The New Seekers – The Albums 1970-1973 [8 Albums] (@320)

 

The New Seekers – The Albums 1970-1973 [8 Albums]

Artist Biography  by Steve Huey.

Known chiefly for making a Coca-Cola jingle into a massive worldwide hit, the New Seekers ostensibly grew out of the ashes of the Australian folk-rock outfit the Seekers ("Georgy Girl"). Although their clear harmonies, pop leanings, and squeaky-clean image were similar to the original band, their actual connection was tenuous at best. After the Seekers disbanded, guitarist/vocalist Keith Potger put together an otherwise completely new band in late 1969: female vocalists Eve Graham and Sally Graham (no relation), guitarists/vocalists Laurie Heath and Marty Kristian, and bassist/vocalist Chris Barrington. Potger christened them the New Seekers and produced their self-titled 1970 debut album, and while he did sing with them at first, he soon retired from both performance and production to become their manager, leaving them with no members of the original Seekers. His last appearance was on the ironically titled follow-up Keith Potger and the New Seekers, which was issued before the end of the year and featured numerous personnel changes; only Eve Graham and Marty Kristian remained, joined by singer Lyn Paul and guitarists/vocalists Paul Layton and Peter Doyle.

Thus constituted, the New Seekers scored their first American hit with a cover of Melanie's "Look What They Done to My Song, Ma" in late 1970. They toured the U.S. in early 1971 and appeared on several variety shows, and the title track of Beautiful People was a significant follow-up success; they also broke through in the U.K. later that year with a version of Delaney Bramlett's "Never Ending Song of Love." Their biggest success, however, came from an unlikely source: an ad jingle they recorded for Coca-Cola, which became part of a hugely popular campaign that summer -- so popular, in fact, that radio listeners actually called in to request the commercial. It was decided to release the song as a single called "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)," with the lyrics rewritten to remove product references. Since the New Seekers were unavailable at the time, a country-tinged version by the Hillside Singers was actually released first. The New Seekers recorded their own version while touring America toward the end of the year, and since it naturally sounded more like the commercial, it proved the bigger hit, reaching the U.S. Top Ten despite stiff competition from the alternate recording. Helped by the ad campaign, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" was a smash hit all over the world, topping the charts in several countries (including the U.K.) and giving the New Seekers their biggest hit ever.

In 1972, the New Seekers placed second in the annual Eurovision Song Contest with "Beg, Steal or Borrow," which was their highly successful U.K. follow-up to "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing"; the title track of Circles was another hit that summer. The New Seekers kicked off 1973 by playing Richard Nixon's inaugural ball, but subsequently tried to hip up their image and gain a little more critical respect by recording more rock-oriented numbers (including material from the Who's Tommy) on Now; it didn't work, and their sales began to slip as a result. Peter Doyle left the group that summer and was replaced by Peter Oliver. The singles "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" and "I Get a Little Sentimental Over You" (featured on the 1974 album Together) returned them to the U.K. Top Ten, but both female singers (Eve Graham and Lyn Paul) decided to leave the group in early 1974. They embarked on a farewell tour of the U.K. that spring, and entered the studio one last time to record The Farewell Album, which was issued that summer after they had officially disbanded.

That wasn't the end of the New Seekers, although it was the end of their commercial prime. The group re-formed in 1976 with original members Eve Graham, Marty Kristian, and Paul Layton, plus newcomers Kathy Ann Rae and Danny Finn. They recorded the album Together Again and began playing the U.K. cabaret circuit with other non-rock pop acts. While they would land a few minor hits over the next two years, none were on the scale of their previous successes, and after one final album, 1978's Anthem, Graham and Finn left the group to marry and perform as a duo. With their departure, the New Seekers effectively ceased to be an active recording concern. Kristian and Layton continued to lead various New Seekers lineups into the '80s and sporadically during the '90s, but despite continued world tours, they were strictly a nostalgia act. Peter Doyle died of throat cancer on October 13, 2001.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1:

01.Meet My Lord

02.Angel Of The Morning

03.Betty Brown/zip-a-dee-doo-dah

04.Zarzis

05.Too Much Of Nothing

06.Illinois

07.Rhythm Of Life

08.Not As Good As The Real Thing

09.Night In The City

10.Hello Again

11.Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart

12.One More Sunny Day

13.What Have They Done To My Song, Ma?

14.Follow The Wind

15.Here, There And Everywhere

16.Shine People Shine

17.All Right My Love

18.Roundelay

19.It's A Beautiful Day

20.Gentle On My Mind

21.Anything You Might Say

22.Evenings Make Me Blue

23.Mrs. Robinson

24.I'm A Train

25.The World Would Never Turn Again - Keith Potger

26.Santa Maria - Keith Potger

Disc 2:

01.One

02.Beautiful People

03.Never Ending Song Of Love

04.Look What You've Done

05.When There's No Love Left

06.There's A Light

07.Blackberry Way

08.Cincinatti

09.Eighteen Carat Friend

10.Ain't Love Easy

11.Your Song

12.I'll Be Home

13.Doggone My Soul (how I Love Them Old Songs)

14.Evergreen

15.Something In The Way He Moves

16.Sweet Louise

17.Good Old Fashioned Music

18.Move Me Lord

19.No Man's Land

20.Child Of Mine

21.Tonight

22.Lay Me Down

23.Too Many Trips To Nowhere

24.Boom Town

Disc 3:

01.Dance, Dance, Dance

02.Georgie Girl/ticket To Ride

03.I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (in Perfect Harmony)

04.Changes Iv

05.One By One

06.I Can Say You're Beautiful

07.Beg, Steal Or Borrow

08.The World I Wish For You

09.Wanderer's Song

10.Just An Old Fashioned Love Song

11.Songs Of Praise

12.Mystic Queen

13.Circles

14.I Saw The Light

15.Day By Day

16.Morning Has Broken

17.Idaho

18.Unwithered Rose

19.Holy Rollin'

20.Beautiful

21.Blowin' In The Wind

22.Song Sung Blue

23.Don't Want To Lose You

24.Reap What You Sow

25.I'll Be Your Song

Disc 4:

01.There's A Light

02.One

03.Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma

04.Marty Introduces The New Seekers

05.Georgie Girl/ticket To Ride

06.Never Ending Song Of Love

07.Fire And Rain/my Sweet Lord

08.When I Was Small

09.Nickel Song

10.Peter Introduces One Of His Own Songs

11.I Can Say You're Beautiful

12.Paul And His Napoleon Character

13.I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (in Perfect Harmony)

14.I'm A Train

15.Circles

16.Blackberry Way

17.Beautiful People

18.Good Old Fashioned Music

19.I'll Be Home

20.Tonight

21.Angel Of The Morning

22.Get Ourselves Together/someday

23.When There's No Love Left

24.Lyn Gets To Do Her Thing

25.I'm A Nut

26.Beg, Steal Or Borrow

Disc 5:

01.Pinball Wizard/see Me Feel Me

02.Brand New Song

03.Look Look

04.That's My Guy

05.Feeling

06.Utah

07.Reaching Out For Someone

08.Everything's Changing

09.Time Limit

10.Rain

11.Somebody Somewhere

12.Goin' Back

13.Nickel Song

14.Out On The Edge Of Beyond

15.Sing Out

16.Why Can't We All Get Together

17.Friend Of Jesus

18.Rainmaker

19.Captain Stormy

20.Jean's Little Street Cafe

21.Och Ich Will Bettelin, Ich Will Stehlen

22.Come Softly To Me

23.Nevertheless (i'm In Love With You)

24.The Further We Reach Out

25.Free To Be Me And You

26.Overture

****