Shifting from psychedelic pop to blue-eyed soul with only the passionate wail of
Felix Cavaliere reminding you that the same band was capable of all this,
The Essentials is a nice little combination of
the Rascals' many different phases. Smooth and sexy one moment, tense and discordant the next, this does an excellent job of displaying their talents as well as including several of their most recognizable songs. Released on the heels of the superior All I Really Need compilation, this is still a nice grouping of songs that isn't as detailed as it could be, but would work well for fans of their radio work. ~ Bradley Torreano