88. Groovin' - The Young Rascals

Knowing the title track, and having always enjoyed it off the 'Heartbeat' compilations that were ever-present in my formative years, I was interested to hear what a whole album of blue-eyed soul would offer.

A Girl Like You sets things off with a nice bit of brass, and Find Somebody has an almost Psychedelic-era Beatles vibe to it - think a slightly more ponderous version of Tomorrow Never Knows. As you get deeper into the album, you start to realise why the Young Rascals have failed to continue to exist in the modern consciousness; they are pretty derivative. I'm So Happy is fine, but that is an adjective that could be applied to most of the album. It's all nice, and, ok, and even a bit good in places, but it is also pretty forgettable. Not Bonnie Raitt forgettable, but not impactful. 

To put this in context, would I rather have this album or pretty much any of the Beatles' singles were I stuck on a desert island? It would almost certainly be the latter, as there is more depth in one Beatles' song (Yellow Submarine aside) than in any of these tracks.

All the elements are there for this album to be superb: Horn section - check. Harmonies - check. Mid-60s songwriting - check. It just doesn't seem to come together very cohesively, although it is an enjoyable enough escape. If I had a radio show, I might throw in one or two of their tracks (due to its cracking trumpet), but they don't stretch to a whole album of interest, by my reckoning.

Chloe's album rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 1. A Girl Like You
Olly's album rating: 5
Olly's favourite track: 6. Groovin'

Next week is 360. Mothership Connection by Parliament.