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Paul Revere & the Raiders
The Essential Paul Revere & the Raiders
(Columbia/Legacy)

Armed with fun nicknames, zany stage antics and a male ponytail that threw a generation of little girls into early puberty, Paul Revere & the Raiders churned out some of the most iconic tunes of the late 1960s. This collection, chronicling the band from its R&B roots, through sunny ’60s pop, to its final country-fused years, is rife with the usual suspects: hits (“Just Like Me,” “Good Thing” and the alleged first-ever anti-drug anthem, “Kicks”), forgotten gems (“Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon,” “Let Me!”) and gratuities (“Cinderella Sunshine”). But most interesting is the variety of the material, especially after the 1967 lineup shakeup, and during the country period. This collection, far more than just “essentials,” is a look into a band that many wrote off as just a ’60s fad, and proof that kicks just aren’t that hard to find.

—Allison Johnelle Boron