GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS/HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? 33SX 1546 (-63) UK MONO

Liverpool band founded 1959 and early on a competition to The Beatles, playing the the same locations in Germany and on home turf, managed by Brian Epstein and using George Martin as producer. With their first three singles - "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" - all reaching #1 in UK they set a record not touched for decades. By 1964 managing three more UK top tens, but after that the big hype was over. Today probably mostly remebered through "You'll Never Walk Alone" used as an anthem by sport clubs all over the world and by playing revival gigs...and of course by all us who lived it and still enjoy the music. This debute album, recorded at about the same time as "Please Please Me" has a lot in common with that. Part what you could call British versions of US r&b standards, here "Maybelline", "Jumbalaya" and "Slow Down" among others. Recording is high quality EMI, George Martin involved in production and the audio great. The band is tight, Gerry Marsden has a good rocking voice and it's well disposed. In comparison though a lot neater than PPM, more well groomed and content, lacking some of the dissonant danger of the early Beatles and therefore in a way less promising. But why compare? It is a fine album, in the forefront of its time and a reminder of the simpler pleasures back in the day when you didn't need 100 flavors of anything to get by. Originally also issued this way in South America and Downunder. UK 1967 mono repress on Music For Pleasure (MFP 1153). Canadian as "I'm The One" on Capitol rainbow (T 6070) omitted some of the UK tracks, replacing them with the aforementioned three UK #1:s. US had their own album agenda, but most of the tracks can be found on any of the Laurie LP:s "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" (LLP/SLP 2024) or "Gerry And The Pacemakers Second Album" (LLP/SLP 2027) together with a number of 45 cuts non-LP in UK. Japan 2002 CD (Toshiba EMI ltd TOCP 67104) as a twentyeight track, including a couple of stereo versions. Premiere UK had label like this with "Recording First Published 1963" and MT tax code. Cover is laminated flip-back. For a 1963 recording you should expect a larger "mono" on top right front, but this probably a transition copy.