Artist: Gerry And The Pacemakers
Title: You'll Never Walk Alone (The EMI Years 1963-1966)
Year Of Release: 2008
Label: Parlophone UK
Genre: Merseybeat, Pop Rock, Classic Rock, Pop, Oldies
Quality: WavPack (tracks,cue,m3u,full scans)
Total Time: 04:57:48

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 - who were contemporaries of Gerry & the Pacemakers, so this doesn't quite parse exactly, but seen this way the band doesn't seem like a joke, so it's easier to enjoy what the group had to offer. Even armed with this perspective, sitting through the four-disc, 123-track set You'll Never Walk Alone: The EMI Years 1963-1966 can be a bit of a long slog, and not just because this contains a full disc of stereo mixes in addition to some songs showing up sans strings or in other variations. Discounting these variations, You'll Never Walk Alone still serves up far too much too Gerry & the Pacemakers for anybody but the dedicated, but that doesn't mean this isn't instructive. First, this does confirm that they were a good singles band with the best of their hits - the quite lovely "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey," the infectious "It's Gonna Be All Right," and depending on mood, maybe "How Do You Do It" - holding up quite well. Outside of the singles, there aren't too many hidden treasures. Every once in a while there's a surprise like Marsden's delightful Beatlesque rocker "Think About Love" or a chirpy cover of the early Lennon-McCartney trifle "Hello Little Girl," and the group shows some aptitude on covers of Jerry Lee Lewis and Hank Williams, but for the most part this is pleasantly cheerful Merseybeat and not much more. The exception is the live Gerry in California EP; culled from a concert at Oakland in October 1964, the complete show of which is released here for the first time, this live performance shows the band to be more energetic on-stage than on record, turning in a fun performance showcasing a band that's eager to please. That eagerness translated into politeness in the studio, where they were only too happy to follow the lead of their producers and create polite, well-scrubbed pop whether they were happily singing Merseybeat or singing middlebrow pop like "Strangers in the Night" just when their peers were branching out. Gerry dipped his toe into folk-rock with a not-bad version of Paul Simon's "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine," but that was an anomaly -- by the end of his run at EMI, soft pop like "Guantanamera" was more his speed, which may explain why Gerry & the Pacemakers faded from the view just when their peers got psychedelic. You'll Never Walk Alone proves that the band just wasn't made for those times. Nevertheless, there's an enduring innocence to their music that does make this a pleasant nostalgia trip (or piece of pop archeology, depending on your point of view), at least in small doses.

Tracklist:
CD1
01. How Do You Do It? (Mono)
02. Away from You
03. It's Happened to Me (2002 Remaster)
04. I Like It (Main)
05. Pretend (2002 Remaster)
06. Jambalaya (2002 Remaster)
07. Summertime (2002 Remaster)
08. The Wrong Yoyo (2002 Remaster)
09. I'll Be There (First Version)
10. Slow Down (2002 Remaster)
11. Here's Hoping (2002 Remaster)
12. Where Have You Been All My Life? (2002 Remaster)
13. Maybellene (2002 Remaster)
14. You'll Never Walk Alone (Mono) [2002 Remaster]
15. Don't Ever Stray
16. Hello Little Girl
17. Don't You Ever (2002 Remaster)
18. It's All Right (2002 Remaster)
19. You Can't Fool Me (2002 Remaster)
20. A Shot of Rhythm and Blues (2002 Remaster)
21. You're the Reason (2002 Remaster)
22. Chills (2002 Remaster)
23. I'm the One
24. You've Got What I Like
25. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (Mono) [Main]
26. Show Me That You Care
27. She's the Only Girl for Me (2002 Remaster)
28. Why Oh Why
29. Think About Love (2002 Remaster)
30. I'll Be There (Second Version Without Strings) [2008 Remaster]
31. Give Me All Your Love (No Strings) [2008 Remaster]
32. Come Back to Me (No Strings) [2008 Remaster]

CD2
01. Ferry Cross the Mersey (Mono) [2002 Remaster]
02. It's Gonna Be Alright (Mono) [2002 Remaster]
03. I'll Wait for You (2002 Remaster)
04. Fall in Love (2002 Remaster)
05. Baby You're so Good to Me (2002 Remaster)
06. This Thing Called Love (Mono) [2002 Remaster]
07. My Love Forever
08. It's Just Because
09. Rip It Up
10. Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
11. When Oh When (2002 Remaster)
12. What'd I Say (2008 Remaster)
13. I'll Be There (Mono)
14. My Babe (2008 Remaster)
15. Skinny Minnie (2008 Remaster)
16. It'll Be Me
17. Reelin' and Rockin'
18. You Win Again
19. I Count the Tears (2008 Remaster)
20. You You You (2008 Remaster)
21. Now I'm Alone (2008 Remaster)
22. Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Live) [2008 Remaster]
23. My Babe (Live) [2008 Remaster]
24. Away from You (Live) [2008 Remaster]
25. What'd I Say (Live) [2008 Remaster]
26. Give Me All Your Love (With Strings) [2008 Remaster]
27. Come Back to Me (With Strings)
28. Dreams (Mono) [2008 Remaster]

CD3
01. Hallelujah I Love Her So (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
02. Tomorrow
03. I'll Make It up All up to You (Mono)
04. Walk Hand in Hand
05. Today I'm in Love (Mono)
06. La La La
07. Without You (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
08. Girl on a Swing
09. The Way You Look Tonight (2008 Remaster)
10. Fool to Myself (2002 Remaster)
11. Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
12. On a Wonderful Day Like Today (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
13. Tonight (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
14. Strangers in the Night (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
15. Who Can I Turn To (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
16. See You in September (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
17. Pretty Flamingo (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
18. The End of the Rainbow (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
19. Guantanamera (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
20. Looking for My Life (Mono) [2008 Remaster]
21. Anyone at All
22. Introduction
23. Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
24. I Like It (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
25. My Babe (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
26. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
27. Slow Down (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
28. I'm the One (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
29. Away from You (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
30. A Shot of Rhythm and Blues (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
31. How Do You Do It (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)
32. What'd I Say (Recorded Live at Oakland Auditorium)

CD4
01. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (2008 Remaster)
02. Ferry Cross the Mersey (Stereo) [2002 Remaster]
03. It's Gonna Be Alright (Stereo) [2002 Remaster]
04. This Thing Called Love (Stereo) [2002 Remaster]
05. Reelin' and a Rockin' (2008 Remaster)
06. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On (2008 Remaster)
07. Rip It Up (2008 Remaster)
08. You Win Again (2008 Remaster)
09. I'll Be There (Second Version with Strings) [2008 Remaster]
10. You You You (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
11. Give Me All Your Love (New Mix)
12. Dreams (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
13. Hallelujah I Love Her So (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
14. I'll Make It up All up to You (Stereo)
15. Walk Hand in Hand (2008 Remaster)
16. Today I'm in Love (Stereo)
17. La La La (2008 Remaster)
18. Without You (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
19. Girl on a Swing (2008 Remaster)
20. The Way You Look Tonight (2008 Remaster)
21. A Fool to Myself (2008 Remaster)
22. Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine (2008 Remaster)
23. On a Wonderful Day Like Today (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
24. Tonight (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
25. Strangers in the Night (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
26. Who Can I Turn To (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
27. See You in September (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
28. Pretty Flamingo (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
29. The End of the Rainbow (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
30. Guantanamera (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]
31. Looking for My Life (Stereo) [2008 Remaster]