The Beatles Years

Gerry & the Pacemakers are fated to eternal comparisons to the Beatles, their onetime Merseybeat rivals who rapidly eclipsed the quartet in popularity and accomplishment, leaving them as something of a pop culture punchline. In the wake of the Beatles, it was hard to look back at Gerry Marsden and his irrepressibly cheerful music and think it was in the same league as the Fab Four, or any of the British Invasion groups that followed. That may be true, but Gerry & the Pacemakers shouldn't be judged against such R&B-schooled rockers as the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Kinks but rather against the stiff, starched rock & roll of pre-Beatles Britain. Compared to this prim, proper pop, the skiffle beats and bouncy melodies of Gerry & the Pacemakers seem fresh, almost serving as a bridge between formative English rock and the bright blast of the Beatles…

Following their critically acclaimed Creation Records’ debut, The House Of Love signed to Fontana and embarked on four years of non-stop recording and touring that would take them into the mainstream. Produced in association with founder, frontman and principle songwriter Guy Chadwick, ‘Burn Down The World’ takes an in-depth look at that period in the band’s career, both in the studio and onstage. Featuring countless never before heard demos, lost tracks and live recordings sourced from Fontana’s archive, alongside rare fan club-only releases, compilation appearances, promotional versions and tracks never before available on CD, and accompanied by the thoughts of Guy Chadwick, ‘Burn Down The World’ sheds new light and insight on a rollercoaster ride which took House Of Love from indie darlings to mainstream globetrotters.

So just how did the Smithereens become a Beatles tribute band? It's no great surprise that they owe a debt of influence to the Fab Four, but instead of absorbing the lessons of their music, lately the Smithereens are content to simply play their songs, generally as close to the original arrangements as they can muster, and B-Sides the Beatles is the second album in two years from the Smithereens that's devoted entirely to Beatles covers…