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Hello everyone. I thought it might be nice to focus on an album and our appreciation of it.

Dance with the Shadows - I played it again the other day and I was amazed by how much energy it has. I think it was listed by a music magazine as one of the top 100 guitar albums at one point.

It has two good vocal numbers - both of which were covered by the Swinging Blue Jeans.

Like many other 60s albums it contains no UK singles but it was a number 2 album.

As in later years there are plenty of covers but five originals by the Shads.

Unlike latter albums, the covers offered clever arrangements. Tonight, and High and Mighty highlight the interplay between Hank and Bruce in which the sum of the parts created an arrangement of sheer beauty. One would not guess that the latter tune was an orchestral piece. One can easily imagine it was a tune wriiten for two guitars. Although I did not prefer their version of The Lonely Bull, again there is a genuine attempt to steer clear of Herb Alpert's version. Three cheers for the originality.

Dance with ... is the first LP I paid for and it is still my favourite.

The Lonely Bull, which I also love, is actually on the follow-up LP Sound of ...

No it isn’t. I am talking utter rubbish.

It’s been a bad day ...

Iain Purdon wrote:Dance with ... is the first LP I paid for and it is still my favourite.

The Lonely Bull, which I also love, is actually on the follow-up LP Sound of ...

Er... not really!

DANCE WITH THE SHADOWS LP

The SHADOWS; 1964
EMI/Columbia (UK); 33SX 1619 (mono)

1. Chattanooga Choo-Choo
2. Blue Shadows
3. Fandango
4. Tonight
5. That's The Way It Goes
6. Big 'B'
7. In The Mood

1. The Lonely Bull (El Soro Toro)
2. Dakota
3. French Dressing
4. The High And The Mighty
5. Don't It Make You Feel Good?
6. Zambesi
7. Temptation

Shadows' 3rd non-compilation UK LP. This copy bought 1965.

When i was replacing my Shadows vinyl albums with CD's i bought a CD copy of 'Dance with...' from HMV, the guy serving me sniggered and showed the CD to the guy serving next to him who diplomatically ignored him when i handed it over, i should have complained but didn't.

As JimN rightly points out, I was having a brainstorm above. Of course The Lonely Bull is on DWTS. Always has been. Always will.

Don’t know what I was thinking. Sorry folks!

Iain

There's quite a long pause at the end of In the Mood. I remember when this track was played on YLE radio (the Finnish BBC) in 1964, they inadvertently skppped the part that follows the pause thinking the music was over. One of my favourites on this album is Zambesi with its strong bass involvement. But I do like all the tracks.

Fenderman wrote:When i was replacing my Shadows vinyl albums with CD's i bought a CD copy of 'Dance with...' from HMV, the guy serving me sniggered and showed the CD to the guy serving next to him who diplomatically ignored him when i handed it over, i should have complained but didn't.

Probably someone who doesn't like The Shadows and who thinks they are old-fashioned. A very dumb person.

iefje wrote:

Fenderman wrote:When i was replacing my Shadows vinyl albums with CD's i bought a CD copy of 'Dance with...' from HMV, the guy serving me sniggered and showed the CD to the guy serving next to him who diplomatically ignored him when i handed it over, i should have complained but didn't.

Probably someone who doesn't like The Shadows and who thinks they are old-fashioned. A very dumb person.

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.

iefje wrote:

Fenderman wrote:When i was replacing my Shadows vinyl albums with CD's i bought a CD copy of 'Dance with...' from HMV, the guy serving me sniggered and showed the CD to the guy serving next to him who diplomatically ignored him when i handed it over, i should have complained but didn't.

Probably someone who doesn't like The Shadows and who thinks they are old-fashioned. A very dumb person.

I had a friend that worked in that shop at the time, i told them about this a few weeks later and i was told he had been sacked for ridiculing someone who bought a Frank Sinatra CD. They complained to the manager, they also told me the guy did this quite often.