Just Like Me - Single

This is Paul Revere & the Raiders the way garage band fanatics want to remember them. The Sundazed version of this album is twice the record that the original LP was, with louder, sharper, denser sound that captures the punk edge that this band had on its best days, which were frequent during this part of their history. Released in May of 1965, Just Like Us was the group's first full studio album for Columbia, recorded just a few weeks earlier, and the first record on which they were allowed to stretch out in the studio, utilizing multiple overdubs to fulfill their potential. Despite this luxury, the band still had their edge, mixing dance-rock with R&B on numbers like "Steppin' Out" and "Just Like Me," amid covers of contemporary hits like Marvin Gaye's "I'll Be Doggone," Them's (and Big Joe Williams') "Baby Please Don't Go," and "Night Train," as well as white rock (and folk-rock) hits such as "Satisfaction" (featuring lots of organ), "I'm Cryin'," and "Catch the Wind," not to mention the Tommy Boyce co-authored "Action" from Where the Action Is. The Raiders do okay with "I'm Cryin'," but the group's covers of the R&B classics come off rather better than their work with stuff originated by tje Stones and Donovan. CD producer Bob Irwin went back about as far into the master tapes as anyone ever will, and the sound is amazing; the guitars, organ, saxes, and everything else are real close, but the density of the original mixes remains (and the volume is very, very loud). The notes by Mark Lindsay are almost as engaging as the music, and the original notes have been reproduced as well.