The Shadows (album)
The Shadows | ||||
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Studio album by The Shadows | ||||
Released | September 1961 | |||
Recorded | 1961 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Columbia (EMI) SX1374 (mono); SCX3414 (stereo) (UK) | |||
Producer | Norrie Paramor | |||
The Shadows chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Shadows is a 1961 rock album by British group The Shadows, which reached number one in the UK charts.
Track listing
- Side 1
- "Shadoogie" (Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan)
- "Blue Star" (Victor Young, Edward Heyman)
- "Nivram" (Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin, Jet Harris)
- "Baby My Heart" (Sonny Curtis) – (Vocal: Hank Marvin)
- "See You in My Drums" (Tony Meehan) – Drum solo
- "All My Sorrows" (Dave Guard, Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds) – (Vocal: Jet Harris)
- "Stand Up and Say That" (Hank Marvin)
- Side 2
- "Gonzales" (Jet Harris, Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin)
- "Find Me a Golden Street" (Norman Petty)
- "Theme from a Filleted Place" (Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris)
- "That's My Desire" (Helmy Kresa, Carroll Loveday) – (Vocal: Bruce Welch)
- "My Resistance Is Low" (Hoagy Carmichael)
- "Sleepwalk" (Ann Farina, Santo Farina, Johnny Farina, Don Wolf)
- "Big Boy" (Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin)
Chart positions
Chart | Year | Peak position |
---|---|---|
UK Albums Chart[2] | 1961 | 1 |
Preceded by The Black and White Minstrel Show by George Mitchell Minstrels The Black and White Minstrel Show by George Mitchell Minstrels |
UK Albums Chart number-one album 23 September 1961 - 21 October 1961 28 October 1961 – 4 November 1961 |
Succeeded by The Black and White Minstrel Show by George Mitchell Minstrels 21 Today by Cliff Richard |
Personnel
- Hank Marvin – lead guitar, piano, vocals
- Bruce Welch – rhythm guitar
- Jet Harris – bass guitar
- Tony Meehan – drums
- Norrie Paramor – producer
- Malcolm Addey – engineer
Instruments
- Lead guitar: Fender Stratocaster (Fiesta Red), Gretsch Country Gentleman
- Rhythm guitar: Fender Jazzmaster, Fender Stratocaster (Fiesta Red), Gretsch 6120
- Bass guitar: Fender Precision Bass (4 string)
- Drums: Gretsch, Trixnam
- Amplifier: Vox AC30 × 3
- Piano: from EMI Abbey Road studios
Recording
The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios (Studio 2) between 26 October 1960 and 21 June 1961. It was recorded on entirely analogue equipment in real time, with each track recorded on a one-track-per-day basis with no overdubs or edits on a 2 track recording machine. Rather than having a stereo mix being mixed down into a mono version, both stereo and mono mixes were recorded simultaneously but separately within the same session. Mistakes made during recording necessitated immediate retakes, and for that reason, multiple versions for some (if not all) tracks exist in EMI's tape vaults.
All of the tracks were recorded in several sessions over an eight-month period (nine session-days), during which singles were also recorded, including "Kon-Tiki", "She Wears Red Feathers" (unissued), "The Frightened City", "Wonderful Land", "36-24-36", "March of the Shadows" (unissued), "Peace Pipe", "The Savage", "Blues From an Unfurnished Flat" (unissued), "Happy Birthday to You" (unissued except in an overdubbed form on 21 Today, an LP by Cliff Richard.
