Gerry & the Pacemakers - You'll Never Walk Alone: The EMI Years 1963-1966

2008 four CD box set anthology from the Liverpool band. It includes unreleased tracks, early and 'no strings" versions, all their UK singles, EPs and LP masters with some recordings issued only in the USA and Canada. Hitting the top spot with their first three singles, they were a true Mersey Beat phenomena. They rivaled the Beatles in the heydays of that scene and they had a huge following at home and abroad.This CD box set is the definitive collection of the band at its peak. It contains EMI Columbia recordings from January 1963 until November 1966 and their hit singles 'How Do You Do It?', 'I Like It', 'You'll Never Walk Alone', 'I'm The One' and 'Ferry Cross The Mersey'. Included are many in both mono and stereo plus the full Oakland Auditorium show, in stereo, which provided the four tracks for the Gerry In California (mono) EP. EMI. 123 tracks. Album Description

Enjoyable pop

This set is the latest in a series of boxes that compile complete (or nearly complete) classic discographies of EMI artists from the '60s. The first was released several years ago and was apparently available only in the UK; it contained the EMI masters recorded by the original Animals. More recently, EMI released the superb "Down the Road Apiece", containing everything you'll ever need by (the original) Manfred Mann.
Gerry and the Pacemakers were friendly competitors of the Beatles, and their early hits are just as lively and entertaining as Beatles music circa 1962-1964. Gerry Marsden had a sweet tenor voice that was a kind of Brit equivalent to Roy Orbison, so that pure pop like "How Do You Do It?" (turned down by the Beatles, incidentally) and ballads like "You'll Never Walk Alone" and especially "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" stand up remarkably well today. The band was less successful with rockers--their version of "Slow Down", for instance, can't hold a candle to Lennon and company, and the mangled Franco-Spanglish of "Jambalaya" is unwittingly comic.
Unfortunately, in the years after 1964 or so, the Pacemakers were essentially side-lined as Gerry was groomed as a singer of pop standards; backed by the kind of saccharine orchestrations that do nothing to enhance either the song or the singer, this produced versions of "Strangers In the Night" and "Who Can I Turn To", among others. This dreck appears twice, in mono and in stereo, so that the full horror of the overkill can be enjoyed(?).
Luckily, though, disc 4 also includes stereo masters of "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey"; more important is the inclusion of both the original EP (in mono) and the full recording in stereo of a series of songs recorded live in Oakland, CA. Since the scream level is less than that evident on, say, "The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl", the songs themselves--including "Don't Let the Sun", "How Do You Do It?" and "I Like It"--are perfectly audible. The kind of energy and enthusiasm typifies the Pacemakers at their best.
The overall excellence of this set makes it self-recommending to anyone who already loves this music, and the later stuff can safely be sampled once and then forgotten. I hope the series will continue, perhaps with sets for The Hollies, and how about the full Monty for the Nashville Teens? June 13, 2008

The Ultimate Collection of a Great Brit Invasion group!!!!!!

Good time music by one of the best of the British Invasion era bands, Gerry & the Pacemakers!
Most of the collection is in terrific sounding mono. Everything recorded by the group for EMI between 1963 & 1966 is included. Some solo Gerry Marsden is also included.
You know the hits, but so many of the other tracks are just as tuneful melodic, energetic, well written & performed, its staggering!
To top it all off, an entire concert from 1964 recorded in pristine stereo takes up much of disc 3!!!! This was a rockin little combo!!!
Disc 4 contains stereo versions of many hits & interesting lp & b sides.
This 4 disc retrospective of one of the greatest British groups of the 1960's is more than worth the money!
Heres hoping a similar collection is one day issued for Herman's Hermits, Freddie & the Dreamers & the Dave Clark Five! May 17, 2008

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