Sire Sessions: Rockfield Recordings 1979-80 [Import]

Searchers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 7, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Raven [Australia]
• ASIN: B000003IXF
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,009 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hearts In Her Eyes

2. Switchboard Susan

3. Feeling Fine

4. This Kind Of Love Affair

5. Lost In Your Eyes

6. It's To Late

7. No Dancing

8. Coming From The Heart

9. Don't Hang On

10. Love's Gonna Be Strong

11. Back To The War

12. Love's Melody

13. Silver

14. Infatuation

15. She Made A Fool Out Of You

16. Almost Saturday Night

17. You Are The New Day

18. Everything But A Heartbeat

19. Radio Romance

20. Murder In My Heart

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

1997 Raven release featuring 23 of the band's recordings forSire from that period: 22 of the 23 tracks from the albums 'The Searchers' & 'Love's Melody', plus a single-only B-side! Included amongst the originals are tunes penned by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, John Hiatt, Alex Chilton, John Fogerty, Mickey Jupp, Moon Martin and more. Over 75 minutes long. All tracks are 20 bit remasters!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Masters Teach the Young, September 28, 2003

By 

Randall E. Adams (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sire Sessions: Rockfield Recordings 1979-80 (Audio CD)

This is one of those inspired reissues by Raven that does EXACTLY what a music collector wants: it puts together everything from a discrete overlooked period. And was this period ever overlooked!

When the earlier of the two albums included here came out, I snapped it up hoping for something reminiscent of the excellent U.S. version of "Take Me For What I'm Worth." I have no good explanation for the fact that the only tracks that appealed to me at the time were "Hearts in Her Eyes" which I loved (and still do) and "Switchboard Susan" which I liked. My failure to get beyond these first two songs was quite a lapse of taste. In fairness to myself, I never heard the second Sire album "Love's Melody" on which the band really played up its mid-60s hallmarks with a more reverbed, silky recorded sound recalling Tony Hatch's work with them and assembled an even stronger set of songs. A generation later when I bought this CD issue, I was delighted by The Searchers' wonderful update on their own classic sound complete with the jangling twelve string, those familiar voices both singly and in the smooth harmonies, and the inspired choices of top-drawer songs often from the folkie/songwriter scene. Where in the 60s the Searchers covered Ian Tyson, Jackie Deshannon and P.F. Sloan, at the turn of the 1970s and 80s, they covered Tom Petty, John Hiatt, John Fogerty and Alex Chilton. They offered their own superb versions of great songs from Big Star and the Textones. And they offered a pair of their own originals on each album, the best of which is the mournful but beautiful "Changing" which closes out the set. This last song hits the same nerve as "Don't You Know Why" or "Goodbye My Love" from 1966. These albums are not desperate cash-ins by a spent force; they are instead fine demonstrations of the continued relevance of a classic British band with a firmly grounded musical philosophy who had not stopped listening to new music.

Too many people in the States forget the Searchers (and sometimes even the Beatles!), giving all of the credit for the formation of the archetypal 12 string jangly rock sound to the Byrds. I'm sure that many of the later jangle bands from REM forward listened to the Searchers as much as they did the Byrds and I'll bet they listened to these two albums.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST stuff that The Searchers EVER did, January 5, 2000

By 

jmack "jmack" (New Joisey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sire Sessions: Rockfield Recordings 1979-80 (Audio CD)

THIS IS A GREAT CD. Yes, these are THE Searchers who went to the top of the charts in the `60s with Needles And Pins and Don't Throw Your Love Away. Their music was built around the sound of the 12-string guitar, with strong lead vocals and exquisitely arranged harmonies. This sound would become a key ingredient in the success of groups like the Byrds (who beget Tom Petty and the like). At the end of the 1970s, their recording fortunes were revived once again as Sire Records signed the Searchers for two albums. Those records, The Searchers and Love's Melodies, combined here on one CD at a great price, were the best work the group ever did, highlighted by beautiful and vibrant playing and singing, and memorable hooks and melodies. If you love good pop tunes in the mode of the aforementioned Byrds, Tom Petty, or other great British pop like Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, The Kinks, etc., you won't be disappointed by this CD. You can get a sense for that even from the samples available above.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS GREAT STUFF, February 7, 2004

By 

6part "6parts" (florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sire Sessions: Rockfield Recordings 1979-80 (Audio CD)

I bought my first Searcher album in 1964 "Meet The Searchers" which now turns out to have had all the classics.
I didn't think it would be 40 years before I'd have bought another Seacher album but here it is in 2004 I am rediscovering this group. I have bought almost all available titles by them; and this is some great music that I never knew existed.
I really don't get it; Why didn't any of the music off these albums get any air time. Hearts in Her Eyes, Switchboard Susan, This Kind of Love Affair,No Dancing, Loves Melody, Silver,Infatuation,Radio Romance, September Gurls, Another Night, and Changing are among my favorites.
Put the top down, turn up the cd player, and go for a ride, this is great stuff.
Cheers