The Searchers#

Mobile Fidelity reissued two of the Searchers' early albums, 1963's Meet the Searchers and 1965's Sounds Like the Searchers, on one gold disc in 1997. While they are uneven, each record has moments that make them worthwhile to hardcore fans…

The Searchers were an English Merseybeat group who emerged during the British Invasion of the 1960s along with the Beatles, the Hollies, the Fourmost, the Merseybeats, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry and the Pacemakers…

Founded in 1957 by John McNally (guitar/vocals), the Searchers were originally one of thousands of skiffle groups formed in the wake of Lonnie Donegan's success with "Rock Island Line." …

Founded in 1957 by John McNally (guitar/vocals), the Searchers were originally one of thousands of skiffle groups formed in the wake of Lonnie Donegan's success with "Rock Island Line." …

In a way, the Searchers are a footnote. Never entering the upper echelon of British Invasion beat groups, the band nevertheless had legs, outlasting all but the titans of the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Who. The Searchers always flew just below the radar, even if they had something of a renaissance at the tail end of the '70s with a new lineup headed by lead singer – and only constant – John McNally, with his lead guitarist companion Mike Pender directing the band through two superb power pop LPs and their jangle echoing in the stable of Shelter Records, heard strongly in the early records of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. They are best known for their earliest hits – 1963's "Sweets for My Sweet," 1964's "Needles and Pins" – which may be because they were their biggest hits but it's also because the Searchers never abandoned their pure pop template throughout their entire career, something that becomes blindingly evident over the course of the four-disc box set Hearts in Their Eyes.

This is a neat 16-song Searchers compilation, utilizing the best current masters as of 2004, and a selection balanced between well-known hits, and interesting covers and album tracks. The result is a good cross-section of the group's early work on Pye Records, encompassing their best-known singles and some of their best additional work, some of it – such as "Some Other Guy" – surprisingly hard rocking, the rest (including covers of Arthur Alexander et al.) amazingly soulful…

The Searchers are an English beat group, which emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with the Beatles, the Hollies, the Fourmost, the Merseybeats, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry and the Pacemakers…