GUITAR BOOGIE ~ SHADOOGIE
(Arthur Smith ~ Hank Marvin/ Bruce Welch/ Jet Harris/ Tony Meehan)
Shadows: ('Guitar Boogie') March 1961 EP
The Shadows At The Colosseum Johannesburg
+ ('Shadoogie') September 1961 LP The Shadows (UK No.1)
Ventures: ('Guitar Boogie Shuffle') September 1972 LP Rock And Roll Forever
The Shadows took ‘Guitar Boogie’ on board early on: a brief snatch of it has been preserved as an outro to BBC Radio’s Saturday Club of 24 October 1959, and there is a fuller, rather plodding version from an early Radio Luxembourg slot (certainly 1959, as Hank’s scratchy-sounding Antoria is in evidence). The tune came to life in the highly charged live South Africa performance listed above, fitting company for an animated version of Duane Eddy’s Shazam!. But the real Shadows’ classic here is the opener on their debut LP. Given an idiosyncratic title to match the distinctive treatment, it is (for themselves too in this particular arrangment), strictly a one-off – and a brilliant one at that, with that stunningly vibrant lead guitar sound commented on by Brian May, and some imaginative variations on the basic theme. The ‘Shadoogie’ remoulded for 1983, more akin structurally to the South African airing, is a much drier-sounding, less involving affair, though it served the group well on stage during their Polydor years and into the extended Final Tour.
As mentioned earlier, The Ventures on their 1972 Rock And Roll Forever LP were not really as we know and love them, though the take by this particular gathering on A. Smith’s brainchild is slick, twangy, attracts some very nifty soloing indeed from Harvey Mandel, and, well, shuffles along nicely enough. The latest re-recording released in Japan in 2001 (V-Gold III) featuring fully paid-up members including Bob Bogle on lead is not by any means short of slam, but the number in its basic or conventional form has probably served out its time – for this listener at any rate.
Listen to The Shadows’ Guitar Boogie on:
May 2001 CD Dance With The Shadows
(Magic Records, France: bonus track)
