Customer Reviews

Singles

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The CD represents the first time the New Seekers single releases from around the world have been put together on one collection. Surprising considering they sold in excess of 25million records between 1970 and 1974! For a group that have long been under-represented in the CD re-issue stakes, this is a welcome release. Tracks range from the semi religious opening single, Meet My Lord which duplicates the vocal style of the group's predecessors, The Seekers, to the familiar pop of international hits such as Beg, Steal or Borrow, Never Ending Song of Love and You Won't Find Another Fool Loke Me, to the rockier Who cover of Pinball Wizard, to the sing-along I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, Circle, Nickel Song and their opening hit, Look What They've Done To My Song Ma. One constant throughout is the crystal lead vocals, first class production, intricate vocal harmonies and the variety of songs and styles. Sufficiently so that the listener will be pleasantly surprised at how fresh these tracks sound thirty years down the line. Known primarily as a singles and performing act this set from the Netherlands does almost full justice to the phenomena that was the New Seekers. Completists will be upset that the version of Circle is re-edited from the original, and the set ommits their 1973 US and Far Eastern success, The Greatest Song I've Ever Heard. That aside this is a welcome addition to anyone with a liking for well-written, well-performed pop. It's just a shame that no such comprehensive compilation or CD-reissues have been available in their two biggest territories - the UK and the USA.

AT LAST A COMPREHENSIVE AND WELL PACKAGED COLLECTION FROM THE UKS TOP HARMONY GROUP OF THE SEVENTIES.THIS IS A ' MUST OWN ' FOR ALL NEW SEEKERS FANS AND AN EXCELLENT BUY FOR ALL LOVERS OF WELL CRAFTED FINE TUNES AND RICH VOCALS.
MOST WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH THE HUGE CHART SUCCESS OF I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING,NEVER ENDING SONG OF LOVE,YOU WON'T FIND ANOTHER FOOL LIKE ME,CIRCLES AND THE UK'S 1972 EUROVISION ENTRY JUST PIPPED AT THE POST, BEG STEAL OR BORROW.HOWEVER THERE ARE ALSO TRACKS TO BE FOUND WHICH ARE PERHAPS NOT SO WELL KNOWN BUT ARE AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GROUP AS THEIR BIGGER HITS.WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY SONG MA( A SUCCESS IN THE STATES ),PINBALL WIZARD,I GET A LITTLE SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU AND NEVERTHELESS DEMONSTRATE THE VAST VOCAL RANGE AND TALENTS OF THIS FINE GROUP.EVE GRAHAM'S SUPERB VOCALS TAKE LEAD ON THE MAJORITY OF THE TRACKS,ASSISTED BY LYN PAUL'S WONDERFUL HARMONISING,THOUGH LYN COMES INTO HER OWN ON SOME OF THE LATTER TRACKS.PETER DOYLE AS ALWAYS DISPLAYS HIS VERSATILE RANGE BOTH ON LEAD AND HARMONY AS DO MARTY KRISTIAN, PAUL LAYTON AND REPLACING PETER DOYLE FROM 1973 PETER OLIVER.A WONDERFUL COLLECTION OF 22 GEMS FOR ALL.

The New Seekers, like many groups, endured line-up changes through the years but during their most successful years (1970 to 1974, the period covered by this compilation), there was only one change. The line-up in 1970 was Marty Kristian, Eve Graham, Paul Layton, Lyn Paul and Peter Doyle. Peter Oliver replaced Peter Doyle in 1973.

Their name is misleading as the original Seekers had their roots in traditional folk music while the New Seekers were a simple pop group. Their earliest recordings included three songs written by Melanie, of which one (What have they done to my song Ma) provided them with a top twenty USA hit and a minor UK hit. The other two (Beautiful people, Nickel song) were minor American hits. Beautiful people was originally the B-side to When there's no love left, but the public forced the record to be flipped.

Their UK breakthrough came with Never ending song of love, which made number two in the UK. This was followed by the song for which they are best remembered, I'd like to teach the world to sing, which was adapted from an advertising jingle. It topped the UK charts and made the American top ten. Their subsequent singles met with limited success in America, but they had four other UK top five hits, these being Beg steal or borrow, Circles, You won't find another fool like me (their second and last UK number one) and I get a little sentimental over you. In between those hits, they had lesser UK hits with Come softly to me, Pinball wizard / See me feel me, Nevertheless and Goodbye is just another word.

All of these songs can be found on this excellent compilation. They switched record labels and had three further minor UK hits, not included here, these being It's so nice (to have you home), I wanna go back and Anthem (one day in every week). Although less successful in America than in the UK, they still had nine American hits, all of which are included here.

A booklet with extensive liner notes is provided but it claims that Lyn Paul was originally from Melbourne, Australia. She was actually born and raised in Manchester, England as she points out on her own web site, lynpaulwebsite.org. This is a fascinating website, showing that there are more compilations of their re-recorded hits than their original recordings. Don't worry - this collection contains original recordings. But if you are tempted to buy a different compilation, check Lyn's web site to see what you might be getting.

I've heard various New Seekers compilations down the years but this is the strongest collection so far released. Lyn endorses it on her web site, too.

The New Seekers were one of the strongest groups to emerge from the late 1960s as a pop music band with relatively "light music" that still had infectiously catchy melodies and well written vocals. They conquered continents with their chart busting hits and this CD of their singles will thrill you without doubt!

