''Sounds Like Searchers'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Searchers and the group's first LP featuring singer and bass player Frank Allen. Album features title track of the band's UK No.1 EP "Bumble Bee" as well as cover versions of some well known tracks written or co-written by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

, John Barry or Jackie DeShannon. The album has reached the Top 10 in the UK album chart.

Overview

The departure of singer Tony Jackson from the band did not threaten its popularity. The Searchers had another string of hits with new bassist and singer Frank Allen (chart-buster " When You Walk in the Room", folk protest song " What Have They Done to the Rain" and another smash " Goodbye My Love"), before they released another album. Although all band members tried to write their own compositions, just three of Chris Curtis songs made it to the album. “Frank (Allen) and I were writing, but there was never any real respect paid to our songs,” said John McNally about this period. Success gave them a little more control in the studio work (two years ago they recorded their first album in one day). Yet they were not satisfied. "We never had a real concept for our albums," said Frank Allen. "Plus we tended to record our songs very quickly… We certainly weren’t allowed the time to perfect our arrangements, or make them more elaborate, the way that groups like The Beatles did."

Release

''Sounds Like Searchers'' was released as a monaural (mono)

LP album The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

on the Pye label in the UK on March 19, 1965, Pye NPL 18111. It entered the LP charts on March 27, 1965 went to No. 8 and stayed for 17 weeks. An EP called "Four by Four" with songs taken from the album (with "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" as the lead track) was released on the Pye Records NEP 24228 on November 1965 but failed to chart. In the Netherlands, "

I Don't Want to Go On Without You "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" is soul ballad written by Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler and produced by Bert Berns for The Drifters in 1964. Covers "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" has been covered by Nazareth, The Escorts (1965), The Mood ...

" was issued as a single A-side and reached No. 17 (in the meantime "Bumble Bee" reached No. 23 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

). The Moody Blues also recorded and released hit version of the song at the same time. Another beat group from The Searchers hometown Liverpool,

The Kubas The Koobas were an English beat group from Liverpool. Their music, and their early history, is similar in some ways to that of fellow Liverpudlians The Beatles, though they never achieved widespread popularity. History The group was foun ...

, did a rendition of "Magic Potion" in 1965 but failed to chart.

Track listing

US version (The New Searchers LP)

Album was released in the US on Kapp Records as ''"The New Searchers LP (Chris, John, Mike, Frank)"'' with a different cover but using similar track order (included actual hit single " What Have They Done to the Rain" instead of the song "Let The Good Times Roll"). The album entered Billboard Top 200 on March 20, 1965 went to No. 112 and stayed for 7 weeks. Album track "Bumble Bee" was released as the main single of the album in the US and went to No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Track listing

Personnel

The Searchers * Mike Pender – lead guitar,

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, backing vocals * John McNally –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, lead and backing vocals * Frank Allen –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, lead and backing vocals * Chris Curtis –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, lead and backing vocals Additional musicians and production * Tony Hatch –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, piano * Ray Prickett –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

References

{{Authority control 1965 albums The Searchers (band) albums Albums produced by Tony Hatch Pye Records albums