autographed copies of JUST LIKE US! available at Mark Lindsay's GROOVY STUFF....

If you need RealPlayer, download it here...

A TREASURED BIRTHDAY CARD FROM THE SUNDAZED GANG!

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