The Shadows in the Eighties...

[Monty]

I think you are quite correct Fenderman - sadly The Shads had got themselves the 'covers band' tag by doing first 'String of Hits'...then later 'Hits Right Up Your Street' (plus EMI's compiled 'Another String of...' which was very good older covers) thus by the time of 'Simply Shadows' & 'Moonlight Shadows' the wider public expected JUST covers....

But,creatively, it must have got so boring for them...

we ALL know The Shadows were capable of doing so much MORE than just routine covers of run of the mill 80's hits by artists who often were nowhere near the same league as The Shads !

[David Martin]

Good analysis... I'm with Monty!

[MikeAB]

Sacrilege - but how do we know they were capable of much more? Hank's late starting solo career very quickly went exactly the same way as the Shads - eg plays Lloyd Webber and Cliff. Now as good as his jazz is, it can't even seem to get a CD issue. Not many originals from him either.

[Monty]

Well in musical terms their 80's originals on the 'Shadstrax' CD do rather indicate they WERE capable of MUCH more don't they...?

Let alone their earlier recordings over three decades...

[Fenderman]

I think you are quite correct Fenderman - sadly The Shads had got themselves the 'covers band' tag by doing first 'String of Hits'...then later 'Hits Right Up Your Street' (plus EMI's compiled 'Another String of...' which was very good older covers) thus by the time of 'Simply Shadows' & 'Moonlight Shadows' the wider public expected JUST covers....

But,creatively, it must have got so boring for them...

we ALL know The Shadows were capable of doing so much MORE than just routine covers of run of the mill 80's hits by artists who often were nowhere near the same league as The Shads !

Hank did state in the mid 90's that by the time of 'Moonlight' and 'Simply' that he was beginning to find the Shadows format creatively restrictive, which was strange because by that time he was doing whole albums of covers such as the Hank Plays... series. His first 2 (90's) solo albums had a smattering of very fine originals, then i guess Polygram/Polydor wanted more covers to fit with their TV advertising strategy.

[howarddobson]

Hello all

Interesting to read these posts.

I think it depends on your vantage point.

Born in 71 I first properly came across the Shads in the Cavatina era, and noticed they were regularly doing well in the album charts even though I wasn't a fan at that stage and didn't know that much of their discography.

Then I interviewed Hank for a newspaper in 95 and became more interested in their output. He was probably the most interesting person I've interviewed.

When I did become a proper fan in the 2000s (collecting music became easier with the internet) I first of all bought The EMI singles As and Bs, and The Singles Collection 80s and 90s. I really loved both and was surprised there had been so many singles in the 80s and 90s from the Shads/Hank. I also bought Moonlight Shadows and really loved that too, and then started picking up many other albums. I probably have half of them now and lots of Hank's too.

But for me, starting to buy long after they'd finished making records, I didn't have the same loathing of 80s music and synths that some have, and I equally didn't have an affinity with 60s music. To me the Shads were great throughout every era and made great albums that continued to make the most of the melodies and rhythms they took on board.

I think it all depends on where you're coming from - a bit like choosing your favourite Doctor Who!

I also love At Their Very Best and Reunited with Cliff. It gave them a chance to rework the songs a little given they'd been trying out new bits and pieces live for years.

I'm my view they'd always been a band that put out albums with a couple of self-penned numbers, songs by other people, covers of songs people knew. But the contents changed as time went by particularly with the 80s being a very short-sighted decade - people laughed at 70s music and fashions for example only for them to become popular again in the 90s. It's not surprising the Shads put their stamp on 80s favourites!

I know this is quick approximately thinking but hopefully it adds some balance - as there is another way of looking at it that I think gives more credit to the 80s output, which gave the Shads some high chart positions and a chance to express themselves in a way appropriate to the times.

Howard

[Poco]

As far as I'm concerned,from "Flingle Bunt"onwards,The Shadows were on a long slippery slope of banal mediocrity. They never did manage to get off that slope! As for their attempts at singing,the less said about that, the better.

[Monty]

their terrific cover of 'Queen of Hearts' (played in a more 'traditional' Shadows Lead guitar, backup guitars, bass, & drums style) proved they COULD still sound as fresh, clear, and exhilarating as ever...

[Fenderman]

As far as I'm concerned,from "Flingle Bunt"onwards,The Shadows were on a long slippery slope of banal mediocrity. They never did manage to get off that slope! As for their attempts at singing,the less said about that, the better.

I totally disagree with you on the point about their singing, tracks such as 'Stay around' 'Don't make my baby blue' and 'My Way' are superb vocals which was as good as anything else released at the time.
Also, i don't think they were ever on a 'slippery slope' after Flingle Bunt, are you actually a fan or just trolling?

[JimN]

As far as I'm concerned,from "Flingle Bunt"onwards,The Shadows were on a long slippery slope of banal mediocrity. They never did manage to get off that slope! As for their attempts at singing,the less said about that, the better.

I totally disagree with you on the point about their singing, tracks such as 'Stay around' 'Don't make my baby blue' and 'My Way' are superb vocals which was as good as anything else released at the time. Also, i don't think they were ever on a 'slippery slope' after Flingle Bunt, are you actually a fan or just trolling?

When The Shadows disbanded in 1968, Hank gave a musical press interview in which he said that he had felt for some time that the group had ended up in a "musical vacuum" and that he was glad to have the chance - as a solo artist - to get out of that situation.

Believe it or not, that chimed with the opinion of some fans at the time, certainly including this one.

That The Shads' recorded music output had changed almost beyond recognition was beyond doubt. The point at which one attributes the start of the change is largely a matter of opinion. Some insist to this day that the downward spiral started - even if gently at first - with Guitar Tango (some even say Wonderful Land).