Paul Revere And The Raiders - Just Like Us (Reissue) (1965/1998)

Although Just like Us! was Paul Revere & the Raiders' fourth album overall, it marked a number of firsts. It was their first album to appear since they had become TV stars (and therefore AM radio staples and teenage magazine heartthrobs, especially Mark Lindsay) as a result of Where the Action Is; it was their first album to be produced entirely by Terry Melcher, a powerful influence and significant contributor to their sound; it was their first Top Ten album and their first to go gold. Actually, it's only a gradual development from their previous album, the half-live (in the studio) Here They Come! The group still had a tough R&B edge and still favored R&B covers like "Night Train," "Doggone," and, by way of England, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "I'm Crying." (Melcher was already steering a stylistic course for The Raiders between The Rolling Stones and the Animals.) Even the two hit singles, "Steppin' Out" and "Just like Me," were intense, bluesy rockers. Unlike later albums, Just like Us! highlighted the whole band -- guitarist Drake Levin, bassist Phil "Fang" Volk, and drummer Mike Smith each took turns on lead vocals. (That would change as Lindsay's profile rose in the band.) Each was competent and entertaining, but Just like Us! was still an album by a group feeling its way from the dancehall circuit to the different and more creative demands of mass popularity.