Dance with the Shadows

[Iain Purdon]

OK, here's the track (as an mp3).

It's best if you have already listened to the original stereo version - preferably on headphones - and have familiarised yourself with the layout of the soundpicture - the positions of drums, bass, guitars and (in the second half, the orchestra).

After you've done that, listen (again, on ' phones) to this: https://soundcloud.com/jnugent/reworked-tango-stereo-picture-changed

Fascinating, Jim. Thank you.
Your rework sounds better than the original to me when listening on headphones and also on the car radio. The sound picture is better and the bass is fuller.
On my computer speakers, however, it sounds as if there are phase issues! All very odd.
Anyway, how did you do it?!

Some time back, the original unreleased version of Guitar Tango, recorded with Jet just prior to his departure, was available on YouTube, seemingly now removed. If I recall correctly, his bass part too was more or less inaudible.
Bill

Yes, the earlier version (which I do have) was not ready for release. Brian and Bruce's bits were fine but the arrangement included a messy bit that was later removed. Hank would go on to play it better on the final version and the Jet part included dubious notes, missed notes and a bit of rhythmic uncertainty. That was nothing that wouldn’t come right with a bit more work but, as we know, the job fell to Licorice at the next session and he carried it off well.

[MeBHank]

It's a great album. I've never been a huge fan of the Burns era, but DWTS has a selection of rich melodies, the general band sound is superb with a great sonic depth, and Hank's guitar sound has an individual beauty of its own, although perhaps not as commanding as the earlier Strat tones. There are indeed some stand-out tracks.

In 1990, when I started buying CD instead of vinyl, I had almost the opposite experience in a record shop in Kent. I brought a Shadows CD jewel case to the counter just as the shop started playing an unknown (to me) guitar record over the speakers. Impressed by the sound and playing, I asked the sales assistant what it was, he checked and said "Wicked Game by Chris Isaak". Referencing my purchase, he added that it sounded like The Shadows. Over twenty years later, I met guitarist James Wilsey in Los Angeles and had a guitarist's conversation with him. I wish I'd remembered that anecdote. He'd have been delighted to hear that someone from Britain thought he sounded like Hank.

I remember discussing Wicked Game with you when we met in Guardamar, Jim, when you told me of your meeting with James Wilsey. You told me there was definitely a Shads influence there, as I'd suspected. I've since learned the song and added a bit of my own flavour (including a 'combination' trem/string bending technique on that sexy second note which I've never seen anyone else do - although I expect Jeff Beck has). It has gone into my non-Shadows set; it's a definite favourite with audiences (and me!).

[Fenderman]

Apparently a few tracks were recorded at the Jubilee Theatre in Blackpool as The Shads were doing some shows there at the time so didn't have time to travel to Abbey Road so Norrie set up a console and recorded them there.
I'd also never heard the original stereo version of French Dressing (till it was released on The Original Studio Recordings expanded version years later) as it had some technical vaults and was only released in mono.

[Iain Purdon]

Indeed - French Dressing, Blue Shadows and Dakota - and all released in mono.
Definitely recorded in Blackpool, not just apparently!

[JimN]

Indeed - French Dressing, Blue Shadows and Dakota - and all released in mono.

Indeed, they were all released in mono, on mono pressings of the album.

And both French Dressing and Blue Shadows were released in mono even on the stereo version.

But Dakota was released in mono on mono pressings and stereo on stereo pressings!

Incidentally, the reprocessing of Guitar Tango for a better stereo picture was achieved by magic.

[Iain Purdon]

Incidentally, the reprocessing of Guitar Tango for a better stereo picture was achieved by magic.

I suspected as much

[Fenderman]

Indeed - French Dressing, Blue Shadows and Dakota - and all released in mono.

Indeed, they were all released in mono, on mono pressings of the album.

And both French Dressing and Blue Shadows were released in mono even on the stereo version.

But Dakota was released in mono on mono pressings and stereo on stereo pressings!

Incidentally, the reprocessing of Guitar Tango for a better stereo picture was achieved by magic.

If you listen closely to the 'new' stereo versions they sound as if they are about to fall apart!
A nod to the engineers at Abbey Road that managed to restore these versions, makes me wonder if the same can't be done to the film version of Foot Tapper which suffered from similar technical problems.

[iefje]

Indeed - French Dressing, Blue Shadows and Dakota - and all released in mono.

Indeed, they were all released in mono, on mono pressings of the album.

And both French Dressing and Blue Shadows were released in mono even on the stereo version.

But Dakota was released in mono on mono pressings and stereo on stereo pressings!

Incidentally, the reprocessing of Guitar Tango for a better stereo picture was achieved by magic.

If you listen closely to the 'new' stereo versions they sound as if they are about to fall apart!
A nod to the engineers at Abbey Road that managed to restore these versions, makes me wonder if the same can't be done to the film version of Foot Tapper which suffered from similar technical problems.

To me the 'new' stereo mixes of "Blue Shadows" and "French Dressing" on the 2013 UK 6 CD box “The Early Years (Expanded Edition) – Their Complete Studio Recordings 1959-1966” don't sound like stereo at all, because there isn't any instrument separation. I think the mixes are quite unstable and sound more like mock stereo mixes to me.

[Iain Purdon]

I’m inclined to agree that if the master recording is mono it should stay that way. Anything else is fakery which, to me, begs the question ‘why?’

Having tinkered with recordings myself I’m aware there are answers to that question...

[JimN]

I’m inclined to agree that if the master recording is mono it should stay that way. Anything else is fakery which, to me, begs the question ‘why?’

Having tinkered with recordings myself I’m aware there are answers to that question...

In the cases of French Dressing and Blue Shadows, the master recordings (ie, the reel of tape used in the studio) are not mono, though it seems that there was some technical fault with the recordings. The fault may have been caused by a number of things, including defects in the tape(s) and/or deficient mixer channel routing.

When it came to the stereo remixes for the expanded version of the CD box set, we have to remember that starting in the late 1970s, production preferences for stereo started to change a lot, with much less of a natural soundstage being aimed for. Most of the prominent instruments were now panned to the centre of the picture, or very close to it. This is certainly the case for bass and drums. It seems to me that French Dressing and Blue Shadows were treated for stereo in that way and that it is at least possible that a 1964-style stereo picture could have been created.

As evidence for this, think of the stereo versions of Thunderbirds, Zero X Theme and Lady Penelope, issued in the 1990s. All of them were mixed to stereo for CD with a narrow soundstage, even though at the time of their original (mono) release (1966), a a wider stereo image would undoubtedly have been employed.