There’s a weird discrepancy in this song between the verses, which Tony Jackson sings as if he’s keen to get them over with, and the chorus, which the group attack with a lot more enthusiasm. I suppose the band knew a hook when they heard one – the rest of the record is just travelling from A back to A again. The other thing that sticks out is Mike Pender’s 12-string guitar, the high summer sound which has launched and tracked a thousand hopeless crushes (generally in later and other hands than Pender’s, though). Beyond that, it’s flimsy.
Score: 4
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The Searchers jingly guitar sound certainly influenced the Byrds and later country-rock groups but I dont think the 12-string sound was on Sweets for my Sweet but came later. Unique amongst their contemporaries, the Searchers came out many years later in 1979 with a cracker of a record of new songs on the Sire label containing some of their best work ever. Unfortunately it didnt sell that well and they reverted to doing their old hits on the cabaret circuit.
The high summer sound of the backing vocals on the verses make up for any flimsiness in the melody. Even more than The Beatles, The Searchers were clearly influenced by the Girl Group sound that dominated the US charts in 1963. Also, the breakneck speed of the recording reflects both the group’s workrate (their first three hits each had its own accompanying album – can anyone match this?) and drummer/leader Chris Curtis’s taste in pills.
This has got a strange magic for me..I LOVE the verses with their yearning melody and brilliant falsetto harmonies,the echoey guitar riff..Great atmospheric pop 7
this is another song, like ‘From Me To You’ which seems to lope along to a vaguely Latin rhythm that almost suggests Ska. It has a strong chorus and the guitar and vocal melody act as rhythmic counterpoint to the clattering drums. The vocal harmonies sound slightly folky to me.
I like this more than Tom does. A good pop tune and I always appreciate the distinctive Searchers sound. 7/10 for me.