The Searchers' fourth album, released late in 1964, opens with one of their strongest tracks, "Everybody Come And Clap Your Hands" -- a Barry/Greenwich number with some soul and gospel elements -- and moves from strength-to-strength, at least at the outset: one beautiful Chris Curtis original, "If I Could Find Someone" (which the group sings even prettier than the song is written), and a dazzlingly heartfelt rendition of "Magic Potion" (an oft-overlooked Burt Bacharach/Hal David number), featuring dizzying vocal acrobatics ...
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The Searchers' fourth album, released late in 1964, opens with one of their strongest tracks, "Everybody Come And Clap Your Hands" -- a Barry/Greenwich number with some soul and gospel elements -- and moves from strength-to-strength, at least at the outset: one beautiful Chris Curtis original, "If I Could Find Someone" (which the group sings even prettier than the song is written), and a dazzlingly heartfelt rendition of "Magic Potion" (an oft-overlooked Burt Bacharach/Hal David number), featuring dizzying vocal acrobatics and considerable acoustic guitar virtuosity. In contrast to the 2001-vintage Castle CD from England, which included the mono version of the LP, the 2003 Japanese mini-LP is loaded up with chronologically related singles. These include "When You Walk In The Room" and "When I Get Home" (which the group does in a style recalling the Beatles' "Not A Second Time" and "Every Little Thing"), the single "What Have They Done To the Rain" (which anticipated the folk-rock influences on their next album), and German-language versions of "When You Walk In The Room" and "Goodbye My Love," plus outtakes of various songs, and the odd movie-related track, "The System." The masters are state-of-the-art 24-bit digital, and they're so sharp that it feels like the lead guitar is in the room with you on "Something You Got" and "When You Walk In The Room" -- on the latter, one gets a real sense of the heavy Liverpool sound that this band could generate, and the raw power of Chris Curtis' playing, as well as the magnificence of the group's overall sound near their peak. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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