I Think Of You: The Complete Recordings

The Merseybeats' biggest hit was I Think Of You, but it is not them you think of when you recall Britain's Swinging Sixties. Yet they were there at the birth, support group to the Beatles in Liverpool's Cavern. They achieved early success in Germany, like many acts of the time, and this CD is produced in Germany and has 2 tracks sung in German. But their success in Britain was short-lived and in America it was non-existent. The group kept going, with occasional changes in the lineup, and is still going today, last I heard. But they never repeated their first top 10 hit and they remain the quintessential 60s group you probably never heard of.They were much better live than recorded, and were perfectly suited to the hot, intimate atmosphere of the early discotheques. Their recordings are often hurried and under-rehearsed. Also, they lacked an innovative songwriter, and failed to progress beyond their earliest, American, influences.They are worth a listen because they are so characteristic of that embryonic Mersey Sound. This is where it all began, with this blend of harmony and rock, this sense of youthful optimism and liberation. The three tracks that have staying power are It's Love That Really Counts, I Think Of You and Wishin' and Hopin'. The rest is routine.This is the one CD you'll need if you want The Merseybeats in your collection. It has all of their recordings. The insert notes are average (almost half consists of ads for other albums) but contain some good pictures of the group.Very much an album for the sixties music fan who wants to hear how it all began.

I new the lead singer's family from way back they lived back to back with us in Carlisle Cumbria during the war years then moved back to Liverpool where Tony Crane was born .The cd represents a good cross section of the 60's Liverpool sound (such talent) proof which still applies today because they are still touring .Great cd great music great seller

Everything like expectes

the quality of the discs pressed by Bear Family is awful. none of their CD's meet redbook standards, some exceeding 80 minutes. my copy of this CD skipped on track 29 "You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover". I also had the same issues with the 12 CD Hank Thompson set. Bear Family are a last resort for me because their CD's do not function properly in my Sony boombox, which has succeeded playing nearly every CD I've thrown at it. when wripped with Windows Media Player, the track was full of shp... shp... shp... shp... shp... shp... in the background. on the Steve Hoffmen music forem, there is a thread about this issue. I've played many different discs on my Sony and had no issues with Bear Family discs until I bought my Hank Thompson box set. I've been buying these releases for 5 years and the new copies are worst playback quality. see my upload to YouTube. in my upload on YouTube of this album, it has skip and stutter on that track. I uploaded it because I wanted Clayton to listen to my CD so that he could return it to the CD store in Freemantle where we bought it. I waited 6 weeks for this CD to come in at Mills, and I'm really let down that it skips. this CD cost me Aud$47.95 and took 6 weeks to arrive. I annoyed Clayton and guess what he told me, if you order any more CD's from Mills, I'm going to wrip the modem out of your PC for a month, ban you from pot and beer, and you will not be coming to America. why? because I went on endlessly for the last 3 weeks about the Merseybeats! when's it coming! it's lost! I promised him that if he ordered this for me I wouldn't not talk about it, but because of my autism, I panicked because it took a little longer than expected. Mills are to be avoided and I should have gone to Amazon. Now Clayton has to box this up and take it back to Mills, and refund could take another 6 weeks.

If you're a fan of the traditional Mersey Beat beat, i.e., two guitars, bass, drums and harmony, you will love the Best of the Merseybeats. While certainly not in the class of the Beatles, or maybe even the Searchers, the Merseybeats are still a very good group. Guitarists Tony Crane and Aaron Williams blend very well together, and Crane and bassist Johnny Gustafsson work some wonderful harmonies. This collection is one of my favorites. Some of the better songs include Really Mystified, I Stand Accused and I Think of You. I certainly have no regrets about purchasing it.

This collection coming from the Bear Family Records label reflects their approach which is everything is included that was recorded by this group on the Fontana label in the 1960s. As such given the piecemeal approach their recordings have suffered under prior compilations, this is the one to get as it includes the often omitted four tracks from the "On Stage EP" (recorded in the studio and not on stage) and the German language versions of two of their hits.The collection reflects two common features of most Mersey groups from that time, being quickly made recordings with little production time (Fontana was not a major label) and most songs were written by non-group members or are covers of live favourites, though Tony Crane and John Gustafson contribute more than was usual.Against this was that the group was very good vocally and as a live act, some of that being evident on different studio tracks. Also lest it be forgotten they were very popular locally and were once under the sway of Brian Epstein (they were present in the outer office of NEMS after Pete Best had been sacked) but chose to go their own way given the stable of Mersey talent Epstein was building.With a legacy of several singles in a few years, one EP and one LP they will always be placed in the second league of '60s Merseybeat groups but from the evidence at the time plus having seen them live in recent years, they were clearly top of that league and remain so.Sadly the one area where Bear Family has let their normal high standards drop is the liner notes, which on historical compilations is especially disappointing. Even though written by Chris Welch of Melody Maker fame, they seem to be based on a single interview with John Gustafson and so have no contribution off Tony Crane especially or much historical perspective plus are padded out with adverts for other Mersey/Hamburg related releases from Bear Family.

This is the stuff! This CD should be called "The Very Best Of The Merseybeats", as it includes the 4 tracks from The Merseybeats "On Stage" E.P. - "Long Tall Sally", ""I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry", "Shame" and "You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover" - their "tougher" side! Fantastic music!!

great songs

Bought as a Christmas present.

A comprehensive collection of the Merseybeats' songs and undoubtedly the best.