Groovin’

I really enjoyed this album! A very typical 60s sound. A few songs I recognised too, which was a nice surprise

4 ⭐️

Despite it's ugly as sin album art, Groovin' is a pretty decent psych rock album. If i were to compare this album to one of the psych rock bands from the 60s, it would probably be The Kinks as they have that similar sense of oddity that they had. While i don't think that this album is as good as the ones they have made but it is still decently solid. The music sounded all well and good with a few hiccups (especially in the second track) and the lyrics and vocals are about what you would expect for this genre. This album was pretty short though so that was nice to see. I wouldn't really say that there is anything too special about this album but it does what it does well enough.
Best Song: You Better Run
Worst Song: Find Somebody

People always say not to judge a book by its cover, and while this rings true, you're still gonna see the cover first, and the cover for Groovin' is *uniquely* ugly. And unfortunately, The Young Rascals can't really outrun this bad start. We're following the rough blueprint The Beatles laid out here, and while The Young Rascals escape to uncharted territory on several songs here, the results are mixed. Something struck here, and I realized I think a lot of these songs sound like sitcom themes, which doesn't bode well. Honestly, the best tracks usually lean into gimmicks, as well as psych, which makes the gimmicks go down a little smoother. Some songs here I actually kind of like are How Can I Be Sure, Groovin', I Don't Love You Anymore, You Better Run, and A Place In The Sun. These all have at least something going for them that keeps me happy. However, the rest of this is the "obnoxious, saccharine hippy music" side of psych. There just isn't much here to distinguish The Young Rascals from their peers, and what is here is usually not that good. There's a couple of moments that save this from a 1, but I just don't like this thing.

Good, but didn’t do much for me.

*Here’s another one I’ll use an A.I. construct to explain.*
If you asked A.I. to make you a cliche pop-rock album from 1966, you’d end up with this. Rather than trying to explain the state of music in 1966 to someone, this album seems like it would be the easiest way to distill pop radio down into one album.
I don’t say that as a bad thing either. The 34min of this record flew by, and I added 2 tracks to my Spotify ‘liked songs’ playlist. Admittedly, I accidentally put too much whiskey in my coffee this Saturday morning, and there’s a possibility I’m being overly generous here. “Groovin’”, is the most played song from this album on Spotify, and it’s easy see why it would end up on 60s playlists. The other, “You Better Run”, is a fun proto-new wave track that certainly furthered the concept of blue-eyed soul.
It feels a little weird to listen to this objectively middle-of-the-road album and consider giving it 4 stars, but here I am.

I have no words, sorry.

This is alright. It has all the hallmarks of 60’s pop music and not too much beyond that. Some songs reminded me of stuff Sam Cooke did years earlier or like other contemporary bands like Love or the Monkees. Favorites were Find Somebody, Groovin’, and You Better Run.

3.25

Groovin' in deed.

Underwhelming bland Beatles wannabes.

Favorite songs: You Better Run, Groovin', A Place in the Sun, I'm So Happy Now

Least favorite songs: How Can I Be Sure

2/5

Classic blue eyed soul with strong songs

The album starts fairly middle of the road inoffensive 60s pop rock and then you reach Sueno. Sueno suddenly introduces flamenco stylings, but this still doesn’t lift the overall album from mundanity.

Groovin is however a great song.

Overall the album is a pleasant enough snapshot of the era but nothing to write home about.

This is one of those albums where I just have no strong opinions. It was fine. I wouldn't turn it off if it was playing in the background, but I'm pretty sure it has left absolutely no impression (positive or negative). So:

2/5

Meh, its ok but it blends in with too much of the 60s not-beatles

This is just background music. Nothing really exciting.

The title track is stellar, but alot of this album is pretty bland. Also it felt strange to hear this very white guys do a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “A Place in the Sun”.

Ok sure it's groovin

ugly album cover, but album was ok to listen to!

Had me yawning

Incredibly bland