Customer Reviews

Sire Sessions: Rockfield Recordings 1979-80

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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.

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.

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

Raven Records, that admirable Australian reissue label, has done a great service to fans of power pop by reissuing, on one CD, the two LPs the Searchers recorded for Sire Records in 1979 and 1980. All the tunes from both albums-"The Searchers" and "Play for Today/Love's Melodies" (with slightly differing contents depending on where it was released)-are here, plus a B-side ("Changing"). The CD has a total of 24 tracks (including one "hidden" cut-"A Little Bit Of Heaven"-from the second album, about which more below). The real gems here are the covers: from Dylan (the obscure "Coming From The Heart"), Tom Petty (the equally obscure "Lost In Your Eyes"), John Hiatt ("Back To The War"), John Fogerty ("Almost Saturday Night"), Alex Chilton's great "September Gurls," and more terrific songs from the likes of Will Birch and John Wicks of The Records ("Hearts In Her Eyes"), "It's Too Late" and "You Are The New Day" from John David of Airwaves, Mickey Jupp's "Switchboard Susan", and Moon Martin ("She Made A Fool Of You").

The Searchers (from Liverpool - but not in the Brian Epstein stable) had been part of the initial wave of the British Invasion, having had hits in 1963 and 1964 like "Needles and Pins," "Sweets For My Sweet," "Love Potion No. 9," and "Sugar And Spice," and were notable for pioneering the use of the electric 12-string, preceding and probably influencing the Byrds, among others (compare the riff from "Needles And Pins" (written first) with the Byrds' "Feel A Whole Lot Better"). By the mid-60s their initial popularity had waned somewhat, but they continued to perform throughout Europe for years. When the first Sire album was released in 1979, it was thought to be a "reunion" album, but the Searchers had never really gone away, toiling in relative obscurity for a decade and a half on the Euro bar and cabaret circuit. The Sire albums showed they still had the goods, and then some. Reviews at the time talked about things like "veteran band shows the youngsters how it's done," "... frequently outperforming the originals... ," etc., etc. Inexplicably, these two records never did very well commercially at the time (lost in the power-pop shuffle, probably), but one listen should tell you how good they were.

Good remasters (20-bit); for some reason, an early release of the CD had sound in only one channel, and contained only the 23 tracks listed on the insert. The problem has since been corrected without fanfare, with (as an apology maybe?) a 24th track added (but not documented) - interestingly, I have yet to read a review acknowledging the existence of this track ("A Little Bit Of Heaven" from the second LP).

The Sire Sessions refer to the two impeccable albums "The Searchers" and "Love's Melodies" the group recorded for the Sire label in 1979 and 1980.This collection of twenty three songs evokes the style and sound of their folk rock influenced greatest hits from the sixties but with the advantage of the advances in recording of the new era and a particularly strong song collection.The songwriters on this CD include Bob Dylan,Tom Petty,John Fogerty and The Searchers themselves.The opening track Hearts In Her Eyes is my personal favourite.This up tempo number is still featured in the group's performances if you are fortunate enough to be at one of their concerts.Other songs that are just as catchy include Feeling Fine,It's Too Late,Back To The War,Silver,You Are The New Day,Everything But A Heartbeat,September Girls and Changing penned by The Seachers themselves which closes out their performance on this CD.The overall quality of this CD assures that you will discover your own faves somewhere among these twenty three tracks.If you missed the original vinyl albums first time around or are a new fan wishing to delve into the history of The Searchers the Sire Sessions CD is a golden oppurtunity to experience the distinctive Searchers sound beyond their sixties' greatest hits.

1979 the popworld never discovered one of Britains greatest popgroups at all.Once again they managed to do an LP(Album)with totally new melodies& sound.I hope they will be at the Hall of Fame soon.I have the LP and compared with 1964 they really had developed themselves.I m very happy that "Its Too Late" went up on Top 20 1979(at the same time as The Shadows took #1)BUT why are they so BAAD promoted?PYE-records failed completely in this matter,SIRE Record what did they do?????? BUY this CD & listen to real music.

This great 1960`s Liverpool band recorded 2 albums for Sire Records in 1979-1980. The CD contains most of these recordings - plus some singles tracks.

The Searchers were among the finest band to come out of Liverpool, and they inspired many later bands with their exquisite vocals and their guitar-sounds.

These come-back power-pop recordings are great too, though they do not quite match their greatest 1960`s records.

