Like the similarly extensive four-CD sets released by EMI in 2008 for
Gerry & the Pacemakers and
Herman's Hermits,
Good Golly, Miss Molly! The EMI Years 1963-1969 -- its four discs including a whopping 118 tracks -- is an acquisition that separates the mere British Invasion fanatic from the dangerous obsessive. Its very existence is astonishing considering that
the Swinging Blue Jeans had far less commercial success than either
Gerry & the Pacemakers or
Herman's Hermits, with just one Top 30 hit to their credit in the U.S. (and just three Top 20 entries in their native U.K.). Nevertheless, very serious Merseybeat collectors will be pleased that this anthology not only has every last studio track that appeared on a 1960s
Swinging Blue Jeans studio release, but also about a dozen previously unissued cuts. And even the previously released material includes some items that are hardly common fare, like four songs recorded in German specifically for the German market; numerous rare A-sides and B-sides that were particularly hard to find in the U.S.; and tracks that first appeared on a Canadian LP or CD compilations that are now themselves not all that easy to find.
Like that EMI four-CD job for
Gerry & the Pacemakers, however, it's padded by a fourth disc consisting entirely of stereo versions of tracks that are all included on the previous three CDs. And as with the
Pacemakers set, it must be said that when you get beyond the two dozen or so songs that have been readily available on previous single-disc best-ofs, the standard drops dramatically, at times risking boring even enthusiasts of the group. Still, in addition to the expected highlights ("Hippy Hippy Shake," their British hit cover of "You're No Good," and unsung A-sides and B-sides like "Think of Me," "It's Too Late Now," "Shakin' Feeling," "Promise You'll Tell Her," and "What Can I Do Today"), there are a few things that will excite even the seasoned
Swinging Blue Jeans collector. There's a previously unissued early version of "It's Too Late Now" from their February 1963 recording test (at which they were still using a banjo in their lineup); an unexpected cover of
the Beatles' "This Boy" that surfaced on a Canadian LP; a German version of "Shakin' Feeling"; and the 1966 arrangement of "Now That You've Got Me (You Don't Seem to Want Me)," which is considerably superior to the one that ended up on a 1968 single. There are also, it has to be said, a number of routine rock & roll covers (à la the previously unreleased "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," recorded at EMI in November 1963 well in advance of
the Beatles' studio version), and the late-'60s efforts on disc three find the group struggling for a new style after the disappearance of Merseybeat and getting saddled with mediocre pop tunes. Nevertheless, there's more good brashly energetic Merseybeat here than not, and Merseybeat expert Spencer Leigh's customarily authoritative liner notes are welcome, as is the detailed sessionography. ~ Richie Unterberger