The songs from the album were recorded in this order:
- Gonzales – recorded 26 October 1960
- Baby My Heart – recorded 27 January 1961
- Find Me a Golden Street – recorded 27 January 1961
- Theme From a Filleted Place – recorded 1 June 1961
- Blue Star – recorded 18 February 1961
- Shadoogie – recorded 20 April 1961
- Sleepwalk – recorded 20 April 1961
- That's My Desire – recorded 20 April 1961
- Big Boy – recorded 12 May 1961
- See You in My Drums – recorded 1 June 1961
- All My Sorrows – recorded 13 June 1961
- Nivram – recorded 13 June 1961
- Stand Up and Say That – recorded 13 June 1961
- My Resistance is Low – recorded 21 June 1961
Formats
- Vinyl
- 1961: 1st – (Stereo) Light Green, and (Mono) Dark Green Columbia label
- 1963: 2nd – (Stereo) Blue/Black Green Columbia label
- 1970: 3rd – (Stereo) Black/Silver EMI label
- Tape
- 1961: Reel to reel tape
- 1973: Cassette and 8 Track cartridge 2-fer ("The Shadows As Was!"): The Shadows/Out of the Shadows. EMI Double Executive Series label
- 1980: Cassette (MFP Label)
- CD
- 1991: Normal. 2-fer (2-4-1) CD: The Shadows/Out of the Shadows. Jewel case
- 1997: Remastered. 2-fer (2-4-1) CD: (Mono and Stereo albums). Jewel case
Notes
The sleeve notes were written by Cliff Richard.
This album is cited by many highly influential and successful British rock/metal/heavy metal guitarists (e.g. Brian May of Queen) as being their no.1 favorite Shadows album thus influencing them in their career first choice in music.
Only Shadoogie, Nivram, All My Sorrows and Sleepwalk were used "live on stage" to promote this album in 1961-2. Nivram has been used as 1st choice Shadows bass solo for live concerts from 1962 right through to 2010. The track Gonzales was played live on a radio performance (late 1960) but never on stage until belatedly included on the final tour live set in 2004.
After three non-charting singles ("Feelin Fine", "Jet Black" and "Saturday Dance") followed by the massive number-one selling Apache single in June 1960, the group ostensibly merited an immediate debut album but in the UK at that time albums were of secondary importance to singles and EPs (the reverse was true in the US). Hence the year-long delay in releasing this important album. The UK's economy was still not sufficiently strong to enable the British record buying public to prioritise albums over singles in terms of purchasing choices. From the mid-1960s, the album would eventually predominate over the single in the UK.
This is the only Shadows album that features the original Shadows line up with Tony Meehan and Jet Harris. Meehan was sacked for persistent lateness in 1961 and Harris was constructively dismissed (resigned) in 1962. The only other early album of note featuring Harris and Meehan is the South African "Rockin Guitars" Shadows special compilation album.
The British public in 1960-61 anticipated an all instrumental debut album but the Shadows and Paramor wanted to produce an album showcasing their numerous diverse talents instead, hence the inclusion of two specialist instrumental "solos", Nivram (a bass feature) and See You In My Drums (an obviously drum-heavy track). The album was rounded out with three relatively unexpected vocals. By contrast, the debut album of The Ventures (seen to be their American counterpart) was an all-instrumental one.
This album reached the number-one slot in the UK albums chart in 1961. No singles were taken from it, though two "extract" Eps were compiled from its tracks: "The Shadows No. 2" and "The Shadows No. 3" - both in mono only. The group's first EP The Shadows (available in both mono and stereo) had been released in January 1961 and featured four original tracks: Mustang, Shotgun, Theme From Giant and Theme From Shane.
However, notwithstanding any minor criticisms, this very successful debut album features seven (out of fourteen) all new original compositions written by members of the Shadows in various permutations, thus contradicting many later British authors who erroneously claim that this period of British pop music "before the Beatles" was 100% influenced and dominated by "Tin Pan Alley" song writers who wrote their material at offices in London's fashionable West End.
Bibliography
- Books
- That Sound (From Move It on, the story of the magic sound of The Shadows), by R.Pistolesi, M.Addey & M.Mazzini. Publ: Vanni Lisanti. June 2000. No ISBN
References
- ↑ Thompson, Dave. The Shadows at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ↑ "Chart Stats - The Shadows - The Shadows". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2011.