Curious?

grsnovi · Post by **grsnovi** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:05 pm

The Searchers never loomed large in my musical realm yet this forum is always the most active of the three band-specific thread forums here. So, I went out at lunchtime and picked up a "Best of..." cd and I'm still somewhat mystified. The harmonies are good - clearly the Byrds did homework here, but the songs appear to be largely penned by others? What am I missing?

tim · Post by **tim** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 9:37 pm

The appeal of The Searchers is often a personal thing and unique to that fan. With me it is "When You Walk In The Room". Up to that point they were just a 'Merseybeat' group. From that point on they were the makers of my favourite record of all time. I can't pretend I liked everything they did after that, but there was always something that kept me with them.

Also, the fact that they were essentially a live band who gigged extensively, and were always accessible to their fans, must have something to do with it. I usually get to see them a couple of dozen times (or more) each year and each show is an immensely enjoyable experience.

I'm sure each fan can tell their own story.

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 11:52 am

Gary - The Searchers in my view did not or probably their producer in the sixties, did not have faith in their own songwriting abilites. They did in fact write some very good pop records of the time though

Till I Met You - It's All Been a Dream - Don't Hide it Away to mention just three.

jjr · Post by **jjr** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 2:41 pm

Gary,

Forget the songwriting, although the B sides were largely theirs, and as Roy said, they could write, but don't seem to have been given, or taken, the chance. Listen to the SOUND. The Byrds just didn't do their homework, they ripped them off. The Searchers were innovators in how guitar on records was played. They invented folk rock-see "What Have They Done to the Rain" -They didn't write, but they made it.They were doing "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "All My Sorrows" in 1963. The style they pioneered has gone through the Byrds to Tom Petty and down to this day. I can still get a whiff of their sound on lots of records put out now.They invented "jangle" They developed that sound when other bands following the Beatles developed long hair. Capice?

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 12:37 pm

Well said John, songs like Since You broke My Heart and even Stand By Me from the first album were great guitar sounds.

I can actually recall all those years ago saying to a friend of mine, just after I had bought Meet The Searchers that this group could well do great instrumentals the guitar sound was so strong.

jjr · Post by **jjr** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 6:19 pm

Roy,

"Since You Broke My Heart", and "Saints and Searchers" were the two songs that did it for me after "Needles and Pins". I still think the second guitar break on Saints is one of the best pieces of guitar work I've ever heard. And the thing that struck me was the unity of innovative guitar and drumming that was an integral part of the song, not just keeping time. Plus, until Chris Curtis, I wasn't sure any British drummer could do a sustained roll ("Tricky Dicky")

jjr · Post by **jjr** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 1:32 pm

Gary,

Another reason for all the interest is that the Searchers are one of the great "What ifs" of British rock n' roll.What if they had looked and acted more "British". What if Tony didn't leave when he did. What if they'd signed with Epstein. What if they had a different label, producer and/ or manager. What if Chris didn't leave. What if the Sire albums had gotten the play they deserved. That's only a partial list, but topics like this have interested Searchers fans since the beginning

grsnovi · Post by **grsnovi** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 4:33 pm

I'm just not familiar enough with any of their material and a single listen to the cd I got was all I've had time for at this point. The harmonies are indeed great as is the guitar - but the relative obscurity of these guys in my "formative" years is sort of baffling. I had certainly heard NEEDLES AND PINS but nothing else (at least not their version that I recall).

jjr · Post by **jjr** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 5:20 pm

Their biggest single in the US was "Love Potion No. 9- a remake of the old Clovers hit. Something to consider is how influential they are. Needles and Pins was redone by Tom Petty/ Stevie Nicks, the Ramones and numerous others. When You Walk in the Room was redone by Billy J. Kramer, Pam Tillis, Chris Hillman and a bunch of others. They've had people redo Sugar and Spice. While they didn't write the songs, they seem to have done the definitive versions of them. And check the Byrds, "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and see if you recognize the guitar hooks, and they're not the only group that used that run in their music. You might want to go for the 30th Anniversary Collection to cover their old stuff, almost completely- and check out "The Sire Sessions" to see the ultimate evolution of the SOUND

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:44 am

Gary: You consistently ask great questions and this one is no exception. Quote:The harmonies are good - clearly the Byrds did homework here, but the songs appear to be largely penned by others? What am I missing?

