Gerry & the Pacemakers Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
This is a nine-song concert recording by Gerry & the Pacemakers, apparently from 1981, as the reference to John Lennon being killed "last year," and the inclusion of Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" reveal. Gerry and the boys have a particular affection for Joel, also covering his "Just the Way You Are." (And why not? Gerry sings in Joel's key.) Among the other super hits included are "Unchained Melody" and "Imagine," and, oh yes, a couple of hits actually by the group performing them, Ferry Across the Mersey"and How Do You Do It." The performances are characteristically chipper, but only die-hard fans are likely to be interested in this show. (This album contains the same concert as the one featured on an album called Super Hits Live! but the sound quality is superior here and there are more stage remarks.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Ferry Cross the Mersey'
Release Date 1/1/1964
Tracks 20
Label United Artists
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Granted, all but fanatics should be satisfied with a best-of for Gerry & the Pacemakers. But British Invasion specialists could do worse than pick up this reissue, which packages their 1965 LP with 14 rare bonus tracks. Ferry Cross the Mersey itself has nine Gerry Marsden originals, and aside from the hits (the title track and "It's Gonna Be All Right"), these rarely show up on compilations; they have the same lightweight, energetic Merseybeat charm of most of their early material. The album (which accompanied the long-gone Ferry Cross the Mersey film) also had some decent guest tracks by fellow Liverpudlians the Fourmost and Cilla Black, and a moody instrumental by the George Martin Orchestra. The bonus cuts aren't quite up to the same level, but they're pretty hard to come by otherwise: four songs that only appeared on an obscure compilation LP, rare singles from 1966 and 1967, the "film version" of "It's Gonna Be All Right" (identical to the single except for a few more instrumental bars at the beginning), and their super-rare 1966 live EP, Gerry in California. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With "I Like It" belatedly becoming Gerry & the Pacemakers' third American Top 20 hit in the fall of 1964, Laurie Records, which licensed the band's recordings in the U.S., wanted a new LP to back it up. But the album the group had just made was the soundtrack for its film, Ferry Cross the Mersey, which had had its U.S. release delayed until February 1965. So, Laurie did what it had done the previous June for the American LP Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying: It assembled an album by using tracks from the band's 1963 U.K. long-player How Do You Like It? along with a couple of B-side singles and the current hit. Since the label had culled the better material for the previous release, this one wasn't as strong. However, lead singer/guitarist Gerry Marsden's composition "It's All Right" was a typically pleasant Merseybeat workout, Mitch Murray's "You Can't Fool Me" was almost on a par with his hit songs "How Do You Do It" and "I Like It," and "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" was a strong cover of a good Arthur Alexander R&B number. Unfortunately, even though Laurie had access to enough tracks that had not yet appeared on an American LP to make up the requisite 12 tracks, the label chose to reuse two tracks, "Slow Down" and "Jambalaya," that had appeared on Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying five months earlier, doing a disservice to fans. That made Second Album even more of a disappointing rehash, and it hurt Gerry & the Pacemakers' momentum in the U.S. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying'
Release Date 1/1/1964
Tracks 12
Label Laurie
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The career of Gerry and the Pacemakers paralleled that of the Beatles up to a certain point. Like the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, England, and were signed to a subsidiary of EMI Records, in their case Columbia (no relation to American Columbia), their recordings overseen by George Martin. As with the Beatles, in the U.S., their records were licensed to a small independent label (Laurie, while the Beatles were on Vee-Jay), and, despite their British success, it was not until their fifth single that they achieved a stateside breakthrough. For the Beatles, that fifth single was "I Want to Hold Your Hand"; for Gerry and the Pacemakers, four months later in May 1964, it was the ballad "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying." Laurie quickly assembled a corresponding LP out of existing recordings. Three of the group's previous singles ("How Do You Do It," "I'm the One," "You'll Never Walk Alone") joined two B-sides ("Away From You," "Show Me That You Care") and six tracks from the October 1963 U.K. LP How Do You Like It? ("Jambalaya," "Maybelline," "You're the Reason," "Don't You Ever," "Summertime," "Slow Down") plus the hit to make up the album's 12 tracks. The result was a good portrait of the band that displayed lead singer/guitarist Gerry Marsden's talent for penning both up-tempo ("I'm the One") and ballad ("Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying") material as well, as the Pacemakers' feel for American country and R&B music. A sentimental side was also revealed in the choices of the American show tunes "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Summertime." If not quite in the league of the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers seemed another enjoyable British group with a talent for beat music on their American debut LP. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Gerry & the Pacemakers' debut album, produced by George Martin and Ron Richards, is representative of the mainstream Liverpool sound beyond the Beatles, circa 1963. Gerry & the Pacemakers based their music around American R&B ballads, coupled with a delight in straight-ahead rock & roll and country music with a beat, in a manner similar to the Beatles. Gerry Marsden was a fairly powerful singer and a more natural (but not necesarily better) rock & roll guitarist than George Harrison, as revealed by his crunchy playing on numbers like "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues," "Jambalaya" and "The Wrong Yo-Yo," and his lively solo on "Maybelline" -- the problem was that neither he nor the rest of the band could match the Beatles for style. Drummer Freddie Marsden, despite much quicker hands, wasn't nearly as distinctive as Ringo Starr, and Les Chadwick's bass work was weighty, but not a third as interesting as Paul McCartney's, and Gerry's singing never came close to Paul's. When you add in the fact that their in-house songwriting was almost nonexistent here, and their backing harmony vocals were a shadow of what the Beatles could produce, the result is a more limited quantity; How Do You Like It isn't as good an album as Please Please Me or With the Beatles, but it also reveals a band that was already 85% as interesting and complex as it was ever going to be. On the other hand, the group does rock out, which is all they really ever set out to do, and on those terms they're pretty engaging -- their covers of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya," Larry Williams's "Slow Down" and the Piano Red/Carl Perkins number "The Wrong Yo-Yo" are more than a little diverting, good examples of the classic thumping Liverpool sound that and their version of the Arthur Alexander number, "Where Have You Been," is moving and passionate, if not as well sung as the Searchers' rendition. And as the T.A.M.I. Show revealed, Chuck Berry didn't mind jamming with Gerry on "Maybelline." The 1997 EMI 100th Anniversary edition, remastered in 20-bit digital sound, is close and loud, and features both the stereo and mono versions of the album -- the mono version is punchier and more enveloping, but the stereo has its virtues, separating the voices and instruments binauraly, as was the custom in those days, which allows the listener to pick them apart, if anyone wants to analyze Gerry's guitar, Freddie's drumming, or Les Maguire's piano playing that closely; it's a reminder of what EMI is not permitting us to do with the Beatles' first two albums and early singles. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
