MALCOLM CAMPBELL'S SHADOWS WEBSITE

3 Germany

Of most interest perhaps among the purely Shadows’ issues is the second, a CD with a robust, forward sound containing an unordered selection of tracks mainly from the period 1960-1964. Die grossen Erfolge combines early and late Singles with portions of String of Hits, Portrait focuses mainly on Singles from the years 1960-1964, Dance On is primarily an assortment of tracks from 1960-1965. Three of the four issues include BONGO BLUES, a German Single in 1960 and again in 1968, but none has the rare I CAN’T FORGET (Single 1968). - The Cliff Richard issue is worth noting because it has 14 Mono tracks (5 of them without parallel on CD) among its 22 Shadows’ numbers.

4 Holland

Shadows and Friends is not typical in that it provides a blend of Shadows (mainly a/b- Singles from 1961 through to 1979) and Marvin (Welch) & Farrar/ Bruce Welch material - comparable to the Dutch 2 CD set Singles Collection + reviewed earlier. Worked into a selection of Singles/ EP tracks on the "Legends" disc are some notable early numbers (JET BLACK/ DRIFTIN’ studio versions; CHINCHILLA, BONGO BLUES). Best of (Disky 1998) is just a set of a-Singles from the first half of the Sixties with SLEEPWALK and DEERHUNTER thrown in. The remaining five, none of them anything special, mix a- or a/b- Singles with various Album tracks¹, selected on no obvious principle, from the years 1961-1979, 1967-1977, 1962-1977, 1964-1965 and 1961-1964 respectively.

5 Italy

Sound quality leaves much (sometimes very much) to be desired. Much of the material has been sourced from cassette, to judge by the limited bandwidth. But both collections are full of interest. In particular, the true Stereo version of FBI is well worth having. Italy, a country which has issued over the years a number of unusual Singles-combinations³, has not so far played a meaningful part in the mainstream Shadows’ CD market.

6 Japan

The literature of a leading UK specialist importer states that the sound quality of Japanese compact discs "is superior to that of similar products manufactured in Europe or USA". This generalisation does not in my view apply to Shadows’ material. Sound is good, but not exceptional: Toshiba-EMI does not appear to have at its disposal the high-grade masters now regularly employed by EMI UK. Where Japanese CDs (and in this case, Toshiba-EMI in particular) do score is in standards of presentation, with liner-notes and colour photography second-to-none. For musical content, one CD is of special interest, the "2 on 1" Live in Japan/ Pops in Japan: this has the Sankei Hall concert (= A21) together with the home-grown equivalent of From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John, which includes the four "Japanese" tracks⁴ (A*2 1-4, the first and last of these also available on Best Hits and Super Now). The remaining releases draw heavily on a-Singles, especially the run from APACHE to THEME FOR YOUNG LOVERS (a 4-17). Other numbers frequently found on CDs from Japan, reflecting their popularity there in the 60s, are: b 28 BOMBAY DUCK (b-Single 1967 and e.g. LP The Shadows Sing, 1968), EP 25 THUNDERBIRDS THEME (b and LP Thunderbirds are Go!, both 1966, etc.), A2 2 BLUE STAR (b 1962 & 1963; EP 1965 & 1968, commonly on LP), A4 5 PERFIDIA (EP 1963 and on a number of 60s LPs peculiar to Japan), A4 9 SPRING IS NEARLY HERE (a 1966/1978; EP 1967 & 1968, also for instance on LP The Shadows Deluxe, 1967), A5 11 THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (EP 1967 and often elsewhere).

¹ The last (EMI Best of) offers a solitary EP number.
² There is also Live in Holland (Shadows and Cliff Richard tracks), put out in 1995. Reproduction is not especially good: it could have been made better with a bit of careful tweaking.
³ Between 1961 and 1965: GONZALES/ BLUE STAR; GUITAR TANGO/ THEME FROM SHANE; THEME FROM THE BOYS/ THE BOYS; THEME FOR YOUNG LOVERS/ MUSTANG; THE MIRACLE/ THE RISE AND FALL OF FLINGEL BUNT; SHADOOGIE/ THE DRUM NUMBER; GUITAR BOOGIE/ THE DRUM NUMBER; SANTA ANA/ THE WINDJAMMER.
⁴ One of these, OMOIDE NO NAGISA, was an a-Single in 1967.