The Very Best of The Seekers

Very Best of the Seekers is a nicely comprehensive Seekers collection; a bit expensive, but affordable next to the multi-disc imports that EMI has been issuing overseas in the late '90s. Essentially a successor to and redesigned version of the old Capitol Collectors Series compilation, this disc features some highly ambiguous credits, listing Ron Furmanek as producer and compiler with Steve Kolanjian, but also stating that Bob Hyde — a major figure in the field of oldies restoration — has "newly remastered" the contents of this disc; the notes from 1992 are slightly outdated, given the quartet's reunion activities; and a typesetting error credits Bruce Woodley rather than Paul Simon as the author of "Cloudy." Whatever the particulars, the sound is rich, loud, and sharp, and the choice of the 23 songs is ideal, alternating between major hits, minor singles, and worthy B-sides and album tracks, reaching out to the occasional notable Simon song, and oddities like the original World Record Club version of "Morningtown Ride" (released by mistake in America). There is one strange Kim Fowley-"authored" piece, "Emerald City," which uses Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9's 'Ode to Joy'" (à la "Nutrocker") as its jumping-off point — the producers might better have included the group's version of "The Last Thing on My Mind." It's a sensible collection, however, balanced to suit the serious fan and the casual listener.