New Shadows Release due September

[Didier]

In France, the last Shadows' album issued with both mono and stereo releases was "The sound of the Shadows", everything later was isued on a single "gravure universelle" release.

Didier

Hi Didier,

I am sorry, but I have to object. In France "Shadow Music" was also originally released as separate mono (CTX 40.370) and stereo (SCTX 140.370) pressings. Later re-pressings (SCTX 340.370) were made in the 'gravure universelle' format.

Best wishes,

Ulrich

Hi Ulrich,

You're right, I made a mistake, so I guess that the first Shadows' album release in France in "gravure universelle" only was probably "Jigsaw". I remember I bought it, not very long after coming back from the 16 months military service in 1967 !

Didier

[Didier]

Are the mono and stereo mixes the same as found on the UK issues?

I guess that the french "gravure universelle" were made from the same stereo master as the UK releases, the lower bass being mixed to mono for cutting the master disc only.

Didier

[Fenderman]

I think the 1990s remastered digipak albums are superb, the thickness of sound on the "From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John" album compared to the BGO version is chalk and cheese, the sound is so thin, even the disc label colour of the first 2 albums, that green colour is correct of the original stereo vinyl, superb detail.

Graham.

I too have the 1990 CD reissue of "From Hank...." on BGO and have always said it just doesn't sound right. I think it was only issued in stereo at the time, maybe they didn't have access to the original masters.
It was processed to digital by the same company that did a Searchers CD some years later (The Pye Anthology 1963 - 1967) and the sound quality on that was very, very good. If i remember they were called something like Cambridge Sound Technology.

[robert kollar]

Unless it is a typo, I note that the track listing for the expanded box set seems to be missing "Evening Comes". I would like to know more about the gentleman tracking down the stereo "FBI". Did he find the actual tape in the EMI vaults? YEARS ago I notified my friend, here in Rhode Island, who was a member of the Australian "Circle of Friends" (I believe that was the name) that I was sitting down one evening and playing an actual 33 1/3 rpm lp record just for the heck of it. For years I had been playing only cds. I happened to put on the record player the stereo copy of Atlantic records album "Surfing With The Shadows". I was listening through stereo headphones and was amazed when "FBI" came up in true stereo. For years I was hearing it in mono or mock stereo on cd compllations. I was thunder struck. I copied the stereo "FBI" on to a cassette and gave it to my friend who sent it on to the head of the Australian club. He mentioned me in his newslerrer as "an American fan" and not by name. After that I found a stereo "FBI" showing up on an Italian bootleg. As I say, that was years ago. Am looking forward to the expanded box set. Robert Kollar, Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA

[JimN]

Evening Comes isn't a Shadows track anyway, and it comes from later than the end of 1966, meaning that it falls outside the scope of this revised box set, which has a more focused approach than the original version.

[Arpeggio]

As Jim says - "Evening Comes" is actually a Hank Marvin solo track from 1969. Quite why it was originally included on the original Shadows Early Years set I don't know - as it was neither the Shadows, nor from the early years. In any event, that error has now been rectified & it's not included this time around for those very reasons (viz: not the Shadows & falling outside the chronological time / recording date frame). It began to be known quite widely that "FBI" was in stereo on "Surfing With The Shadows" - but the stereo master tape was lost. For example, it couldn't be found when "The Shadows' Greatest Hits" LP (from 1963) was eventually reissued in stereo in 1974!! As for how Tony Hoffman came to track down the missing stereo master tape for "FBI".....that is a story which only Tony himself could tell.

Rob

[GoldenStreet]

I would like to know more about the gentleman tracking down the stereo "FBI". Did he find the actual tape in the EMI vaults? YEARS ago I notified my friend, here in Rhode Island, who was a member of the Australian "Circle of Friends" (I believe that was the name) that I was sitting down one evening and playing an actual 33 1/3 rpm lp record just for the heck of it. For years I had been playing only cds. I happened to put on the record player the stereo copy of Atlantic records album "Surfing With The Shadows". I was listening through stereo headphones and was amazed when "FBI" came up in true stereo. For years I was hearing it in mono or mock stereo on cd compllations. I was thunder struck. I copied the stereo "FBI" on to a cassette and gave it to my friend who sent it on to the head of the Australian club. He mentioned me in his newslerrer as "an American fan" and not by name. After that I found a stereo "FBI" showing up on an Italian bootleg. As I say, that was years ago. Am looking forward to the expanded box set. Robert Kollar, Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA

I think Tony Hoffman is the gentleman! The track was first issued in the UK on the Intro Beat compilation, in 2008, on his Legacy Sounds label.

Bill

[iefje]

For my feature on The Shadows' instrumentation (to be found on the website of Malcolm Campbell), I made two matrices for the original version of "F.B.I.". Listening to the example on the Italian CD "Dakota - The Classic Collection" (dubbed from the American 1963 stereo album "Surfing With The Shadows") and the aforementioned compilation by Tony Hoffman, it seems there are differences in the stereo image. The issue on the USA LP has a wide-stereo image as compared to the issue on 2008 CD, which is more narrow. I wonder which stereo mix will be used on the new 6 CD box.

[Arpeggio]

The one taken from the master tape (viz: the one used on Tony's Legacy Sounds CD). Sound quality - wise it simply has to be preferable to anything dubbed from disc.

Rob

[UlrichS]

The one taken from the master tape (viz: the one used on Tony's Legacy Sounds CD). Sound quality - wise it simply has to be preferable to anything dubbed from disc.

Rob

But that master tape was used for the stereo US LP "Surfing With The Shadows"
Ulrich