With 121 tracks over four discs, this is an impressively thorough compilation of material from The Searchers. Their hits have been re-released in various best of and other compilations on a number of occasions, but their more obscure material has generally been overlooked and has been much harder to find. This compilation includes both the hits and the more obscure materian in a comprehensive overview of the bands career.
Timed to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, this 4 disc box set covers the whole span of their career starting with tracks from the 10” demo LP that they recorded at Liverpool’s Iron Door Club which includes the arrangement of “Sweets For My Sweet” which helped win them their Pye recording contract.
The set includes various live material recorded at Hamburg’s celebrated Star Club in the spring of 1963, all the many UK and international hits they recorded during their time with Pye between 1963-67, plus various other EP and LP tracks and a number of collectors’ oddities, including brief clips from a handful of BBC Radio interviews. After leaving Pye, the band recorded for various other labels and this colection includes some of this material including ”Shoot ’Em Up Baby”, versions of Neil Sedaka’s “Solitaire” and The Bee Gees’ “Spicks And Specks”), “Hearts In Her Eyes” and “Love’s Melody”, “I Don’t Want To Be The One” and much more.
The collection even includes some modern material – some recent live recordings
Bringing the story fully up to date, the collection closes with a couple of 21st Century live recordings.
The set comes with an impressive 64-page booklet featuring a substantial history of the band by rock music writer Bob Stanley, a foreword from Jon Savage, input from all of the surviving Searchers, plus a number of rare photos.
It’s noticeable listening to these discs that the songs are so short compared to most songs these days – hardly any are over 3 minutes long, with most being slightly over 2 minutes. The advantage is that more songs can be included in the collection, and the songs certainly dont suffer from the short durations and in fact the style of the music does seem to benefit from keeping things short and snappy.
It’s taken quite a while to listen to the whole of this collection, but it’s been very enjoyable – there really is some great stuff in this collection and listening to the album has been a real pleasure. Typing out the track listing – less so.
This really is an impressive collection from one of the biggest Merseybeat bands of the 60s. They clocked up including six top ten hits including three number ones, and also had four top ten albums, and as you’d expect these hits are included in this collection. For any Merseybeat fan, and Searchers fans in particular this is a fantastic collection.
A great release that would make a great addition to the collection of any Searchers or Mersybeat fan.
Disc 1:
1. Sweets For My Sweet (Recorded Live at The Iron Door Club, 1963)
2. Rosalie
3. Sho’ Know A Lot About Love
4. Let’s Stomp
5. Sweet Nothin’s
6. Learning The Game
7. Hey Joe
8. Sweet Little Sixteen
9. Sweets For My Sweet
10. It’s All Been A Dream
11. Alright
12. Love Potion No.9
13. Farmer John
14. Money (That’s What I Want)
15. Ain’t Gonna Kiss Ya
16. Since You Broke My Heart
17. Tricky Dicky
18. Where Have All The Flowers Gone
19. Sugar And Spice
20. Saints and Searchers
21. Don’t Cha Know
22. Some Other Guy
23. Listen To Me
24. Unhappy Girls
25. (Ain’t That) Just Like Me
26. Cherry Stones
27. All My Sorrows
28. Hungry For Love
29. Once Upon A Time
30. Needles & Pins
31. Saturday Night Out
32. Don’t Throw Your Love Away
33. I Pretend I’m With You
Disc 2:
1. This Empty Place
2. Where Have You Been?
3. It’s In Her Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)
4. Sea Of Heartbreak
5. I Count The Tears
6. Hi-Heel Sneakers
7. Can’t Help Forgiving You
8. I (Who Have Nothing)
9. Someday We’re Gonna Love Again
10. No One Else Could Love Me
11. Someday We’re Gonna Love Again (Alternative Take)
12. Bye Bye Baby
13. Watch Your Step
14. When You Walk In The Room
15. (I’ll Be) Missing You
16. What Have They Done To The Rain
17. This Feeling Inside
18. You Beat Me To The Punch
19. The System
20. Love Potion No.9
21. Fortune Teller
22. Chris Curtis Interview (BBC Radio Broadcast (Part 1))
23. Goodbye My Love
24. Till I Met You
25. Everybody Come Clap Your Hands
26. If I Could Find Someone
27. Magic Potion
28. Bumble Bee
29. Till You Say You’ll Be Mine
30. I Don’t Want To Go On Without You
31. I’ll Be Doggone
32. Stage Door
Disc 3:
1. He’s Got No Love
2. So Far Away
3. Chris Curtis Interview (BBC Radio Broadcast (Part 2))
4. When I Get Home
5. I’m Never Coming Back
6. Take Me For What I’m Worth
7. Too Many Miles
8. Does She Really Care For Me
9. It’s Time
10. You Can’t Lie To A Liar
11. Don’t You Know Why
12. Each Time
13. Four Strong Winds
14. Mike Pender Interview
15. Take It Or Leave It
16. Don’t Hide It Away
17. Aggravation
18. Have I Done Something Wrong?
19. Have You Ever Loved Somebody
20. It’s Just The Way (Love Will Come And Go)
21. Frank Allen Interview
22. Popcorn Double Feature
23. I’ll Be Loving You
24. Western Union
25. I’ll Cry Tomorrow
26. Second Hand Dealer
27. Crazy Dreams
28. Umbrella Man
29. Over The Weekend
30. Pussy Willow Dream
31. Shoot ’Em Up Baby
32. Suzanna
Disc 4:
1. Desdemona
2. Love Is Everywhere
3. Sing Singer Sing
4. Vahevela
5. Solitaire
6. Spicks And Specks
7. Don’t Shut Me Out
8. Hearts In Her Eyes
9. Switchboard Susan
10. It’s Too Late
11. Love’s Gonna Be Strong
12. Love’s Melody
13. Changing
14. Silver
15. Everything But A Heartbeat
16. Radio Romance
17. Another Night
18. I Don’t Want To Be The One
19. In The Heat Of The Night
20. Somebody Told Me You Were Crying
21. This Boy’s In Love
22. Every River
23. Seven Nights To Rock
