Thanx Tommy, I've posted here a lot in the past but I didn't use my full name..maybe I just used Anthony or Tony..I can't remember. You talk of riding your bike uphill 10 miles..I used to do all that too...but now at 48 I am getting fatter by the minute! Anyway, I remember seeing Rare Earth (without Peter, and in my humble opinion they were not that good at all without him in the 80s by the way)...but the bill was Rare Earth, Vanilla Fudge and War...as soon as I paid for my ticket the idiot who took my money yelled to me "hey buddy, by the way WAR couldn't make it"...I am a WAR fan as well as a Rare Earth fan, and that coupled with the flyers that showed Peter Rivera in the lineup(whom I wanted to see live, because as we all know Pete has a KILLER voice and is a great drummer, as well as being the defining Rare Earth voice) then finding out that Mr. Rivera was missing from the lineup...I was not happy at the show. In fact, in the middle of the show I walked out and went to burger king across the street and downed a couple whoppers and a milkshake to drown my sorrow!!! LOL!!! They used old flyers from when the original band was together to advertise the show. But that's rock and roll, and I have remained a true Rare Earth fan since I was a kid. It was cool to see Gil Bridges live, and Ray Monette was there whom I respect as a fine player also...but the rest of the band I didn't recognize. Hey, you don't replace the singer on all of your original songs and call it the same band name...Hardcore fans know the difference. The people who only know "Get Ready" may not care too much, but if you are like me and played all of those albums to death, then you want to hear that original voice.
Thanx Tommy, I've posted here a lot in the past but I didn't use my full name..maybe I just used Anthony or Tony..I can't remember. You talk of riding your bike uphill 10 miles..I used to do all that too...but now at 48 I am getting fatter by the minute! Anyway, I remember seeing Rare Earth (without Peter, and in my humble opinion they were not that good at all without him in the 80s by the way)...but the bill was Rare Earth, Vanilla Fudge and War...as soon as I paid for my ticket the idiot who took my money yelled to me "hey buddy, by the way WAR couldn't make it"...I am a WAR fan as well as a Rare Earth fan, and that coupled with the flyers that showed Peter Rivera in the lineup(whom I wanted to see live, because as we all know Pete has a KILLER voice and is a great drummer, as well as being the defining Rare Earth voice) then finding out that Mr. Rivera was missing from the lineup...I was not happy at the show. In fact, in the middle of the show I walked out and went to burger king across the street and downed a couple whoppers and a milkshake to drown my sorrow!!! LOL!!! They used old flyers from when the original band was together to advertise the show. But that's rock and roll, and I have remained a true Rare Earth fan since I was a kid. It was cool to see Gil Bridges live, and Ray Monette was there whom I respect as a fine player also...but the rest of the band I didn't recognize. Hey, you don't replace the singer on all of your original songs and call it the same band name...Hardcore fans know the difference. The people who only know "Get Ready" may not care too much, but if you are like me and played all of those albums to death, then you want to hear that original voice.
While I can respect your opinion, I disagree. Rare Earth is not the only band in the history of recorded music to change lead singers. There's an entire backstory behind what happened with Pete. It doesn't bear repeating as far as I am concerned. Purchase Peter's book to learn more.
Yes it may have been a disappointment to find out that Peter was not there, and you're certainly entitled to feel that way. But it's not necessarily the band's fault how they were advertised. That could be the responsibility of the promoter too. But you should've stayed to see the band anyhow. When I first saw the band in 1992, I didn't know who was in the band either. As a 16 year old kid how could I have known who was in the band and who wasn't? This was the pre-internet days and it's not like such information was easy to come by. I did recognize Ray, Gil and Eddie. I also leanred Pete was not there but honestly, I didn't care. In all of my teenage naïveté, I figured it's still Rare Earth. And the guy who was singing sounded a lot like Pete. That was good enough for me. The keyboard player (who had longer hair and a moustache), I thought it was Mark judging form all of the old pictures on the album sleeves. Later I'd learn the gent's name was Rick Warner. Also, I would sadly learn that Mark was dismissed in the mid 1980's and had passed away a year before I saw the band. Long story short, it was a still a fantastic band and I had a great time. They sounded great. What can I say? I'm a dedicated fan.
Drown your sorrow's at Burger King? Yikes. Remember: a smile is just a frown turned upside down. Now where have I heared that before?!
Thanks for the input Mike. I did stay for a few songs. Just the fact that WAR was not going to be there, and I was geared up for a more original Rare Earth show got me down and I finally left. But I did get extra tomatoes on my two whoppers, which cheered me up a bit! I know the story according to Pete in his book because I have it. Great book by the way!!!! You NEED that book if you are a fan of the group...NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT!!!!!
I remember walking out on Black Oak Arkansas at a show that had Montrose, Foghat and Black Oak on the bill...and that I regretted because I became a huge fan of Black Oak Arkansas a few years later, but by then their heyday was over! Oh well, we all make mistakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hear ya about being disappointed. I recently saw Blood, Sweat and Tears, expecting to see David Clayton Thomas. I knew as recently as a year or two before that, that he was still with the band, so I didn't bother checking out the web to see if he was still there. Lucky, Chuck Negron, formally of 3 dog nite was there and he saved the show as he sang and was backed by BST.
I walked out on a horrible version of the Guess Who in the early 80's and I walked out on Rob Grill and the Grass Roots a couple of years ago --- not even playing their insturments and just lollygaging about on the stage, totally, in my opinion, disrespecting the fine compositions they were singing.
With all due respect, it's not the same. That's obvious. But Rare Earth without Peter is not lame. I've seen them and it's far from lame. I'm not saying this because I'm a devoted fan. I am speaking from the heart.
If you don't care for the Peter-less lineup(s), that's fine. Show some respect though.
When John Lennon used to talk about the Beatles not being together, he would always mention how George flourished on his own. We may never have had an All Things Must Pass or a Concert for Bangala Desh. I feel Gil has really flourished with Rare Earth, becoming the front and center man and handeling some vocals, etc., which he may never had done had the original line up stayed intact.
In addition, only having a limited amount of RE work out there with Pete at the helm makes the albums sweeter and more precious. And we can enjoy two groups instead of one....what was the commercial...it's two, two, it's two mints in one...LOL
Band members move on, pass away, it happens it is to bad but as long as the music continues to be great we can live with it. Fans of any band have seen changes in their line ups, so with that there is only one thing to do. Plug in your turn table, crank up the volume and just ROCK 'N ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!! Dave It snowed yesterday while I was working! CHOMP! CHOMP!
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