Rare Earth‘s Get Ready is their second album, but many consider it their first since it launched them into the stratosphere of popularity in the late 1960’s. The all-white psychedelic soul group signed to Motown was the first (and pretty much only) rock group to bring Motown hit records – to the point that Motown named it’s rock sub-label “Rare Earth” after the band (Gil Bridges – vocals, saxophone, and tambourine, Kenny James – vocals, organ, and piano, John Persh – vocals and bass, Rod Richards – vocals and guitar, and Pete Rivera – vocals and drums).
There are only six tracks on Get Ready, and all of them are good. I mean, the album did do Platinum-level sales, after all. It opens with “Magic Key” and Richards fuzzed-out guitar and Rivera’s wicked grooves and vocals about equality and mutual respect being the magic key to a better world. Their great cover of “Tobacco Road” is full of sweet solos: James’ great organ riffs, Bridges’ sax work, Rivera’s vocals that bring out the blues and don’t try too hard, and Richards’ quick, trippy solo is top-notch.
Rivera’s groove on their cover of Traffic‘s “Feelin’ Alright” is so tight that it could perform in a military parade. The funky, trippy “In Bed” is both a tribute to shagging and to life and death. Persh’s bass on “Train to Nowhere” is deceptively wicked.
The standout track is, of course, the title track / cover of The Temptations‘ “Get Ready” – all twenty minutes of it. It begins with a spaced-out instrumental jazz-rock solo with Bridges’ saxophone taking front and center stage while Persh slowly builds up to the groove of the track and you realize you’re listening to a live recording that proceeds to race off at eight miles per hour. The bass and drum breakdown around the six-minute mark is killer. Richards gets to stretch his muscles as well for a wild space rock solo that flows perfectly into Bridges’ sax solo. All these solos last about thirteen minutes before blasting back into the chorus.
Get Ready is a fine mix of funk, soul, and psychedelia and essential listening for fans of those genres.
Keep your mind open.
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