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| THE MERSEYS-Sorrow/Some Other Day U.S. Mercury 72582 1966 |
The Merseys were a duo comprised of two ex-Merseybeats members Billy Kinsley and Tony Crane and were managed by the Merseybeat's managers (and The Who's) Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. They made their debut in April 1966 when they took a cover of a B-side by The McCoys "Sorrow" to #4 in the U.K. charts (as Fontana FT 694). It was issued in the U.S. the following month where it became their only release, sadly it failed to replicate it's British chart success. They went on to release 5 more U.K. singles on Fontana before calling it quits in 1968. Unfortunately they were a one hit wonder.
"Sorrow", is an orchestral pop opus with jangling guitars beneath brass, subtle strings and ivory tinkling. It's infectious and catchy and considering the muck Kit Lambert made out of The Merseybeat's final single "I Stand Accused" it's surprisingly well produced! There's an alternate version available (see below) that's stripped of the strings and has a more jangly/folk rock feel that to my ears is far superior to the original (especially the blistering guitar solo reputed to be Joey Molland).
TRIVIA NOTE: On The Beatle's "It's All Too Much" George Harrison sings a line from "Sorrow" towards the end of the track.
The flip side "Some Other Day" is an absolutely disposable Crane/Kinsley original light weight pop track with muted brass/woodwinds/strings. Next....
Both sides were collected on a complete Merseybeats/Merseys and related band's anthology 2021 Grapefruit release "I Stand Accused: The Complete Merseybeats And Merseys 60's Recordings", unfortunately none of their material is available via Streaming.
Hear "Sorrow":
https://youtu.be/sDKHTsOwkxU?si=F2Sy9g3fYjkFnXv-
Hear "Some Other Day":
https://youtu.be/hY2OBE5nshQ?si=mhmWei7Re46L6XkR
Hear and alternate version of "Sorrow":
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