At Their Very Best

Great instrumentals by a group I missed earlier in my life. If you like The Ventures you will like Hank Marvin and Th Shadows.

I have always liked their version of the song Apache and I bought this album primarily for that since it was not available in a single

Any thing his man plays is good.

Great

Excellent

If these songs look like repeats of some of their earlier major hits, it's because they are. But there's a difference; these are not the same tracks, but rather re-recordings, released in Dec, 1989. Supposedly, the purpose in so doing was to provide these songs in true stereo, while the some of the original recordings were only in mono. Perhaps. But actually, most of the earlier tracks already were in stereo. What gives?The Shadows started out in 1959 on the Columbia Label (EMI). Because of a contract dispute, in 1980 they switched to Polydor. All of the their previous major hits (which included 5 #1's) were owned by EMI. In 1990, The Shadows broke up, unbeknown to their fan base for the next 2 to 3 years, which restlessly kept on waiting for their next release. The lack of fresh material now posed no major problem, as from that time on various, creative compilations of their past material kept streaming out of Polydor's woodwork. And now, thanks to the recording of this present album, they had these old hits to help fuel the fire of these and future compilations. They found a way to get around EMI's claims. And boy did that ever pay off.When The Shadows re-recorded these songs, they made every effort to play them essentially note-for-note. And now we know why: for future compilations! Much of the fan base was disappointed, as they were expecting some new, exciting interpretations of their big hits. But there is a difference worth noting, although probably undetectable if one is not focusing his/her attention on the music.When The Shadows started out in 1959, they were merely teenagers. There was no digital recording then, obviously, so studio recordings were made "live," all group members present. When the green light came on, they were off! Four teenagers full of testosterone and adrenalin, pounding the heck out of those guitars and drums!Fast forward to 1989, when The Shadows are 30 years older and more mature. Plus, they've added an extra member to their group: keyboards. Although they're the same songs, they are (1) not quite as driven and (2) more orchestrated in feel. Both versions are great, and worth comparing.There is one downside concerning these new re-recordings: the sound of the rhythm guitar--but it's not the fault of the playing, but of the mixing. On the original hits, the sound of the rhythm guitar is crisp and clean. Often times an accoustical guitar was used. During the Polydor years, the sound of the rhythm guitar was minimized for some reason, and sounded more muffled. Perhaps that was done to help achieve a more orchestrated sound, in keeping with The Shadows' age.If you decide to purchase this CD, you don't have to worry about making a mistake.

After many years with EMI, the Shadows could not agree terms for a new contract with that record company, so formed their own company Rollover Records which gave them more control over their output and a more generous share of the royalties.Originally for numbers like Apache for EMI, where they only apparently received a fee for the session, by re-recording the numbers for their new venture Rollover Records, made commercial sense for them, and why not?So that's how the tracks came to be re-recorded..When you take into account the original recordings versus these re-recordings, you can see how talented the musicians were the nearly 30 years ago they were when the first recordings such as Apache, The Stranger, etc were made. One cannot leave out the contributions of the recording staff at EMI in the 60's - people like Malcolm Addy and Norrie Paramor who engineered, produced and recorded the music. They helped get the fantastic sound we all know and love from the original recordings.Going forward to these recordings, they are very well done, the musicianship is very good and close to the originals and does not suffer from 'interpretationitis' a situation where the artist tries to reheat the classic arrangement and the result is disappointing.These tracks are musically very tight, have the Shadows sound and are very enjoyable. They don't suffer from a band that was good once and is a bit tired now. As we have seen on the FInal Tour(s) the Shadows did as the Shadows and with Cliff, they are still able to hot the mark and sound good.I heard this album about twelve years ago and I liked it then, even though I've played along with and listened to the original recordings thousands of times, this CD does not disappoint, this is a 'now' age recording and demonstrates that the band can still sound great.

Some think this is a sanitised or tame version of the original 60s recordings. I have even heard Shadows records described as "supermarket background music"! Well it is if you listen to them on cheap and chearful equipment. But if you've got a half-decent hi-fi system and in particular a good set of headphones give this album another try. Anyone who heard the Shads in concert in the 1980s will tell you they packed quite a punch and the only way to reproduce their true sound is to put on your cans and ramp up the volume! Hank Marvin's stratocaster comes properly to the fore and is a fantastic sound.I would also recommend headphone listening to Elvis Presley fans. It has been said that in many of his 1970s recordings the king's vocals were drowned in the orchestral overlays but to my ears this is immediately fixed when you switch to headphones and turn up the volume. This is particularly striking with his live recordings. A friend who followed my advice said "now I know what all the fuss was about!" The same goes for the Shadows - take the chance to hear what the stratocaster was really meant to sound like.......Ted ShepherdNewcastle upon Tyne

I was very disappointed with the sound quality of this CD. There is no information on where or when it was actually recorded. Its so bad I had to ask myself " is this really the Shadows?" Doesn't sound like Hank on lead at all.I then ordered the live CD recorded on the final tour (2004) The difference is amazing - great sound and great guitar playing. This is the CD you need if love the Shadows. More expensive - but its worth it ! What a band !

Compare with The regular vinyl and Cd This dubbel lp sounds different and better. You hear more details if you use better equipment when You listen to this record. Highly Recommended

The greatest hits of the UK's first successful rock /pop group.