Most of the songs are fine! The vocals still great! The guitar-style still there. My only objection is the sound - the production. I think these recordings lacks the warmth of their earlier work. I think a better production could have made these fine recordings greater.

Still, I like the CD a lot.

So many catchy power-pop tunes, to sing along with.

From the 1979 album songs like "Switchboard Susan", "It`s Too Late" and "Lost in Your Eyes" stand-out!

The 1980 album "Love`s Melodies" is an even more consistent album containing great tracks like the title track, "Infatuation", "Almost Saturday Night", "Radio Romance", "September Gurls" and "Changing"; in fact there were no weak tracks on that album.

The Searchers were always good songwiters themselves; they wrote 4 of these songs; a mystery that "A little Bit of Heaven" was left out of this compilation.

Other songwriters on the CD are Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Tom Petty, Mickey Jupp, Randy Bishop, John Fogerty, John David, Will Birch and others.

A shame these 2 fine albums did not bring the Searchers a well-deserved commercial come-back too!

The Sire Sessions refer to the two impeccable albums "The Searchers" and "Love's Melodies" the group recorded for the Sire label in 1979 and 1980.This collection of twenty three songs evokes the style and sound of their folk rock influenced greatest hits from the sixties but with the advantage of the advances in recording of the new era and a particularly strong song collection.The songwriters on this CD include Bob Dylan,Tom Petty,John Fogerty and The Searchers themselves.The opening track Hearts In Her Eyes is my personal favourite.This up tempo number is still featured in the group's performances if you are fortunate enough to be at one of their concerts.Other songs that are just as catchy include Feeling Fine,It's Too Late,Back To The War,Silver,You Are The New Day,Everything But A Heartbeat,September Girls and Changing penned by The Searchers themselves which closes out their performance on this CD.The overall quality of this CD assures that you will discover your own faves somewhere among these twenty three tracks.If you missed the original vinyl albums first time around or are a new fan wishing to delve into the history of The Searchers the Sire Sessions CD is a golden oppurtunity to experience the distinctive Searchers sound beyond their sixties' greatest hits.

With the Hollies "A Crazy Steal," the Records "Crashes," The Shoes' "Present Tense," and Nick Lowe's "Labour of Lust" spinning on my turntable during nineteen-eighty, I was in Pop Heaven. Add a copy of the Searchers' 1979 self-titled album, and one has an excellent representation of classic Power Pop. "The Sire Sessions - Rockfield Recordings 1979-80" includes (almost) the "Searchers" (1979) and "Loves Melodies" (1980). This collection in an inspiring and uplifting seventy-five minutes of luscious Beatles-like melodies (Infatuation), Hollies' heavenly vocal harmonies (Coming From the Heart, You Are A New Day), Byrds' jangle rhythm guitars (Love's Melodies, Murder In My Heart) and Buddy Holly's bouncing rockabilly (Love's Gonna Be Strong). Those familiar with the work of the Records, Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe will immediately recognize "Hearts In Her Eyes," "Switchbox Susan," and "Almost Saturday Night."

More than several compositions should have been hits: "It's Too Late" has an "impossible to forget" hand-clapping break. The Beau Brummels should have (could have) sunk their teeth into "Changing." Love ballads such as "Lost In Her Eyes" and "You Are A New Day" are as sweet and syrupy as the best of the Raspberries. Give me more!

So get a copy of "The Sire Sessions," put on a pair of headphones, grab an air guitar, and sing alone till your heart's content. If Pop doesn't do that to you, perhaps you should be reading the latest Snoppy Da Doggy reviews.

Technical Note: the CD cover mentions "Super Bit Mapping." I suppose that's a synonym for digital mastering. "The Sire Sessions" is not up to the analog-digital transfer quality of Rhino releases, but quite close. An excellent import from Australia.

15 years after their first hits, The Searchers recorded two wonderful albums for Sire Records, "The Searchers" and "Love's Melody", both of which are included on this cd. The Searchers are at their best, fitting nicely into the power pop genre that was all the rage in '79. What distiguishes this from most of the power pop output at the time is the great performance and the excellent choice of songs. With writers such as Tom Petty, John Hiatt, Moon Martin and the underappreciated team of John Wicks and Will Birch, there is not a weak song on this disc. This stuff was great on vinyl and remains great on cd. If only these were hits; they should have been.