Granted, all but fanatics should be satisfied with a best-of for
Gerry & the Pacemakers. But British Invasion specialists could do worse than pick up this reissue, which packages their 1965 LP with 14 rare bonus tracks. Ferry Cross the Mersey itself has nine
Gerry Marsden originals, and aside from the hits (the title track and "It's Gonna Be All Right"), these rarely show up on compilations; they have the same lightweight, energetic Merseybeat charm of most of their early material. The album (which accompanied the long-gone Ferry Cross the Mersey film) also had some decent guest tracks by fellow Liverpudlians
the Fourmost and
Cilla Black, and a moody instrumental by the
George Martin Orchestra. The bonus cuts aren't quite up to the same level, but they're pretty hard to come by otherwise: four songs that only appeared on an obscure compilation LP, rare singles from 1966 and 1967, the "film version" of "It's Gonna Be All Right" (identical to the single except for a few more instrumental bars at the beginning), and their super-rare 1966 live EP, Gerry in California. ~ Richie Unterberger