The Raspberries: Side Three (Capitol)

THEY SAY the third album is the crucial one for any group, and it’s particularly true for the Raspberries. Their first was good, but not much more than promising. The second was a brilliant synthesis of 1965 Beatles and Beach Boys harmonic pop, but great as it was, it did little to dispel the fears of those who felt the Raspberries had no style beyond the merely derivative, nothing uniquely their own to contribute to music.