Album of the Day

Sharing a manager and a producer with The Beatles, Gerry And The Pacemakers were perhaps the Fabs' greatest rivals during the Merseybeat era, and their 1963 debut, HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?, shows why. The quartet's playing is tight and energetic on a mix of covers including rock and R&B chestnuts like “Maybelline” and “A Shot of Rhythm and Blues,” and Gerry Marsden's tenor is appealing throughout. There are also some fine ballads in the line-up, chief among them “You'll Never Walk Alone,” which became the Pacemakers' third No.1 single in a row in their native U.K. (the song has come to prominence again in recent days as a fundraiser for England's National Health Service). The EMI 100th Anniversary remaster of HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? includes both the stereo and mono mixes of the album, and the excitement of the British Invasion comes through loud and clear on each.