The Searchers and how how did Kapp get all those stereo mixes?

I've just bought that very record that is on the picture that you put up Steve. It was on e-Bay & the seller lives not all that far from me, about 15 miles.

 

Do you think there will ever be a
"Complete Peter and Gordon"
"Complete Freddie & The Dreamers" (I bought the Japanese reissues and sone stuff seem to be taken from vinyl)
"Complete Four Pennies"
"Complete Chad & Jeremy"
"Complete Herman's Hermits in stereo"... etc?

 

Sad there isn't likely to be a SH project for this...

But, for true stereo there is this comp:

Herman's Hermits - The Best Of Herman's Hermits: The 50th Anniversary Anthology

I picked up a copy this for cheap past week. It is fun to hear all these remixed to true stereo. None of those original "Sounds Great In Stereo" MGM albums were ever anything more than fake stereo as I recall. The remastering on this set leaves a lot to be desired IMO though -- I'd have much preferred a SH or Kevin Gray job on the material...I listened to this set for the first time last night and though I love the material I found the sound pretty fatiguing on first listen.

If you are a HHs fan, for original mono and great SQ I can highly recommend this:

Herman's Hermits - The Best Of Herman's Hermits

Missing I'm Henry The Eighth, I Am, but the rest sound great here.

You have to be careful and only get this first 1969 Columbia/EMI one box straight mono press with this cover. This comp was reissued at least a half a dozen times in subsequent years in a number of countries with different cover art and awful reprocessed fake stereo.

The good news is that since HHs don't have any hip cache, these can still be had for reasonable.

 

ehhhhh...it's kind of true stereo. Since most of the earliest Hermits' stuff were done mono-to-mono (not multitrack, or even two track) the earliest cuts on that CD are synch ups from the various stage tapes. (Usually the backing track one channel and completed master on the other.) It was a great effort, but I'm not sure you can call many of those tracks "true" stereo.

Later tracks like "Kind of a Hush" and "No Milk Today" are the real deal though.

 

True Stereo, but the UK Pye mixes done later on. Which means the horrible second mix of "Needles & Pins" instead of the awesome Kapp commissioned Stereo mix of that track.

 

Is that available anywhere besides an original UK Kapp stereo press?

 

Thanks! Once I get a stereo cart back on my rig (doing some mono listening the past couple of weeks) I'll be giving it another listen.

And thanks again for doing your Searchers comp in the first place. They absolutely deserved the treatment, despite their not being on anyone's radar but yours. Now...if I can just track down the SACD...

 

Has anyone rendered a verdict on this Varese Sarabande CD from 2016, The Very Best of The Searchers? All 18 cuts in stereo. An Amazon reviewer says this uses stereo mixes that were most likely produced by UK Pye for the American Kapp label, genuine stereo mixes made from the original 3 track masters.

https://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-Searchers/dp/B01JSA953K

 

Yes, what our host just said.

 

Not heard it but I got myself a mug with that cover on which I use every day



Tony's bass:

Epiphone Rivoli - Wikipedia

 

Here are the 30 sec clips of the 2016 Varese Sarabande CD. Can anyone tell if these are the Kapp stereo versions?

The Very Best of the Searchers [Varèse Sarabande] - The Searchers | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic

 

My thoughts - They are all Pye stereo mixes, several of which first appeared on the UK Marble Arch releases. Nothing wrong with them though "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" sound like the later Pye mixes to me, with the band track in the center and the vocals panned to the left and right. They seem to have a slightly different reverb effect than the Kapp mixes, especially the latter song. Anybody else care to weigh in?

 

I could be very wrong on this, but I'd venture this box set just uses existing transfers. The Castle mono/stereo CDs of the five albums sound just fine to me. (I prefer my Searchers in mono, anyway). This is a nice way to round up almost everything in one go, but geez, this band has been compiled so much already and there isn't anything new here.

 

We should all cheap in for a release with all the singles (As & Bs) and EP tracks not on albums in Stereo and get Ron Furmanek to remix to stereo those that have no stereo mixes yet.

 

I'm in. I'm waiting for one of the obsessives on here to put together a complete Searchers with what sources we have so far. I have a barking dog next door up for trade.

 

Sadly despite being one of the most influential and much loved by many Merseybeat (UK) and British Invasion (USA) groups - and even The Beatles favorite 'other' Liverpool band ! - The Searchers profile is nowhere near as high as it should be

Paul even offered them 'Things We Said Today' in 1964 which it seems their management turned down (!!) probably without the band members knowing at the time...

Despite getting those decent stereo mixes (which were only done at Kapp's insistance NOT down to PYE records themselves) in retrospect I do wonder how The Searchers might have fared at another record company more into albums, maybe EMI ?

key personnel changes divided some fans early on but overall most recognise that while the original and the later PYE era line ups were "THE Searchers" who made the hits etc every version of the band has been a strong outfit especially post hits era the Pender-McNally-Allen-Adamson line up who cut those two later powering albums on Sire records in 1979 and 1981

I think the biggest unfortunate 'issue' that holds their profile down is the ongoing rift between founder John McNally and ex-lead vocalist / guitarist Mike Pender which it seems will not likely be resolved

having two versions of the band touring in the last few decades probably confused some and both original members Tony Jackson and Chris Curtis being no longer with us only dilutes their position as a key influential band even further

I once asked their website page lady re any chance of a retrospective DVD of classic performances especially over 1963 to 1967 - MUCH TV show and promo songs footage does exist as the many youtube posting prove - she told me much as they would love it they own little or nothing of the songs footage and to assemble such a DVD set (as has been done with other sixties bands like Hollies, Tremeloes, Dave Dee and co, Small Faces, Gerry etc) would be far too expensive for them to undertake

so that too detracts from the band's position and historical importance which is a great pity and it seems unlikely they will ever get inducted into the Hall of Fame now despite The Beatles admiring them and their obvious influence on other and later artists with 'jangling' guitars and harmony vocals ( plus a more subliminal sophisticated style) from The Byrds (as Chris Hillman at least has acknowleged) to Tom Petty, The Long Ryders etc

on that Searchers official website Frank Allen said he knew of no surviving TV performance of 'He's Got No Love' which at least I was able to help him with !

 

putting this one up again simply as it's great to see them live !

When I Get Home - at the London Palladium 1965

 

and while not in brilliant sound here are the later Searchers of Mike Pender, John McNally, Frank Allen, and Billy Adamson playing in a small club a live version of America's song 'Sandman' in 1981

lead vocal and guitar by John McNally

 

My Searchers Site contains a special page, compiled by Frank Allen. So if you are interested of a list of the Searchers originals with the credited writers and who really wrote them go to my site Searchers Page by M. Denger scroll contents down to almos the end where you'll find this special page.
Michael