Personnel:
Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch (g), Jet Harris (b), Brian Bennett (d)
Reference: 7243 578181 2
Bar code: 724357818124
The Shadows only really dominated British pop and rock music for about five years, from late 1958 through 1963, but they've held on to their audience for decades, partly owing to the consistency of their work, especially their singles. This 86-track collection, running 240 minutes, assembles the group's complete singles output from 21 of those years -- and not surprisingly, it's not only pretty good (and sometimes excellent) rock & roll, but also a reflection of some key aspects of British pop/rock and pop culture, and, apart from some early missteps and some late-era predictability, very good listening.
The first two songs, "Feelin' Fine" and "Don't Be a Fool (With Love)," cut when the group was still known as the Drifters, are the most unusual tracks here, as they're vocal numbers, recorded before the band recognized that their success apart from lead singer Cliff Richard lay primarily in their instrumental prowess. "Feelin' Fine" is a highly derivative number that sounds like an imitation of Buddy Holly, while "Don't Be a Fool (With Love)" is heavily influenced by doo wop music, and sounds like a good imitation of Dion & the Belmonts or Danny & the Juniors. "Jet Black" is a great showcase for Jet Harris' bass -- he was the first bassist in England to achieve stardom -- while "Driftin'" provides rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch with a showcase. It took another abortive single in the vein of Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers, respectively, before they finally decided on an instrumental output -- and scored their first time out with "Apache," which sounds amazing on this state-of-the-art CD, with every nuance of the playing crisply delineated (to this longtime fan, it was like hearing the track for the first time). This reviewer was already well familiar with the Shadows' output, including their LPs, but even he was surprised by how seriously they moved from decided strength to strength on their singles, across the their history. Just when one thinks they're becoming a little too MOR on "Atlantis," they come along with a solid U.S.-style rocker like "Shindig," which puts them right back in the thick of mid-'60s rock & roll, and pieces with an extraordinary "haunt count" such as "Theme for Young Lovers," which is worthy of Paul McCartney's pen. Also included is their Top Ten vocal single "Don't Make My Baby Blue," a beat ballad worthy of any of the post-1960 acts that were dominating the charts in 1965, and follow it up, once removed, with "I Met a Girl," which could be a Rubber Soul outtake.
The later material, especially that coinciding with the punk and disco era of the mid-to late '70s and early '80s, shows the group struggling for inspiration but still able to turn out engaging pop/rock singles when they find it. The sound is excellent, even exquisite, throughout -- coupled with the thorough annotation, this is as good an immersion in the Shadows' output as any release on the market, and the ultimate gift item for serious fans.
Bruce Eder -All Music Guide
Tracklisting:
CD 1
01. Feelin' Fine [As The Drifters]
02. Don't Be A Fool (With Love) [As The Drifters]
03. Driftin' [As The Drifters]
04. Jet Black [As The Drifters]
05. Saturday Dance
06. Lonesome Fella
07. Apache
08. Quatermasster's Stores
09. Man Of Mystery
10. The Stranger
11. F.B.I.
12. Midnight
13. The Frightened City
14. Back Home
15. Kon-Tiki
16. 36-24-36
17. The Savage
18. Peace Pipe
19. Wonderful Land
20. Stars Fell On Stockton
21. Guitar Tango
22. What A Lovely Tune
23. Dance On
24. All Day
CD 2
01. Foot Tapper
02. The Breeze And I
03. Atlantis
04. I Want You To Want Me
05. Shindig
06. It's Been A Blue Day
07. Geronimo
08. Shazam
09. Theme For Young Lovers
10. This Hammer
11. The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bund
12. It's A Mar's World
13. Rhythm And Greens
14. The Miracle
15. Genie With The Light Brown Lamp
16. Little Princess
17. Mary-Anne
18. Chu Chi
19. Stingray
20. Alice In Sunderland
21. Don't Make My Baby Blue
22. My Grandfathers Clock
CD 3
01. The War Lord
02. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Arthur
03. I Met A Girl
04. Late Night Set
05. A Place In The Sun
06. Will You Be There
07. The Dreams I Dream
08. Scotch On The Socks
09. Maroc 7
10. Bombay Duck
11. Tomorrow's Cancelled
12. Somewhere
13. Midnight Cowboy [Hank Marvin]
14. Running Out Of World
15. Dear Old Mrs Bell
16. Trying To Forget The One You Love
17. London's Not Too Far [Hank Marvin]
18. Slaughter On 10th Avenue
19. Turn Around And Touch Me
20. Jungle Jam
CD 4
01. Let Me Be The One
02. Stand Up Like A Man
03. Run Billy Run
04. Honourable Puff Puff
05. It'll Be Me Babe
06. Like Strangers
07. Another Night
08. Cricket Bat Boogie
09. Love Deluxe
10. Sweet Saturday Night
11. Don't Cry For Me Argentina
12. Montezuma's Revenge
13. Theme from 'The Deer Hunter' (Cavatina)
14. Bermuda Triangle
15. Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto
16. Song For Duke
17. Riders In The Sky
18. Rusk
19. Heart Of Glass
20. Return To The Alamo
Total time: 243 min. approx.
The Shadows are:
Hank Marvin (guitar, arranger, composer), Bruce Welch (guitar, arranger), Jet Harris (bass, arranger), Brian Bennett (drums).
This compilation contains all original EMI recordings
Remastering: Peter Mew
Design: Chris Peyton
Project coordinator: Tim Chacksfield
Liner notes: Robert Bradford
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