Search - Shadows :: Shadows Are Go

The Best of Instrumental Guitar Rock!

Henry R. Kujawa | "The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ) | 07/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the BEST instro albums I've bought in the last 4 years; NO small praise! Often referred to as England's version of The Ventures, these guys are not strictly speaking a "surf" band, though their tunes are VERY popular among the modern surf bands (see AN EVENING IN NIVRAM: THE MUSIC OF THE SHADOWS for an interesting comparison). Incredibly, I bought this without realizing it was a "greatest hits" collection. WOW! There's NOT a bad song on it! My faves are "Apache", "Man Of Mystery", "Kon-Tiki", "The Savage", "Guitar Tango", "Perfidia", "Atlantis", "The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt" (rarely have I heard a slow song that was just so COOL! ) and of course, "Thunderbirds Theme". In case anyone's wondering, the cover photo comes from the feature film THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!, in which the band made a guest-appearance-- as marionettes!"

NO ONE HAD THE HANG OF TWANG LIKE THE SHADOWS

Scott Lahti (scott3362@gmail.com) | The big lake they call Gitche Gumee | 06/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the opening chords of "Apache," one of the true immortals of early-1960s instrumental rock 'n' roll, to the close of the Theme from Thunderbirds (the mid-1960s British marionette-based spy serial, produced by Gerry Anderson, which inspired both this CD's cute cover picture of Shadows figurines perched atop a red roadster, as well as its title, a spinoff from the series' feature-length THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!), SHADOWS ARE GO! is THE definitive introduction to a group whose star, amid the hoopla surrounding the British Invasion and Beatlemania, never rose in the States to anywhere near the level it had in their native England. This is a shame. For the versatile, catchy twang-laden sound of lead guitarist Hank Marvin, first honed when he and fellow Shadows served as backup band for teen idol Cliff Richard (the latter since knighted), soon influenced such undisputed world titans of rock guitar as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page, all of whom acknowledge Marvin's role in expanding their concept of what could be done with that instrument. And fans of 60s spy sagas, spaghetti Westerns, surf music, and even ska will notice, on cuts like "Man of Mystery," "Mustang," "36-24-36," and "Kon-Tiki," the pioneer source for much of the background music whose presence informed their early TV and movie memories stretching back for two generations. This twenty-three-cut selection goes a long way toward redressing the unjust neglect of a band whose work, in our brave new world of online boutiquing and Web-based discussion of our cultural influences worlwide, may yet receive its due recognition. And in a time which has seen the resurrection of numerous "retro" styles of varying degees of quality, there may be room for optimism in the end. And when you listen to this terrific collection from The Shadows, and find not a single dated cut, you, too, will see why."

Wonderful Land

Greg O. | San Francisco | 11/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is gorgeous stuff. Rocking. Confident. Majestic. Americans, unfortunately, never got to hear the Shads in the early and mid '60s when they ruled the UK, inspiring a flood of rock 'n' roll combos in much the same way the fabled Ventures did in the U.S. On a very personal note, my wife and I made sure we played the Shadows' incomparable "Wonderful Land" as the first song at our wedding in 1993. Composer Jerry Lordan's genius combined with the absolute magic of Hank, Bruce, Tony and Jet created a gem for the ages. No wonder its original title was "Genesis." I could go on re: the rest of the instrumentals on this collection, but you get the message. "Apache" alone changed the pre-Beatles British pop world."