There are aspects of The Searchers that remain a mystery to this very day. The great harmonies, good guitar work and behind the scenes mystery is what makes the history of The SEarchers such a fascinating study. To begin, The Searchers were performing in the golden days of Liverpool and being second only to The Beatles certainly gets the attention of avids everywhere. We can't forget that "Needles and Pins" knocked The Fab Four out of the top spot, if only for the flicker of a candle.

It is only human nature to ponder why groups that placed second didn't do better. I consider that you did not hear more about The Searchers because they were over-shadowed by The Beatles originality. The Searchers did write their own music, sparingly, but in spite of comments of avids here, but the did not excel at it.

To get to the heart of your question, you really had to have been there at the time. Needles and Pins, Sugar and Spice, When You Walk In The Room, and Love Potion Number Nine were all great songs and deserving of their standing whether in the US or the UK. When you shoot to the top with your first release, staying there is difficult. But what establishes a musical memory that will never fade?

The initial excitement generated by a band that was to be second among a few hundred in Liverpool is not easily passed by. It is the shivers that go up the spin, and the tremors that touch the temporal lobes of adolecents that are destined to become the musical engrams of all time. The Searchers had a window of opportunity that touched the avids of the Liverpool scene only for an instant but sent shockwaves throught the cerebral cortex that etched out an emotional pathway that would last through a lifetime.

The Searchers rivaled the best throughtout 1963-1965. They were infectious to those who were exposed to them and at the same time unknown to so many others whose focus was dicated by their ouwn local music scene. While they have continued to produce quality music over the years, for two short years they were a very important part of my life. So important that I have returned to them many years later. You have hit the nail on the head though Gary, had they a more fully developed repetoire of their own material I might never have left.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon May 19, 2003 4:05 pm

Gary, I'm new here, but I can tell you that the first time I heard "Don't throw your love Away" I fell in love with the band, I also had liked Needles and Pins, but Don't Throw your love away did it for me, I couldn't get enough of that song. With top 40 radio of that time if a song had ceased to be a hit the station wouldn't play it anymore, I remember the day I called up WORC AM and requested it and the DJ mumbled yeah and never played it, I never forgot it, I had gotten up the nerve to call the station and they wouldn't play my song. In my city (Worcester Ma.) a lot of their later songs were not played, but I definitely remember Love Potion number 9. I bought the Rhino reissue on LP a few (20) years ago and was surprised at the different types of music they had played, I remember when they did a reunion tour in the late 70's, they had a great song, Stars in her eyes. But I didn't realize that they were still together, thats great!

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue May 20, 2003 2:52 am

Bob: I too was smitten by "Don't Throw Your Love Away." The harmony in this song is layered so very nicely and at the time it was released there was nothing quite like it. I really love the Tony Jackson inspired lead riff that can be heard after the lyric "Lovers of today, just give their love away, and say, I love."

einar · Post by **einar** » Wed May 21, 2003 12:55 am

Hi there! I'm still curious about the new amazing caste rankings for this list! Tim is recently promoted from "junior member" to just "member", whilst Roy is now "intermediate" after keeping a relatively high frequence, I'd say. Then Bob, who says he's new here, gets the "advanced member" level! Congratulations to you! Can't wait to see where I am after this!

Einar

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Wed May 21, 2003 6:58 am

Hi Einar if Bob is new he has done well to have 82 postings, I suspect his contributions relate to the many areas of the Rickenbacker Forum Peter must never get any spare time if this is a hobby.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed May 21, 2003 7:05 am

Einar: The rating comes from postings to all topic areas of The Rickenbacker Forum, of which the Searchers' Forum is just one topic area. I encourage all of you to participate in any of the other categories. Your username and password lets you post in any of them.