40th Anniversary Collection

by

The Searchers

Edit

Ask anyone what Beat Group they think of when you say the words "Liverpool" and "Beat Music" in one sentence and the first name that they reply back to you will obviously be The Beatles,but there is another group from Merseyside that are just as influential and they're called The Searchers,England's own pioneers of Folk Rock.

This 2 CD set is from 2003,which is the year this group celebrated 40 years in the music business,although this Anthology only covers the band's recordings from the first 25 years of their career (1963-1988). I use the word "Anthology" instead of (as the title suggests) "Collection" because all you have to do is open up the jewel case and instead of a collection of hits,you actually receive a History lesson on The Searchers which begins right away.

First of all,you're treated to all sorts of treasures showing a pictoral history of the band through 45's,picture sleeves,LP covers,sheet music,trade newspaper ads and The Searchers as the cover story on the Liverpool based Mersey Beat newspaper.

Turn over this impressive collage of Searchers rarities and you get the fantastic liner notes tracing the band's history in words by none other than BBC Radio Merseysides #1 Mersey Beat Historian and Author,Spencer Leigh,who is the only person that is worthy of this job because of his talents,his love for the music and his complete accuracy on Mersey Beat in general. In between his detailed Searchers History lesson,he also includes excerpts from his personal interviews with various members of The Searchers themselves.

The 2 CD set itself tells a story in chapters of The Searchers music and every aspect of their career is showcased in the song selections. You can pick out where the chapters begin and end by the difference in musical styles and line up changes over the years.

From their first demos recorded at The Iron Door club come songs like "Sweets For My Sweet" and "All My Sorrows" which show where the band's directions were starting and where it was going to take them on the road to fame.

Move ahead to their live shows at The Star Club in Hamburg,Germany,where they earned their well deserved popularity by playing songs like "Sweet Nothin's" and "Rosalie".

The next move is their rise to national fame on the Mersey Beat trail with their first (of many) recordings for the Pye label "Sugar and Spice","Sweets For My Sweet" and "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya".

The next chapter takes them into Worldwide fame with songs like "Needles And Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away".

During the chapter of the mid 60's,they explore more with their Folk Rock sounds with the songs "When You Walk In The Room" and "What Have They Done To The Rain". They also use this influence on their BBC Sessions with a great cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowing In The Wind".

Next,you get to hear how The Searchers can take a cover song and make it their own with their excellent versions of P.F. Sloan's "Take Me For What I'm Worth",The Rolling Stones "Take It Or Leave It" and The Hollies "Have You Ever Loved Somebody".

We go into the late 60's Folk sounds with their last Pye release,"Second Hand Dealer" and their first Liberty (U.K.) single,"Umbrella Man".

The 70's start off with another label jump to RCA with the single "Desdemona" and ending on this label in 1973 with a great cover of The Bee Gee's 1966 song "Spicks And Specks". It wouldn't be until 1979 for the next Searchers release on a new label called Sire with a song called "Hearts In Her Eyes" and ending their release on this label in 1981 with "Everything But A Heartbeat".

The last chapter begins in 1982 with the release of their single "I Don't Want To Be The One"/"Hollywood" on the PRT lable (A division of Pye Records) and this Searchers Anthology ends in 1988 with the Coconut Records released single "Somebody Told Me You Were Crying"/"Needles And Pins (1988 Version)".

Although this 2 CD set stops at 1988,The Searchers are still together playing live to sell out shows and recording new and old songs for all of their fans and listeners all over the World.

Whether you're a long time Searchers fan or just discovering The Searchers for the first time,this Anthology is definite recommendation for your collection.