The 1976 - 78 CBS recordings finally on CD
cwj | Seattle | 05/24/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Wonderful to finally get these CBS tracks on CD. There's some great stuff here including their comeback single "It's So Nice (To Have You Home)", the follow-up "I Wanna Go Back" (which has a special meaning for this ex-pat), and their final chart hit, the stunning a capella number "Anthem (One Day In Every Week)". Eve Graham leads a beautiful version of Phil Coulter's "Scorn Not His Simplicity" (a song that begged to be released as a single), while Kathy Ann Rae demonstrates her own impressive vocals on "You Make Me Feel Like A Woman". Other highlights are a rousing version of Dolly Parton's "The Seeker" - very appropriate - and the very catchy "You Got Me Runnin'"
All in all, this is a great addition to those of us who are ready to cut our throats if "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" turns up on another 70's compilation, and is a great reminder of a sadly neglected period of the New Seekers' long and impressive career. Thanks to Nic Culverwell, their current manager, for finally getting these tracks released on CD."
I wanna go back to 1976
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 05/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The New Seekers had their best and most successful years in the early seventies. Many compilations of their music from that period have been released on CD including the outstanding double CD Songbook 1970-1974, which I've also reviewed. Meanwhile, their later seventies music was neglected for many years. In 2007, this compilation was finally released. Obviously, it's not as strong as the earlier music, but with Amazon's limited star rating system, it still rates five stars from me. While that Songbook compilation rates at the upper end of five stars, this one comes in at the lower end but is still a most welcome addition to my CD collection.
After the New Seekers broke up in 1974, Lyn Paul embarked on a solo career of strictly limited success. Three of the others (Eve Graham, Paul Layton, Marty Kristian) re-formed the group in 1976, with Lyn being replaced by Kathy Ann Rae. Danny Finn replaced Peter Oliver, the other departed member who had himself replaced Peter Doyle before 1974. With this new line-up, the group signed to CBS. They recorded two albums and they form the basis of this compilation.
The first CBS album (Together again) didn't chart. I remember that the shops were full of copies of the album at bargain prices within a year or two of release. I wasn't collecting records in 1976. I started the following year and I bought the LP at a bargain price. I remember having mixed feelings about the album, not least because of their cover of Don't go breaking my heart (the Elton John / Kiki Dee classic). They tried to re-interpret the song and it didn't really work for me. I note that the compiler chose not to include it here. Nevertheless, there were some great tracks on the album. I particularly liked the two singles (It's so nice to have you home, I wanna go back) although they weren't big hits. Covers of The seeker (Dolly Parton) and A little bit more (Dr Hook), both included here along with the hits, worked much better than Don't go breaking my heart. I don't remember the other tracks from the Together album, but they're all here except Party time and Don't go breaking my heart.
I never bought the Anthem album, which also failed to make the British album charts. It is represented by eight tracks here but the title track in particular is well worth a listen. The only two tracks ommited are Out of love with love and High in a singles bar. One track not featured on either album (Hey look high, the B-side of It's so nice to have you home) is included here.
As the collection has a running time of just inside 65 minutes, there was plenty of room to include the four omitted album tracks. Still, this is a budget-priced release and having un-fond memories of one of the omitted tracks, I'm not complaining, though I can well understand the frustration that some fans may feel at having got so much New Seekers music on CD.
If this were a full price collection, even with the four omitted tracks restored, I'd give this four stars. But as a budget collection and with the weakest tracks omitted, there's enough here to justify five stars - just. But don't even think about buying this unless you've already got a compilation of their earlier music."
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1