The Merseybeats The Merseys - The Complete Merseybeats & Merseys Sixties Recordings - I Stand Accused (@320)

 

I Stand Accused: The Complete Merseybeats & Merseys Sixties Recordings Review by Mark Deming.

 

Viewed from a distance of several decades, one of the things that's most remarkable about the Beatles is that a fairly ordinary working-class maritime community like Liverpool would not only produce four young men with their degree of talent, but that they would find one another and discover how well their abilities would mesh. At the dawn of the 1960s, Liverpool hardly seemed like a city that would give the world a pop group whose music would reshape the global culture, yet that's just what happened. If none of their fellow Liverpudlians achieved the same level of stardom and influence, an impressive amount of genuinely outstanding bands surrounded them, and 60 years on, the quality and quantity of the Merseyside scene remains impressive. The Merseybeats never broke through in the United States, and their original run was relatively brief, but in the course of six years -- which included their transformation into the Merseys midway through -- they produced plenty of fine records and gracefully evolved from a capable British beat combo into a genuinely ambitious psychedelic pop outfit. The full story of the Merseybeats' journey through the U.K. pop scene of the '60s is contained in I Stand Accused: The Complete Merseybeats & Merseys Sixties Recordings, a two-disc set that includes everything the Merseybeats released in that decade, as well as the full catalog of the Merseys and some rare tracks from associated artists. Guitarist and singer Tony Crane and bassist and singer Billy Kinsley were the founders of the Merseybeats, and their excellent harmonies, along with Crane's solid and incisive guitar work, are front and center on every track on disc one. They had the range to do moody and lovelorn ballads ("Lavender Blue") and then turn around and kick up some dust on swaggering rock & roll ("Shame, Shame, Shame") and rhythm & blues tunes ("You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover") and sound just as authoritative on each side. (Elvis Costello, who was a fan as a kid, borrowed their tune "I Stand Accused" for his album Get Happy!!) In 1966, Crane and Kinsley transformed the combo into a two-man vocal group, and they had a hit right out of the box with the evocative "Sorrow" (later covered by David Bowie), and "So Sad About Us" and "Penny in My Pocket" show they were happy to dabble in psychedelia, as well as making greater use of the possibilities of the recording studio. Everything from both eras of the group is well crafted and pleasing, making this a great listen even if you're not an obsessive collector of U.K. pop of the '60s, and David Wells' liner notes are packed with biographical details and stories of their various brushes with greatness. Collectors of vintage British Beat music will fall in love with I Stand Accused: The Complete Merseybeats & Merseys Sixties Recordings, and even dabblers may find themselves beguiled by its high points.

 

Tracklist:

 

CD 1:

 

1. The Merseybeats - It's Love That Really Counts

2. The Merseybeats - Fortune Teller

3. The Merseybeats - I Think Of You

4. The Merseybeats - Mister Moonlight

5. The Merseybeats - Long Tall Sally

6. The Merseybeats - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry

7. The Merseybeats - Shame, Shame, Shame

8. The Merseybeats - You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover

9. The Merseybeats - Don't Turn Around

10. The Merseybeats - Really Mystified

11. The Merseybeats - Milkman

12. The Merseybeats - Hello Young Lovers

13. The Merseybeats - He Will Break Your Heart

14. The Merseybeats - Funny Face

15. The Merseybeats - The Girl That I Marry

16. The Merseybeats - Fools Like Me

17. The Merseybeats - My Heart And I

18. The Merseybeats - Bring It On Home To Me

19. The Merseybeats - Lavender Blue

20. The Merseybeats - Jumping Jonah

21. The Merseybeats - The things I Want To Hear (Pretty Words)

22. The Merseybeats - Wishin' And Hopin'

23. The Merseybeats - Last Night (I Made A Girl Cry)

24. The Merseybeats - See Me Back

25. The Merseybeats - Don't Let It Happen To Us

26. The Merseybeats - It Would Take A Long, Long Time

27. The Merseybeats - I Love You, Yes I Do

28. The Merseybeats - Good, Good Lovin'

29. The Merseybeats - Soldier Of Love

30. The Merseybeats - I Stand Accused

31. The Merseybeats - All My Life

32. The Merseybeats - Our Day Will Come

33. The Merseybeats - Nur Unsere Liebe Zahlt (It;s Love That Really Counts)

34. The Merseybeats - Nur De Allein (I Think Of You)

 

CD 2:

 

1. The Merseys - Sorrow

2. The Merseys - Some Other Day

3. The Merseys - So Sad About Us

4. The Merseys - Love Will Continue

5. The Merseys - Rhythm Of Love

6. The Merseys - Is It Love?

7. The Merseys - The Cat

8. The Merseys - Change Of Heart

9. The Merseys - Penny In My Pocket

10. The Merseys - I hope You're Happy

11. The Merseys - Lovely Loretta

12. The Merseys - Dreaming

13. The Crackers - Honey Do

14. The Crackers - It Happens All The Time

15. The Merseys - Sorrow (alternative Version)

16. The Merseys - Nothing Can Change This Love

17. The Kinsleys - De Me A Favour

18. Johnny Gustafson - Just To Be With You

19. Johnny Gustafson - Sweet Day

20. Johnny Gustafson - Take Me For A Littlewhile

21. Johnny Gustafson - Make Me Your Number One

22. Johnny & John - Bumper To Bumper

23. Johnny & John - Scrape My Boot

24. The Quotations - Cool It

25. The Quotations - Mark Of Her Head

26. The Quotations - Hello Memories

27. The Quotations - Pretend

28. The Merseybeats - So How Come (No-One Loves Me)

29. The Merseybeats - All I Have To Do Is Dream

****