Groovin’

Inoffensive, but unengaging and unnecessary. Blissfully short

⭐⭐

Not sure, maybe based on the band's name and the album cover I thought this was going to be some kind of novelty album, and I am not really a fan of novelty music at all! However listening halfway through this and it just seems like decent baroque pop type of album, not great, but not terrible either. So probably something like 2 stars, maybe 3 stars if I am being just slightly generous. Update: honestly deserving 3 stars I reckon, a few really nice tracks here. I will go as far as saying - REVISIT this one

Had this been early-60s, I could plausibly see how it could have been "trailblazing" or something. But really, by '67, it's just another quite good example of pop / soul / harmonies. The hit single itself isn't even that good ("How Can I Be Sure" the standout track with the OTT vocals and strings)

Boring old school pop

This album is kinda nothing...

It was alright didn't really have any strong feelings while listening 2.5

How can you not smile as soon as the first song starts? It’s like hearing sunshine.

This sounds like typical 60s music. Very Beatles -style pop with plenty of psychedelia sprinkled in. I was surprised to hear the song "You Better Run". I grew up listening to Pat Benatar because my parents were fans and I never knew it was a cover. I prefer her version, but it's still the most energetic song on the album. The rest of it was not to my taste, however.

I've seen quite a few people compare this album to the music of the Beatles or the Beach Boys, and yeah, the influence is hard to miss, but that's still a bit reductive. I think one key aspect in which the Young Rascals differentiate themselves here is the jazz and soul influences reminiscent of the Motown label. It can be heard through the constant use of wind instruments for instance. There's still nothing revolutionary here, I guess, but this was still a very pleasant musical discovery.

This project is fun because you get to listen to an album you’ve never heard before and will never hear again.

I recognize a bunch of these tracks by title, but I've never listened to this album start-to-finish otherwise.

This is fine. Unfortunately, I was trying to resolve another frustrating situation while listening to this so I probably wasn't paying close enough attention to it. But it was neither bad nor good.

It was fine.

My overwhelming feeling is one of relief that a song as good as ‘How Can I Be Sure’ isn’t actually a David Cassidy song after all!

𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯’ is an enjoyable blue-eyed soul album, but it suffers from being released in one of the greatest years in popular music. When placed alongside so many groundbreaking records from 1967, it inevitably feels a little too safe and understated.

That doesn’t mean it’s without charm. The (Young) Rascals deliver warm vocal harmonies, effortless grooves, and consistently strong melodies that make the album an easy listen from beginning to end. The performances are polished, and the songwriting is undeniably solid.

Even so, I never felt the album reached the same creative heights as many of its contemporaries. 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯’ is a thoroughly enjoyable record, but in such an extraordinary musical year, being merely good isn’t always enough to stand out.

It's giving nothing

1.9

Kako je dobre muzike bilo u '67, ovo zvuči smiješno u poređenju.

Sounds kinda dated and not really that interesting.

I don't think I actually listened to The Rascals before, or at least what they're called after this record. They're another one of those blue-eyed soul groups that combined elements of pop and rock into their sound, with primary songwriter duties handled by lead vocalist and keyboardist Felix Cavaliere and percussionist Eddie Brigati. From what I gather, Groovin' compiled most of the singles they had written between 1966 and 1967, showing the band following the at-the-time trend of incorporating psychedelia into their sound alongside some Latin and jazz arrangements, and... it's okay, I guess?

The compositions are decent enough and reasonably played, the vocal harmonies are solid, and there are at least a few good ideas here, such as the main riff of "Find Somebody", the Latin-infused guitar rollicks of "Sueño", and that flute embellishment that opens the closing track "It's Love". In particular, I really dug the swaggering "You Better Run," which would later be given a hard rock treatment by Pat Benatar.

But that said, the album can be summed up as a compilation of singles largely themed around teenage melodrama. I get why, because Cavaliere was dating a high school student at the time, which inspired him to write most of these songs. First, it should be made apparent that he was at least 24 at the time, so... eww. Second, it's not like I'm against teenage melodrama; I've enjoyed the likes of what Olivia Rodrigo and Sombr offered in this decade. But I do feel that their records had the benefit of detail and nuance in describing their relationships, and I don't get that here in the songwriting. Also not helping matters is how muted the production is. I've tried listening to this album in both mono and stereo, and I'm just not getting the necessary oomph that really elevated their sound. Though there are some jarring mix decisions left in, like the alternating panning of the guitar line in the opening of "Find Somebody". Finally, as far as psychedelic acts in 1967 go, there were plenty of better options to choose from. I mentioned this in my review of Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn two weeks ago, but even that record was trying to be innovative in all its experimenting. This, on the other hand, feels like it was following a trend.

At the end of the day, Groovin' is just an okay record for its time. I would be curious how The Rascals turned out after this, when they started writing albums rather than just compiling singles. But as it is, this is just fine.

This has a Monkees/Beach Boys/Zombies vibe to it. It incorporates some South American rhythms, soul, and rock. Definitely an "of its time" album. I'm not really "Groovin" but it passes the vibe check for sure (3-3.5).

I didn't expect much going into the album, but almost right away I was impressed. It is pretty groovy as you might expect, but really every song was great. I had never heard of this band before listening to this album, but I'm glad I know them now.