Customer Reviews

Love's Melodies

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This fine record proves the Searchers were still relevant in the late 70s/early 80s. Perhaps one of the most under-appreciated 60s bands (at least here in the U.S. - I think they have always gotten more of their due in their native UK), the Searchers made arresting jangle pop and Beat tracks and were a major influence on both the Beatles and the Byrds, et al. Their version of the oft-played "Needles and Pins" is the definite one, and has a great edge on it that not even the Ramones equaled. Here, they are in a later phase of their career, and doing some very effective power pop. The opener, "Silver," as well as the title track, could be played right next to the Dwight Twilley Band's debut, or Badfinger, and stand up just fine. Their cover of Big Star's "September Gurls" in not quite there, but they gave credit for having the cool to know the song long before most of the rest of the world got on the Chilton bandwagon. Fine record, fans of power pop should jump on this reissue.

The Searchers were never known as a band that wrote its own material, which, during the reign of the Beatles, was a decided drawback. But over the long haul it turns out to be an asset. While songwriters eventually run dry--even the Beatles were putting out pretty weak stuff toward the end--a band like the Searchers could pick and choose the strongest material around and always put out great records. This one is, in my opinion, their best. Every song is a winner, and their performances make the most of each one. And one of the nice things about this recording is that they chose songs written in the late 70s and 80s that carried forward that Mersey sound and 60s sensibility. And even where they don't do much to change the original, they perform it with such gusto and charm that it seems fresh. All in all a wonderful record that never got its due.

Straight in with Silver by Dave Paul. Perfect entry. Infatuation by Randy Bishop. She Made a Fool of You by Moon Martin. Great electric sound. These are all rather hip song choices of the period by the way. Very current writers and sounds. They have a couple of their own here as they did on The Searchers--the Sire records. Little Bit of Heaven and Another Night. God, I wish they had done more. They have a powerful style and superb playing chops. They just had it going. For me these two songs are worth having the record. Almost Saturday Night by Fogerty also gets the treatment. I'm telling you, these guys were one of the tightest outfits ever. Certainly an education for new musicians coming up. The title tune revs up with drums and their trademark twelve string melody--an Andy McMasters tune. Up next Everything But a Heartbeat (Will Birch, Ritchie Bull). Radio Romance (Will Birch, Paul Shuttleworth, Vic Collins)--wish there had been more radios playing this stuff. Even has a Chilton song. They always knew where to go for tunefulness. Perhaps one of their prime talents. These two Sire recordings are essential in my collection. They sound fresh and new each time. I have great respect for their work. Too smart to ignore.

Original Searchers John MacNally and John Pender were the core of the original incarnation of The Searchers, playing on such classic songs as "Needles and Pins" and "Sweets for My Sweet." Frank Allan had been in the band from the late sixties on. Even if the hits had long stop coming, The Searchers soldiered on. Then, it seems, time caught up with them again. Their brand of jangle pop had been flaunted by everyone from Tom Petty to REM, and in 1980, Sire Records (home to Talking Heads, Ramones, etc) signed them for a new album. That 1980 album, simply titled "The Searchers," was an amazingly deft, surprisingly strong modern jangle pop album, did modest sales and garnered a fair amount of critical acclaim.

Naturally, there was a follow-up a year later. "Love's Melodies" is just as good, despite sporting an awful album cover. However, the album followed the same formula as the prior; tart covers of songs by a crop of current writers, a pair of originals, and the tingle of twelve string Richenbachers giving The Searchers their classic sound in an up-to-date setting. This disc does miss the killer punch of Will Birch's "Hearts In Her Eyes," but The Searchers went back to him for a pair of gems. Both "Everything But a Heartbeat" and "Radio Romance" came from Birch's pen and highlight "Love's Melodies." The Motors get a solid via a cover of "Love's Melody," as does Moon Martin on "Love's Made a Fool Of You."

The Searchers also took a step back to their heyday by taking on John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night" and nodded to a band that had obviously taken some influence by recording Big Star's "September Gurls" about a decade before The Bangles. The seriousness of the album's selection should have made more music buffs sit up and take notice, as most of these could have slipped on any current modern rock station. Even a couple decades later, "Love's Melodies" stirring harmonies and chiming guitars hold up excellently. It may have taken a long time for these two discs to make it to CD, but they're still very much worth having.