MD - THE BIG THREE

MERSEYBEAT DISCOGRAPHY

The Big Three

The Big Three were known for their live booming sound in the Cavern Club but were unable to transfer their magical sound to the recording studio.
They were known rightly or wrongly as a troublesome band and while Brian Epstein tried to tame them by stopping them eating & swearing on stage and put them in suits similar to the Beatles. It didn't last long.

Brian managed to get The Big Three a recording contract with Decca Records but their four singles failed to capture the Big Three sound as Decca tried to change their style from a power trio into a pop outfit.

If you're looking to collect the Big Three output on the cheap then look no further than Cavern Stomp, The Complete Recordings. It isn't often that a title promising 'Complete Recordings' actually delivers what it says on the tin but it does in the case of the Big Three.
The album includes everything the band recorded in the 1960's plus a 1973 'reunion album' Resurrection instigated by bass guitarist John Gustafson.

The collection begins with the classic Live At the Cavern EP plus Bring It On Home To Me their sole contribution to the 1964 Live At the Cavern LP.

The A & B sides of their four Decca singles follow and the old adage that the Big Three couldn't reproduce there live sound on record hits you straight between the eyes after listening to the singles directly after the Live At the Cavern EP.
The singles are fine but not what the fans were expecting from the band after their notorious appearances at the Cavern Club and other venues in Liverpool.

Finally, Resurrection from 1973 was recorded for Polydor by the Big Three including Brian 'Griff' Griffiths on lead guitar and Johnny 'Gus' on bass.

It's a return to the 50's/60's material featuring Some Other Guy, Money, Price Of Love, Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody, Lucille & Dizzy Miss Lizzy, but fails to reach the dizzy heights of those times.