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I recently bought a copy of The Shadows Greatest Hits from Amazon as there were several tracks on it that i didn't have on mono and i was surprised at the sound quality, it was top notch. The tracks had more 'punch' than the recent box set (and this was a CD from 2004), especially the mono mixes.
I also noticed that 'Midnight' in mono lacked the distortion that marred the stereo version, this was the first time i had heard this version and i also noticed it had sleeve notes by none other then our very own Rob Bradford, good work!

It is a great release indeed. I immediately bought it when it was out at the end of April, 2004. A great companion CD is the 32-track 2004 CD issue of the 1965 "More Hits!" compilation album. This CD also features both mono and stereo mixes of all tracks. Two tracks which weren't included on the original 1965 vinyl albums, are "The War Lord" and "A Place In The Sun", both also featured in mono and stereo.

I might buy that next as i'm missing mono mixes of tracks such as Flingle Bunt, Mary Ann, A place in the sun etc. In fact i have very few mono versions of single releases between 1963 till 1969.

Edit: Just noticed but the stereo version of Wonderful land on Greatest Hits is actually in mono!

The "stereo" version of Wonderful Land on the LP (and CD reissues of) "The Shadows' Greatest Hits" is actually a stereo - two-channel - recording, but it is the mock-stereo rendering derived from the full mono mix (including the tom-tom overdub). EMI produced this mock-stereo version for the releases of "The Shadows' Greatest Hits" in stereo in the early 1970s.

There is a true stereo version of Wonderful Land which was first released in 1990 on the LP / CD collections "The Original Chart Hits 1960-1980" and on various compilations thereafter, but it is an incomplete version which lacks the tom-tom uverdub.

Using the mono version - albeit converted for artificial stereo - is the correct rendition for "The Shadows' Greatest Hits".

Incidentally, most Shadows' recordings which were released in mono, whether as the main release on a single or EP, or as an alternative on an LP, are available on CD.

There are a few - and only a few - which are not.

The album tracks were taken care of by the mono/stereo Digipak CDs. Well, all except for "The Sound Of The Shadows", whose Digipak was stereo-only.

But the mono versions of "The Sound Of The Shadows" was included - at my request - on the relatively recent re-issue of the 6-CD set "The Early Years - expanded version". This means that all mono LP tracks are - or have been - available on CD.

The main singles from Apache onward were released in mono on the second (mono/stereo) versions of "The Shadows' Greatest Hits" and "More Hits!". The last Shadows single to have a mono release at all was Dear Old Mrs Bell / Trying To Forget (The One You Love). Most of those tracks have been available in mono on CD somewhere or other (especially on that 6-CD set).

In fact, there are a lot of Shadows' tracks making their mono CD debut on the box-set "The Early Years - expanded edition". Here they are:

[End of Disc Five:]
31. Mustang * mono version - first issue on CD
32. The Theme From ‘Shane’ * mono version – first issue on CD

Disc Six (all mono):
1. Shotgun * mono version – first issue on CD
2. Theme from ‘Giant’ * mono version – first issue on CD
3. Back Home * mono version – first issue on CD
4. The Theme from ‘The Boys’ * mono version – first issue on CD
5. The Girls * mono version – first issue on CD
6. Sweet Dreams * mono version – first issue on CD
7. Granada * mono version – first issue on CD
8. Adios Muchachos * mono version – first issue on CD
9. Valencia * mono version – first issue on CD
10. Les Tres Carabelas * mono version – first issue on CD
11. I Want You To Want Me (v) * mono version – first issue on CD
12. It’s A Man’s World * mono version – first issue on CD
13. Chu. Chi mono version – first issue on CD

[14-27 inc. = "The Sound Of The Shadows" LP - first CD version in mono:]

14. Brazil * mono version – first issue on CD
15. The Lost City * mono version – first issue on CD
16. A Little Bitty Tear (v) * mono version – first issue on CD
17. Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Me * mono version – first issue on CD
18. Bossa Roo * mono version – first issue on CD
19. Five Hundred Mile (v)s * mono version – first issue on CD
20. Cotton Pickin’ * mono version – first issue on CD
21. Deep Purple* mono version – first issue on CD
22. Santa Ana * mono version – first issue on CD
23. The Windjammer * mono version – first issue on CD
24. Dean’s Theme * mono version – first issue on CD
25. Breakthru’ * mono version – first issue on CD
26. Let It Be Me (v) * mono version – first issue on CD
27. National Provincial Samba * mono version – first issue on CD

28. This Hammer (v) * mono version – first issue on CD
29. My Grandfather’s Clock * mono version – first issue on CD
30. The Dreams I Dream (v) * mono version – first issue on CD

There are still a few other singles B-sides which need to make it onto CD in mono.

See whether you can name them...

I'll take a guess, Maroc 7???

Fenderman wrote:I'll take a guess, Maroc 7???

Correct.

Maroc 7 appears on five separate CDs in my collection - all appearances are in stereo.

Others to which the same thing applies:

Bombay Duck (the B-side of Maroc 7)
I Can't Forget (which had a mono release in Yugoslavia)
Spanish Music / Fiesta (from "Finders Keepers")
Genie With The Light Brown Lamp (acoustic version) - though whether Parlophone will ever issue this is uncertain
Little Princess (omitted from the "Early Years" set)
All Day - alternative version
Alice In Sunderland
Late Night Set (omitted from the "Early Years" set)
Me Oh My
Friends - instrumental version
Will You Be There? (omitted from the "Early Years" set)
Running Out Of World (only available on the original 45rpm)
Medley: Finders Keepers / My Way / Fiesta / Paella (released in mono on a Shadows EP)
I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Arthur (omitted from the "Early Years" set)
I Met A Girl (omitted from "Early Years" set, but available at one time on an Australian CD)
Ranka-Chank
Autumn
Round And Round (but was available on a See For Miles CD)
The Breeze And I (was available on an Australian CD)
Dear Old Mrs Bell
My Way
Bongo Blues (available at one time on a SFM and a German release)
The Miracle (only available on an Australian and a Sequel label CD - both deleted)

Any more?

There's more than enough material for 'The Shadows in mono' collection (i'd buy it!).

The above list amended to take account of the CD: "A's, B's and EP's" [sic].