The CD proves that The New Seekers could perform a wide variety of songs mostly within the arena of "light music" and still move their audiences with memorable harmonizing and mountains of energy and spirit. If you like songs with religious references, check out their first really big hit entitled "Meet My Lord;" this is the first track on this CD. This theme is also evident in the beautiful "When There's No Love Left," too.

Of course, love ballads celebrating the joy of love pepper this album of their hits. "Good Old-Fashioned Music" deals with tight family bonding as a family gathers together on a Saturday night to play music; this is their time to celebrate their love for each other. "I Get A Little Sentimental Over You" lets The New Seekers sings about a love that doesn't die even though the years pass and circumstances in life change. "Never Ending Song Of Love" also expresses the joy of finding your own one true love without whom life just couldn't be the same. In addition, The New Seekers do a great rendition of "Come Softly To Me;" and "Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)" is very romantic. Excellent!

For those of us who enjoy numbers that have more of a rock and roll flavor to them, look on this CD for their awesome cover of Pete Townsend's "Pinball Wizard/See Me Feel Me" from the rock opera Tommy; and "We've Got To Do It Now" has an aggressive beat that rocks great without the slightest flaw.

Other gems on this CD include the charming "Dance, Dance, Dance" and the unblemished "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing." This song may sound familiar to you--the music with slightly different lyrics was used in the early 1970s for Coca Cola television commercials. The New Seekers successfully make "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" their very own with their incredible panache and emotion which always came straight from the hearts of these fine performers.

The liner notes include the song credits, photos of the band and an informative essay about The New Seekers by Skip Voogd. Good.

I think that you owe it to yourself to discover this group if you haven't done so yet; and this CD is a great place to start. Fans of The New Seekers will consider this CD a "must-have" for their collections. People who enjoy "light music" and "light rock" will enjoy this CD, too.

Great job, guys!!! We will always remember you!!!!

This compilation CD has over 20 songs by the 1970's Scottish folk-pop group The New Seekers. Their name is an homage to the Australian band The Seekers. The sound quality on the CD is crystal clear. I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing is an homage to a Coca-Cola TV spot. The blonde lady from The New Seekers is a real cutie pie! The woman with the dark brown hair looks pretty good, too! The New Seekers did appear on Eurovision in the 70's. This CD is good, clean fun from the past.

Although they scored nine top-100 tunes during their run in the early 70's including their signature song "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing", this group has been virtually ignored in the domestic CD reissue market and has had uneven treatment overseas where their popularity was even greater.

This compilation from BR Music in the Netherlands, a label that has put out some less than laudable reissues in the past, is a respectable, and to this date the best, collection of this group's material. It contains most of the singles that had chart success in various countries in Europe, and for consumers on this side of the pond, it is the first time all their American chart hits appear together. Their first three Melanie-penned songs are here with the quirky "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma" tickling the listener's musical memory. In a reversal of the more common course of events, their biggest commercial success, the aforementioned "I'd Like To Teach..." was a song that took a commercial and turned it into a hit song. While its overly familiar tune may be almost a challange to listen to without the urge to go for a soft drink, the New Seekers' melodic treatment of their other singles shows why this group in fact was no one-hit wonder.

BR Music has done an admirable job here in presenting these tunes with decent sound quality (all but track 19 are in stereo). The informative liner notes booklet includes chart positions of their singles in five European countries as well as the U.S. along with a group history and pics.

Two thumbs up here, one for making this group's output available again, and two, for doing it in fine fashion.

I love to play this album in my car stereo when riding around with my dog because it's so relaxing and fun. If you like Abba, but hate Bucks Fizz, I would like to recommend this group to you. Lyn Paul is the British equivalent of Agnetha Faltskog, and the group's harmonies are slightly off-key from time to time which makes them charming and real. They recorded a few of Melanie Safka's songs, the best of them being "The Nickle Song," but my absolute favorite on this collection has to be "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me." By the way, don't get them confused with the original Seekers, because that Australian quartet was heavily folk oriented, although no less impressive. Keith Potger knew what he was doing when he reformed the group in England and managed them instead.

Although the New Seekers had folk roots, their music is best described as vocal pop. They were at their best on the faster numbers like the brilliant Never Ending Song Of Love, a huge hit in 1971. Their version in fact overshadowed the original by Delaney and Bonnie And Friends. Another highlight here is their powerful rendition of The Who's Pinball Wizard/See Me Feel Me, which put their sound firmly within the bounds of rock. I also like ballads like Nickel Song, Circles and the more uptempo Beg Steal Or Borrow. Not all of these tracks have aged so well, in my opinion. The cool drink commercial tune I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing was slightly banal to begin with and has grown ever more so because of its over-exposure. There are also some other tepid ballads that display none of their great vocal power and could have been performed by anyone. The album deserves four stars, however, for the aforementioned classics. At their best, New Seekers made a sparkling contributing to 70s pop music.

THEY DON'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL SEEKERS. THE ORIGINAL GROUP MAY NOT BE AS GOOD LOOKING AS THIS GROUP BUT IT HAS BEEN PROVEN TIME AND AGAIN THAT THE NOT SO GOOD LOOKING ONES ARE THE MUCH BETTER SINGERS.