While
the Searchers' fourth album was a pleasant enough collection of diverse and thoughtfully arranged pop/rock, by their own standards it was below average. In addition, within the context of early 1965 British rock, they were already falling off the pace with their over-reliance on cover material, which dominates the set. The covers here were not among their most memorable ones, either, with their fine version of
LaVerne Baker's "Bumble Bee" (their final American Top 40 hit) the only hit likely to be familiar to the average rock fan. As usual, it's their renditions of somewhat obscure contemporary songs by major American songwriters that stand out, including "Goodnight Baby" (written largely by
Jeff Barry and
Ellie Greenwich), "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" (
Jackie DeShannon), and "Magic Potion" (
Burt Bacharach &
Hal David). The straight rock/R&B covers ("Something You Got Baby" and "Let the Good Times Roll") are far more mundane, and the move into straight country ("A Tear Fell") is unmemorable. ~ Richie Unterberger