Dave: Well...it's all a matter of personal taste / opinion. All aristes (including the Shads - initially Drifters) had to pass a recording test for the BBC before they were allowed to feature on any BBC Radio broadcasts. The panel was ultra strict and many performers were rejected. Not the Shads of course....we know that they were brilliant. Compared to EMI the recording set up at the BBC was obviously much more basic. When the Shads appeared on the same show as Cliff....they frequently taped 4 or 5 songs backing Cliff plus a couple of their own. On their very first 'solo' Saturday Club they taped 5 titles. They had literally (perhaps after initial set up) one hour to commit (generally speaking) 5 - 7 titles to tape. Not much scope for re - takes and no overdubbing, editing etc.
IMHO these performances are part of recording history - as broadcast. Whatever they might lack in studio perfection they abundantly make up for in sheer raw excitement and energy. On any bootleg CD the sound quality is never going to be perfect....but the John Peel sessions...brilliant. I love the exuberance of those performances broadcast as they happened between 53 (!!!!) and just over 40 years ago. I do know of several people (some very respected musicians / guitarists) who think they are wonderful. I imagine that any artist listening to something that they played (in some cases) live in 1959 from a 2002 perspective and possibly from a less than perfect sound source might well decide that they could have played it better...or might hear the occasional error...or etc., etc. But let's not forget that the BBC themselves wouldn't broadcast anything that they believed to be substandard. Plus, I would also add that Jet, Tony and other Shadows members were quite happy with a BBC sessions release. I can't say more than that....people will have to draw their own conclusions. The situation became 'academic' when the BBC pulled the plug on use of the 'Bernie Andrews Tapes'.
Bests.....Rob
Oh boy Philip, you're a brave man! There was a lot of great material during the Polydor years. There was also a lot that i personally didn't care for at all. Again, it's all a matter of personal taste isn't it?
