''Search and Nearness'' is the seventh studio album by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, released on March 1, 1971. It was the last album featuring

Eddie Brigati Edward Brigati Jr. (born October 22, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was the co-lead vocalist, along with Felix Cavaliere, and percussionist in the rock group The Young Rascals from 1964 to 1970. Prior to his stint with The Young Ra ...

and

Gene Cornish Gene Cornish (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian-American guitarist and harmonica player. He is an original member of the popular 1960s blue-eyed soul band The Young Rascals. From 1965 to 1970, the band recorded eight albums and had thirteen si ...

as well as the group's last album released on Atlantic Records.

History

Although Eddie Brigati had left the Rascals in the autumn of 1970, the tracks were recorded from October 1969 to October 1970. Since the album was released several months after his departure, he is not listed as a regular group member, but is mentioned as lead vocalist on three tracks (none of them composed by Cavaliere) and most likely provided background vocals on most, if not all, of the remaining tracks. Brigati is also recognized in the acknowledgements for the group’s 5-year tenure with Atlantic Records. ''Search and Nearness'' was the group's lowest-charting album, spending one week on Billboard at #198. The two singles in conjunction with the LP, "Glory Glory" and "Right On", were released several months before the album. "Glory Glory" reached #58 and #42 on Billboard and Cashbox (respectively) in the summer of 1970. At the end of that same year, "Right On" (the group's last single on Atlantic) "bubbled under" Billboard at #119 in December 1970.

Reception

Writing for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, critic Thom Jurek wrote the album "is perhaps a bittersweet memory for the band's members, and indeed certainly is for their die-hard fans. Its pluses included some of the best (if under-recognized) songs Felix Cavaliere had ever written... There are some really uneven moments here, but there are some stellar ones as well, and no serious fan of the Rascals should be without at least half the cuts here. In fact, in many ways, this is a stronger effort than See had been..." Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote of the album, "... those who ignore the atrocious title and listen to the songs are in for a surprise, because this is no ''Freedom Suite''. In fact, it may be their most consistent regular-release LP—only one waste cut per side."

Inner cover photo

The photo shows Dino Danelli, Gene Cornish, and Felix Cavaliere sitting on a rooftop. There is an empty space with a pair of unoccupied shoes between Danelli and Cornish. Cornish's right arm is sticking out as if he has his arm around one's shoulder. In the background, Eddie Brigati is standing in one of the neighboring apartment windows. However, this was an insert photo condensed to fit in the window; Brigati himself is not in the photo, having left the group before the photo shoot (with Cornish's departure shortly thereafter).

Track listing

All songs written by Felix Cavaliere except where indicated

Side One

# “Right On” – 3:46 - Lead vocals: Felix # “I Believe” – 3:55 - Lead vocals: Felix # “Thank You Baby” – 3:09 - Lead vocals: Felix # “You Don’t Know” (Gene Cornish) – 4:10 - Lead vocals: Eddie # “Nama” (Dino Danelli) – 5:31 - Instrumental

Side Two

# "Almost Home" – 3:49 - Lead vocals: Felix # " The Letter" (

Wayne Carson Thompson Wayne Carson (born Wayne Carson Head; May 31, 1943 – July 20, 2015), sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer. He played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass. His most fam ...

) – 4:07 - Lead vocals: Eddie # "Ready For Love" – 4:07 - Lead vocals: Felix # "Fortunes" (Dino Danelli) – 3:10 - Lead vocals: Eddie # "Glory Glory" – 3:30 - Lead vocals: Felix

Personnel

The Rascals *

Felix Cavaliere Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals. Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known for ...

– vocals, keyboards *

– vocals *

– guitar *

Dino Danelli Dino Danelli (July 23, 1944 – December 15, 2022) was an American drummer. Danelli was best known as an original member and the drummer in the rock group The Young Rascals. He has been called "one of the great unappreciated rock drummers in his ...

– drums Additional musicians * Harold Cowart – bass on “Almost Home”, “Ready For Love”, “Glory Glory” and “Thank You Baby” * Ron Blanco – bass on “You Don’t Know” *

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

– bass on “Right On”, “I Believe”, “Nama”, “The Letter” and “Fortunes” * Joe Newman – trumpet *

Joe Farrell Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name o ...

– saxophone *

Seldon Powell Seldon Powell (15 November 1928 – 25 January 1997) was an American soul jazz, swing, and R&B tenor saxophonist and flautist born in Lawrenceville, Virginia. He worked with Tab Smith (1949), Lucky Millinder (1949–51), Neal Hefti, and Louis Be ...

– saxophone *

The Sweet Inspirations The Sweet Inspirations were an American R&B girl group mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists. A founding member of the group was Dionne Warwick, who was later replaced by her aunt, Cis ...

– background vocals on “Glory Glory” *

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

Tasha Thomas Tasha Thomas ( – November 8, 1984) was an American singer and actress, known for her role as Aunt Em in the original Broadway production of ''The Wiz''. Thomas also had a hit single, "Shoot Me (With Your Love)", from her 1979 album, ''Midni ...

– background vocals on “I Believe” Production * Jack Adams, James Douglass, Ron Albert, Chuck Kirkpatrick, Don Casale – recording engineers Artwork and photos *

Wolfgang Hutter Wolfgang Hutter (December 13, 1928 – September 26, 2014) was a painter, draughtsman, printmaker and stage designer. Hutter's imagery is characterised by an artificial paradise of gardens and fantastical fairytale-like scenes. His work is said to ...

– front album cover (''"Ballspielendes Madchen"'') and back album cover (''"Mittag"'') * Marilyn Kroplick – inner album cover photo * Maji Emerson – apartment window insert photo of Eddie Brigati

References

External links

Inner cover photo
{{Authority control 1971 albums Atlantic Records albums The Rascals albums Albums produced by Arif Mardin