Get It Moving! Analog Spark Reissues Original "Raspberries" On Vinyl

Get It Moving! Analog Spark Reissues Original “Raspberries” On Vinyl

Analog Spark is going all the way with its next vinyl LP reissue.

The audiophile imprint of Razor and Tie has recently made a 180-gram deluxe reissue of The Raspberries’ classic 1972 self-titled debut available on its website, with an arrival at Amazon and other retailers on March 11. Over the course of just four albums released between 1972 and 1974, The Raspberries positioned themselves as legitimate heirs to the thrones of The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Byrds. With jangly guitars, alternately swaggering and yearning vocals, full-bodied harmonies, unerring melodic instinct and plenty of youthful abandon, the mod four-man group defined “power pop” on songs like “Go All the Way,” “I Wanna Be with You” and “Let’s Pretend.” As singer, guitarist/bassist and songwriter, Carmen provided the band – also originally featuring guitarist Wally Bryson, drummer Jim Bonfanti and guitarist/bassist Dave Smalley – with three-minute opuses that crackled with the spirit of FM and the sound of AM.

Raspberries was produced by Jimmy Ienner and featured horn and string arrangements by the late, great Jimmie Haskell. “Go All the Way,” the lead-off track on Raspberries, neatly defines the entire power-pop ethos. Written by lead singer and future solo star Eric Carmen, its infectious blend of soft ‘n’ heavy reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the Cashbox and Record World charts. (Its popularity has been confirmed numerous times over the years including its recent appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy and on its best-selling soundtrack!) But it’s just one of nine catchy confections on Raspberries including the moderate hit single penned by Carmen and Bryson, “Don’t’ Want to Say Goodbye.” The Capitol Records LP reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200 and set the stage for the group’s next success, Fresh.

Analog Spark’s limited edition vinyl reissue of Raspberries has been mastered and cut from the original stereo tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio; the 180-gram LP has been pressed and plated at RTI. Additionally, it’s housed in a classic-style Stoughton “tip-on” jacket. This classic debut from one of the most influential bands of all time is available now from Analog Spark. It will be released on March 11 at Amazon, and can be pre-ordered below!

Raspberries, Raspberries (Capitol SK 11036, 1972 – reissued Analog Spark, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada)

Go All the Way
Come Around and See Me
I Saw the Light
Rock and Roll Mama
Waiting
Don’t Want to Say Goodbye
With You in My Life
Get It Moving
I Can Remember

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

5 thoughts on “Get It Moving! Analog Spark Reissues Original “Raspberries” On Vinyl”

Dean Davenport
February 29, 2016 at 1:33 pm

I hope they don’t stop there. Do all 4 of ’em.

Reply
Zubb
February 29, 2016 at 2:03 pm

So glad to see The Raspberries getting their due credit as a great pop- rock band. They should be considered for the RRHOF in my opinion.

Reply
1. AC
  February 29, 2016 at 2:17 pm
  
  So, too, should fellow power-pop luminaries Big Star and Badfinger. Both have been ignored by the RRHOF for too long.
  
  Reply
  1. Zubb
    February 29, 2016 at 4:09 pm
    
    I completely agree.
    
    Reply
Tom
March 1, 2016 at 6:08 pm

Will it have the scratch and sniff sticker?

Reply