Young Rascals, The

The Young Rascals' 1967 sophomore LP Collections was an uncommonly strong follow-up to their self-titled debut effort. In addition to showcasing the band's rapidly evolving songwriting skills, Collections finds the Rascals stretching out stylistically and moving towards a more sophisticated, yet still infectiously energetic, approach. The album shows off the quartet's formidable skills as a performing unit, as well as the talent and charisma of dual frontmen Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere,...

The Young Rascals' third album, 1967's Groovin', finds them exploring a wide variety of sounds and styles, integrating psychedelic, jazz and Latin influences without sacrificing the unpretentious energy that was the source of the quartet's original appeal. The first Rascals album to be comprised almost entirely of the band members' own songwriting, Groovin' demonstrates the foursome's knack for keeping up with the rapidly changing state of popular music during that culturally volatile...

For their fourth album, 1968's Once Upon A Dream, the Rascals decisively stepped into the future, dropping the "Young" from their name and embracing the period's spirit of musical adventure. The resulting album seamlessly integrates elements of jazz and psychedelia into the quartet's sound, along with adventurous arrangements and introspective, philosophical lyrics. While many of their contemporaries were getting lost in a psychedelic haze, the Rascals managed to expand their creative horizons...

In their '60s heyday, the Young Rascals were America's hottest homegrown hitmakers. At a time when the pop U.S. pop charts were dominated by British Invasion acts, the dynamic New York quartet's effortlessly hip blend of blue-eyed soul grit, scrappy garage-rock spirit and old-school rock 'n' roll savvy spawned a lengthy string of timeless hits and an album catalogue that remains one of the most beloved in popular music. The high-energy quartet—vocalist Eddie Brigati, singer/organist Felix...