* PETE RIVERA - Lead Vocals, Drums (Sunliners) * GIL BRIDGES - Sax, Flute (Sunliners) * KEN JAMES - Keyboards * JOHN PARRISH - Bass, Trombone (Sunliners) * ROD RICHARDS - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals (Sunliners) * ED GUZMAN - PercussionRare Earth's first LP * RAY MONETTE - Guitar (replaced Richards) * MARK OLSON - Keyboards (replaced James) * ...and numerous others ...
Quite a prolific, popular and long-lived band and a Detroit area favorite (they starting out in Lansing as the Sunliners in the very early part of the decade, at which time the band contained Fred Saxon (Kotenko) and Ralph Terrana who eventually founded Terra Shirma Studios). As the Sunliners they had the distinction of opening for the Beatles Detroit appearance in 1966 and were rumored to posses a performing repertoire of over 500 songs, although they were as much, if not more of a Roostertail-type nightclub lounge act as they were a pure rock band. Even though they signed to Motown's new rock subsidiary in 1968 (with both taking the same name in the process ) and were produced by a handful of notables including Detroit guitar wizard Dennis Coffey among others, Rare Earth's psychedelicized renditions of their favorite Motown tunes haven't aged near as well as even Vanilla Fudge's similar mutations (go ahead, play all 21 minutes of "Get Ready"...you'll understand). It's hard to tell if these guys wanted to be the Temptations, Young Rascals, Three Dog Night or possibly Blood Sweat & Tears (or all in one) but despite a string of modestly successful records that wandered the territory................etc......etc...........
Well, would you trust anything this guy says? I mean look at the following comment:
"Rare Earth's psychedelicized renditions of their favorite Motown tunes haven't aged near as well as even Vanilla Fudge's similar mutations (go ahead, play all 21 minutes of "Get Ready"...you'll understand)."
I'll be playing those treasured 21 minutes till I die....and it still sounds as fresh as the day it was born, moreso the In Concert version which is mindblowing. Long live Rare Earth's mutations!!!
sincerely apologies for this article,....this guy don`t know what he`s talkin about! I didn`t read full story(i will next time),...just notice Beatles Detroit show.....
This is the same guy that cover Detroit-Michigan Rock Scene under different post.