The Raiders - You've Gotta Have A Man/Take It Slow

Here's a record out of Corey, PA that sounds like it's from about 1964. The RCS website confirms that, listing it as 1963/64. They also show an earlier Raiders 45 on the same label, "Miss You Baby"/"Downbeat" from back in 1960. That's a bit of a gap but apparently the only two Raiders' releases.

"You've Gotta Have A Man" has what might be deemed an early garage sound. In fact, it's somewhat similar to what another band of Raiders were doing about the same time, so maybe frat rock is a better fit. It's a basher, with a stompin' dance beat, a cool guitar break and quite a lot of organ. The song is an original credited to band member Jerry Williams. Williams is also given label credit as the lead vocalist, although there's some trading off and even a bit of harmonizing. There's also one good scream.

The other side is an instro called "Take It Slow". It is indeed slower than the topside but moves along at a nice, mid-tempo pace. And as on side one, the instrumentation is guiatrs, organ and drums. In fact, the drumming is oustanding on both sides of the record, courtesy Dave Lillie. Here, we're treated to a lot of high-end cymbal bashing. Lead guitarist Gilbert Scouten penned the tune.

The Raiders sound like they were a tight outfit. I can picture them playing a lot of frat parties and teen dances. Considering their first record came out in 1960, they had a lot of time to hone their craft. And hone they did.