#62 The Seekers- The Best of The Seekers
Seek(er)ing some spirituality? Look no further…
(Columbia)
Released: November 1968
Producer: Various
Topped the chart:
19th January 1969 (for 1 week)
2nd February 1969 (for 1 week)
23rd March 1969 (for 2 weeks)
13th April 1969 (for 1 week)
27th April 1969 (for 1 week)
6 weeks total
On the surface, this is another anomaly of the rock era- while the kids were jamming to Hendrix and losing their minds to The Grateful Dead, here come Australia’s The Seekers with their vaguely religious campfire songs at the top of the charts.
But when we zoom out to the wider context, this one makes a bit more sense. 1968, worldwide, had been a dark year that pretty much represented the death of the 60s: student riots, the deepening of the conflict in Vietnam, The Summer of Love transitioning to the Summer of Madness where many started to feel the toll that LSD brings to the psyche. So perhaps people, especially prim adults who had passed by the sexual revolution, were due a little light relief
And why not? Released to coincide with their break up, all of the tunes on The Best of The Seekers are pleasant and tuneful, offering slightly naff shelter from the real world. But, at the same time, it does feel a bit like the weird religious kids in the corner of a party with a guitar singing about gods while their classmates get stoned in the kitchen.
The Seekers’ usual mode is acoustic guitar, simple percussion and gang vocals on the choruses, with lead singer Judith Durham’s pure, Julie-Andrews-ish voice floating over the top. It’s for good reason that they recorded a version of Kumbaya, which should give you a good idea of what we have here. However, the best tracks are the ones that offer a little bit more, fringe ideas rather than full-on experimentation. The Carnival is Over is the best-known song here, a melancholy number based on a Russian folk song that is dressed in tasteful background strings and a strident guitar riff. There’s a real sense of sadness behind the mask that is a wonderful counterpoint to the jolliness found elsewhere. Morningtown Ride brings horn flourishes and banjo to the mix, while Walk With Me brings more Eastern European flavour with its moody guitar plucking giving way to a rousing chorus.
In other places, the band seem to run out of steam and lack anything interesting involving their music. Hoary old folk standards We Shall Not Be Moved and Open Up Them Pearly Gates are trotted out, without the energy and meaning that the great American folk singers like Peggy Seeger and Woody Guthrie were able to bring to the table and, at times, the band sound half asleep. One two many beers around the campfire, one thinks. And the less said about Emerald City- an ode to the township from The Wizard of Oz set to the tune of Ode to Joy- the better. Just the thought of that creepy children’s choir is enough to bring on nightmares.
Though there are some highlights, the feeling you’re left with is of a band that just weren’t interesting enough to move beyond their ken. The gospel-tinged songs included here need a bit more soul, a bit more grit, something that the lifeless production fails to bring.It’s all a bit syrupy, and perhaps a spoon full of medicine could have helped the sugar go down.
However, compare this to the band that would come to be known as The New Seekers trying to sell the world a glass of Coke, wouldn’t we prefer some harmless spiritual enlightenment? Plus The Seekers were, surprisingly, pointing the way to the future—by the following year, George Harrison, Simon & Garfunkel and Norman Greeanbaum would all be on the holy train.
Score: 6/10
Tracklisting:
SIDE A
1. I’ll Never Find Another You
2. A World of Our Own
3. The Carnival is Over
4. Someday One Day
5. Walk With Me
6. We Shall Not Be Moved
SIDE B
7. Morningtown Ride
8. When Will the Good Apples Fall
9. Island of Dreams
10. Open Up Them Pearly Gates
11. Emerald City
12. Georgy Girl
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