Customer Reviews

30th Anniversary Collection 1962-92

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Having been a teen in the early 60's and having experienced the British Invasion music first hand, I have always been partial to The Searchers music, considering them equal to The Beatles. Their unique guitar sounds and vocal harmonies were a perfect blend. I have all of their original 60's U.S. L.P.'s but had to have this C.D. for the rarities plus the improved digital sound. I was not disappointed when I heard it. The sound is sharp and clear and the music is great. If you are a Searchers fan this C.D. is a must. If you are not that familiar with The Searchers but are a fan of the British Invasion music, you will still enjoy this C.D. You can't beat the music nor the price for this box set.

The Searchers 30th Anniversary Collection is a heavenly trip down memory lane, a reference work on the origins of Merseybeat and Folk-Rock music, and a glimpse into the influence of the Searchers on Power Pop. The origins of the Searchers' sound are loud and clear: the glorious Everly Brothers' vocal harmonies (`Till I Met You, Too Many Miles), Buddy Holly's rock-a-billy (Bye Bye Johnny), and the Byrds' 12-sting guitar jingle-jangle (Needles And Pins). The "origin" versus "influence" argument concerning 12-string Folk-Rock is debatable, but this is not the proper place. For fans of groups such as the Records, the Smithereens and Big Star, the Anniversary Collection is an excellent authority on heavy-handed use of bass guitar and drums (Crazy Dreams, Each Time).

Are there any cuts here that deserve standing ovations? More than I can count. `When You Walk Into A Room' and `Each Time' remind me just how adorable a writer and singer was Jackie De Shannon. The slow dance "I Don't Want To Go On Without You' (two versions are included) gives me goosebumps. The Searchers' later recordings show that they didn't die when the sixties ended, but continued to record dazzling Power Pop. The melodic and intense jangle of `I Don't Want To Be The One' and `Hollywood' are just two reasons why the Searchers' self-titled 1979 vinyl album on the Castle label demands such big bucks.

With almost 3-hours of music, all is not agreeable. I could just as soon do without the early skiffle compositions, and how anyone can enjoy lyrics in German (no offense to our valued allies) is beyond me. For a rewarding and praiseworthy collection of sixties and seventies melodic rock, the Searchers 30th Anniversary Collection can't be beat. Note: The 1992 Sequel UK Collection and the 1994 US issue from Collectables are the same.

Wow! 84 songs for just under $30, the best overview of the Searchers career you are likely to get, almost all the b-sides of their 60s singles (along with the a-sides, of course), a cool fold-out poster-like insert with facts, facts, facts...I'm running out of breath!

Seriously, of the 84 songs, very few are less than enjoyable. This collection doesn't include the Sire or RCA recordings, which are certainly worthy, but they are available elsewhere. In fact, if you pick up those two albums along with this, you will have one heck of a Searchers collection.

Isn't the CD age amazing?

This fabulous three disc set covers the Searchers years on Pye Records and is about as comprehensive as they get. The first disc contains all their Pye singles except for two sides ("Saints and Searchers" and "Lovers"), the second has selected tracks from each of their LP's and EP's and the third contains some fabulous rarities. So, aside from giving the listener the big hits like "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" it also has the hard-to-find and well crafted B-Sides such as "No One Else Could Love Me," album only tracks like "It's Time," great EP tracks like "This Empty Space" and "The System" and otherwise unreleased tracks like the beautiful "I (Who Have Nothing)". This set gives the listener a good cross section of the Searchers career and shows how easily they covered different styles including rock, folk, protest, and ballads. For anyone interested in hearing what the Searchers are like, this set is a must have.

The Searchers were one of many bands from Liverpool who experienced world wide fame in the middle 1960`s; but unlike many of their contemporaries the music of the Searchers has stood the test of time.

Unfortunately their popularity was relatively short-lived. They made 5 great albums for Pye Records from 1963-65, and a lot of great singles featuring many Searchers originals.

They had their last big hit with in 1965 with "Take Me For What I`m Worth" and although they made several very strong singles for Pye during the next two years, they never hit the top twenty again; very undeservedly!!

The Searchers were a great influence on other bands with their impressive vocal-style and their melodic guitar playing; especially The Byrds early music has a lot in common with the recordings that the Searchers made from 1964-66.

This collection features most of their great records for Pye. Many of the best album tracks are here too. Of course some of my personal favourites like "Goodnight Baby" are missing, but generally the songs are well-chosen.

The third CD is a rarities collection featuring some very interesting gems.

I?ll comment on a few of the best of them.

The alternate version of "I Don`t Want to Go On Without You" is simpler arranged than the original version, and in my opinion a much greater recording.
"I, Who Have Nothing" is a fine outtake from their third album.

The alternate version of "Someday We`re Gonna Love Again" sounds more relaxed than the single version; I like this version much better.

"I`ll Be Doggone" features alternate vocals by Chris Curtis; this song was always a favourite of mine.

The Searchers were also influnced by the folk-music trend, here is a fine version from the BBC of Dylan`s "Blowing in Wind" - but quite oustanding is their own "I`ll Be Loving You" also a BBC recording - incredible that they never recorded this terrific song for one of their albums or singles.

The last five tracks are early 1980`s recordings by the band after their revival with two fine Sire Records albums. These songs were supposed to have been featured on a new PRT album which unfortunately never came to be. Best of them are "Good Way To Fall" and "Hollywood" - both Searchers originals.

I think it`s big shame that an otherwise great box-release, was not supplied with a decent booklet; the music and the band surely deserves better than this fold out sheet, which is all that is here besides the 3 great CD`s.

Obviously 84 tracks is pretty comprehensive for ANY band, but if your any fan of British Invasion, consider this CD set a necessary! These CD's contain not only the hits such as "Needles and Pins," and "Love Potion Number Nine," but also rare covers like "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" and "It's In Her Kiss." The sound quality is good and the included liners notes are actually very fun to read through. They even contain a family tree-like history of the band! Obviously if you just want the basic hits you should go with the Rhino Records "Best Of" CD, but if you want the expansive history of one of the greatest Mersey groups ever, get this!

The Searchers-THE other Liverpool band during the original British Invasion. All the major hits are here, plus b-sides, rarities, and other worthy tracks. As other reviewers have noted, you cannot go wrong with this set. The sound is fine, and the whole set very well done.

This band is well worth exploring. The Searchers' really put a great deal of effort into making quality music, and here's hoping that pay radio services will check into their lesser known songs as well.