The Shads' vocals

[chas]

I always liked 'Don't It Make You Feel Good' & 'That's The Way It Goes' and though The Shads could probably do no wrong for me at the time, I also loved all the Mersey bands as well, so I was pleased to see that The Swinging Blue Jeans liked these two songs as well, by covering both on their first album.

Chas.

[JimN]

I was a teenager in the early 80s. I'll stick with Stay Around or Don't Make My Baby Blue to Shaddap You Face or Mickey any day!

I still recall hearing that Joe Dolce song for the first time on a Terry Wogan radio programme one morning. I had no idea that he was Australian and imagined that he was a New York Italian. It was the only place in the world which seemed to fit the lyric - and the artiste's name. Either way, I knew on first hearing that it was going to be a chart number one - and it was.

[dave robinson]

But of course, just because the teenagers at the time didn't respond to them doesn't mean that they're not great songs, right??

The songs mentioned are mostly album tracks which Shadows fans that I know just about tolerated. They weren't bad songs but they certainly weren't great either compared with the competition, but suited the their act at the time. 'Don't Make My Baby Blue ' was an exception, pinched from Frankie Lane, arrangement and all.
The Beatles & co weren't really popular with our parents back then, but the quality of their music has ensured longevity. The proof is in the pudding.

[Didier]

Generally, I really do feel that although it was obviously the instros that made them 'unique', The Shadows had a great deal to offer as song-writers and vocalists and this aspect of their output is criminally overlooked.

In France we weren't much able to appreciate the Shadows' vocal numbers on their first two albums. They were released in France on 10" vinyls (instead of 12" in UK), with all the vocal tunes removed !...

Didier

[JimN]

The album track vocals were a bit variable. Baby My Heart and All My Sorrows were tolerable as a display of versatility, a bit like Hank's piano tunes and the drum solo tracks. But That's My Desire? And whilst The Bandit was (at the time) a blast from the past (a minor hit in the mid-50s), Are They All Like You? seemed less certain of its ground.

The two group-composed vocals on "Dance With The Shadows" did seem an improvement, but with the sung recordings on "The Sound Of The Shadows", we were back in familiar territory. I never did care for Let It Be Me or Five Hundred Miles, neither of which seemed really connected to the sound of The Shadows. So let me agree with Jayne (and, to some extent, with Ivan): the vocals on "Shadow Music" were excellent. Sounding very contemporary for '66, I suspect that any of them would have stood a good chance of being a hit as a single, though naturally, even by then, their chances would have been improved if someone else had been performing them.

JN

[Fenderman]

With 'Don't make my baby blue' being their first top 10 hit for over a year it would have been interesting to see if they started doing more vocal singles, their single vocals 'I met a girl' and 'The dreams i dream' aren't their best efforts, i don't really care much either for 'A little bitty tear', 'Five hundred miles', 'Let it be me', 'Thats my desire' or 'Dear old Mrs Bell' but they released some superb vocal tracks such as 'Stay around', 'I only want to be with you', 'A better man that i', 'Let me be the one' and 'Don't throw it all away'.
Even some of their 80's vocals weren't too bad, i liked 'Guardian Angel', 'You rescue me' and 'Can't play your game'.
What they should have done is started doing vocal singles towards the end of 1964, their last 2 singles of the year didn't do too well, and they were starting to lose ground as chart placings got gradually lower.

[GoldenStreet]

What especially struck me was that one of the songs, "That's The Way It Goes" (I think), was actually composed in 1961! OK, they may have re-arranged it for the 1964 album, but here is a song that is not a thousand miles away from what the Beatles were doing in '63/'64 - and yet it was composed three years earlier! I'd love to know more about the history of this song.

The song was originally recorded by Frank Ifield (produced by Norrie Paramor - the connection) and issued by Columbia as his 4th single (DB 4568) in January 1961, but failed to make an impression on the charts. The Brook Brothers (the UK answer to the Everlys) also issued a version on their 1961 Pye album (The Brook Brothers, NPL 18067), produced by Tony Hatch.

Bill

[Iain Purdon]

I just love the notion that the Shads were "criminally overlooked" as vocalists!

Whatever you think of their own vocals - I'm with JN on them - they were terrific in Cliff Richard and the Shadows. All those huge hits, bought by the kids of the time, with Cliff out front plus Bruce and Hank on harmony backing? Top notch

[ecca]

The Shadows instrumental sound in the early days was revolutionary, their singing style wasn't.
That was the attraction.

[geoff1711]

I have to agree with Dave here, I was 14 when Apache came out and they were my no1 band but the vocals?????

In interviews either Hank or Bruce said they were influenced by the Everley Bros but at that time the lyrics, harmonies and voice tone was more Mickey and Grif than Don and Phil.

That's not to say that 50 years on and older than my parents were at the time they're not pleasant enough, but for a rebelious teenager ( I had cowhorn handlebars and the saddle pointing upward on my bike - remember that!!) they just sounded too goody goody.

In fact by the time most of these vocals were around I was more into The Stones, Who, Animals, and then prog rock. I'd left the likes of The Shads, Ventures, Duanne Eddy far behind and didn't re-aquire a taste for instrumental music until somebody bought me a ticket for one of Hank's solo tours in th early 90's, although I did still play Apache at home as a warm up.

As for now, I still don't know what it is about them, the vocals, harmonies, pitch are all good but they still sound a bit twee, which is odd, because when you hear Hank or Bruce singing other peoples rock and roll they sound fine and Hank and / or Bruces songs recorded by others sound good as well.

Geoff