The Spirit of '67 [Deluxe Mono/Stereo Edition] in Bloomington, MN

The Spirit of '67
,
Paul Revere and the Raiders'
third gold-selling, Top Ten album to be released in 1966, marked the triumph of the group's in-house writing team of lead singer
Mark Lindsay
Paul Revere
, and producer
Terry Melcher
. "Hungry," the Top Ten follow-up to "Kicks," was written, like the earlier hit, by
Barry Mann
and
Cynthia Weil
, but
Lindsay
-
Revere
Melcher
then hit the Top 40 with "The Great Airplane Strike" and the Top Ten with "Good Thing." (Actually,
was not a writer on "Good Thing," as subsequent releases indicated.) Those hits anchored this collection, which was filled out by showcases for bassist
Phil Volk
and drummer
Mark Smith
(guitarist
Drake Levin
had been replaced by
Jim Valley
), plus some secondary material by the group's leaders. As usual, they were listening closely to their peers, and much of the material had the twangy guitar-rock sound common to 1966, though some of the experimental eclecticism that would lead to the elaborate productions of 1967's
Sgt. Pepper
psychedelic era was also apparent in songs like "Oh! To Be a Man" and "Undecided Man" (the latter a near-copy of
the Beatles
' "Eleanor Rigby"). This stylistic trend following did not bode well for the future, but for the moment,
Paul Revere and the Raiders
were riding high. [A Deluxe Mono/Stereo Edition of
was released in 2016, including the album's mono mix as well as three additional bonus tracks. The set also features a booklet with rare photos and extended liner notes.] ~ William Ruhlmann