{^Fresh}, the second album from Ohio {\power pop} wunderkinds {$the Raspberries}, managed the rather remarkable accomplishment of improving on their rock-solid debut. Like {^Raspberries}, {^Fresh} opens with a work-of-genius {\pop} single, {&"I Wanna Be With You,"} but the remainder of the album is made of stronger stuff than the debut; while {$Eric Carmen} was always the group's sentimentalist, {&"Let's Pretend"} is gush that's seasoned with a solid undertow of lust, and {&"If You Change Your Mind"} represents heartache at its best. And while {$Carmen}'s partners didn't get as many songwriting credits on this second album, the {$Beatlesque} shuffle of {&"Goin' Nowhere Tonight"} and the swaggering {\rock} of {&"Every Way I Can"} allowed {$Dave Smalley} to show he also had the goods as a tunesmith. The band is in even more solid form here than on its first set, with gorgeous harmonies and air-tight arrangements, and there's a potent {\rock & roll} undertow in the performances that gives this collection a very solid backbone. Pre-{\new wave} 1970s {\pop} doesn't get a whole lot better than this, and this just edges out the debut as the best of the four albums {$the Raspberries} made in their lifetime. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide