Hide & Seekers
THE FABULOUS SOUND OF THE
SEEKERS
Presenting THE SEEKERS with
BOBBY RICHARDS and his orchestra
(WG.B-2362/WG-BS-2362)
Orchestral Arrangements by Russ
Thompson
Seekers Arrangements by The
Seekers
Sound Supervision by Keith
Grant
Executive Producer: Cyril
Ornadel
An F.C.M. Production
Sleeve research and notes:
Peter Gammond
General Notes: This was The Seekers' third
album and second for the World Record Club (WRC). It, like its predecessors, is
an album on traditional folk material. Unfortunately WRC used the same liner
notes as The Seekers, so nothing new is provided, but for
consistency I have included them. They did, however, provided track notations -
something sadly lacking from The Seekers.
Liner Notes: "The Seekers are a young
group of Australian singers who are quickly building a great reputation in this
country. Their repertoire is drawn from the riches of international folksong, a
field full of melodic treasures. The Seekers, while using mostly authentic
folksongs, have found a popular way of putting over this music, playing it in
modern, swinging idion that is attractive to a modern audience
The groups
consists of three boys and a girl. The girl is JUDITH DURHAM, a twenty-one year
old gospel and blues singer who built a considerable reputation in the jazz
field while she spent a year singing with a leading Australian traditional jazz
group. When the Seekers wanted a girl's voice to add to the group, Judith was
more or less an automatic choice. For a time she continued to sing with the
band and with the Seekers but when the trip abroad was planned she joined the
group full-time. Judith is small and jobial and immensely talented and her
favourite singers are Mahalia Jackson, Rosetta Tharpe and Bessie Smith.
The male
members of the group are ATHOL GUY, aged twenty-four, the business manager and
bass-player of the outfit. He used to be an advertising executive, but like the
rest of the Seekers, gave up his part-time musical status to become a full-time
professional at the beginning of 1964. Bruce Woodley is twenty-two and was also
an advertising executive before joining the Seekers. He is the most experienced
folk-singer of the group and also play banjo and guitar. It is his enthusiasm
for folk-music that is clearly reflected in the Seekers' leaning toward this
kind of music. KEITH POTGER is twenty-three and is also a guitarist and
banjoist. He gave up a career as radio producer (sic) to become a full-time
Seeker after a period of trying to mix both activities.
A little
under two years ago the Seekers started out as a semi-professional group
appearing in dance clubs and coffee lounges. They very quickly got the chance to
appear on TV shows and then graduated to the nightclubs and hotels in the
bigger cities of
Their repertoire
is a wide one and they are always looking for new material. They like song with
a strong melodic content and a well-defined rhythm. Their approach is frankly
popular because the want to bring their music to as wide an audience as
possible. They all sing, covering a considerable range between them and blend
naturally and easily in a way ideally suited to their material. Nobody is in
charge of the music; they work in a truly democratic manner and achieve
delightfully free and easy results by this method."
Track Listing/Notes:
Side One
(arr.
Guy-Woodley-Durham-Potger (Copyright Control) 2.15)
A simple
gospel song from
(Reynolds
(Copyright Control) 2.35)
A new
Children's lullaby from
(Charp
(Paling) 3.52)
The tune
is Scottish - The Seekers consider this song to have one of the most beautiful
melodies and lyrics in the world.
Well
Well Well
(Gibson (
A 'white'
man's spiritual.
Lady
Mary
(Potger-Guy-Durham-Woodely
(Copyright Control) 3.21)
Originally
an English Song which was sung by early settlers when they arrived in
We're
Moving On
(Potger-Guy-Durham-Woodley
(Copyright Control) 2.02)
An
American Gospel song, with a 'happy' feeling of good things.
Side One
The
Ox Droving Song
(Guy-Potger-Durham-Woodley
(Copyright Control) 1.44)
Work song
from
(Potger-Guy-Durham-Woodley
(Woomera) 2.25)
Negro
Gospel song. Kumbaya means "Come by here".
(Dylan
(Allan) 2.26)
Recently
composed song of protest by well known contemporary composer Bob Dylan.
The
Eriskay Love Lilt
(Kennedy-Fraser
(Boosey &Hawkes) 2.34)
Beautiful
new Hebrides love song.
Chilly
Winds
(Potger
(Woomera) 2.00)
Originally
a Negro Blues. The Seekers have taken this song out of the 12 bar blues idiom.
What
have they done to the Rain
(Reynolds
(
Written by
the Composer of 'Little Boxes' Malvina Reynolds, this is a protest against the
devastation of atomic war.
-oOo-