Cliff's dream...

[GoldenStreet]

Why is this allowed to be called a 'new' album when there doesn't seem to be anything new on it?!

Just out of curiosity then, how would you describe 'Shades of Rock', 'String of Hits' and most of the Shadows albums from the 1980s...?

Revisitations!

Bill

[WILLYTHEWINO]

He also said that Brian B's ambition was to play Ronnie Scott's and that he (Cliff) would love to sit in and sing a few songs in that setting.

[Uncle Fiesta]

Why is this allowed to be called a 'new' album when there doesn't seem to be anything new on it?!

Just out of curiosity then, how would you describe 'Shades of Rock', 'String of Hits' and most of the Shadows albums from the 1980s...?

I can't tell you, I'm probably not allowed to use that sort of language on this site!

I'll be polite and call them 'covers' albums. As I've said before, I wouldn't cross the road to hear a band playing covers, and I'm certainly not going to buy an album full of them. I'll play the originals instead.

[drakula63]

I'd agree with you as far as MOST of their '80s output goes, but I love 'Shades of Rock' and 'String of Hits'. To be honest, they are two of the Shads albums that I play the most. Still, not everyone's cup of tea obviously.

[Moderne]

I think Shades of Rock is a great album...can't understand why some people don't like it. I love the arrangements and the playing on it. String of Hits on the other hand... I'll never forget the sinking feeling in my stomach when - aged 16 and desperately trying to convince my schoolfriends that the Shadows were a meaningful force in pop/rock music (!) - I read the tracklisting. It had been difficult enough when Argentina and Deerhunter were hit singles; no one was interested in my telling them "there are fantastic tracks on the B-sides". And when String of Hits went to No 1 in the LP charts, I knew that was how it would be from then on. And so (with the exception of Guardian Angel, which I found disappointing) it proved to be...

[Fenderman]

I feel Shades or Rock was a missed opportunity, as we know the Shads can play excellent rock and roll but this album seems to have been made when everyone was half asleep, some tracks are almost unlistenable.
Maybe it was the absence of Bruce but i read Hank only really made it after pressure from EMI for some Shadows product and didn't put much effort into it, although it does sound very different (especially the bass and drums). The live LP from the previous year is equally poor. The only tracks i liked were Something and What i'd say.
It's my least played album, i really did try to like it but it wasn't going to happen, i thought String of Hits was slightly better but would have preferred a bit less keyboards but it showed the way things were going to go.

[Monty]

for me 'Shades of Rock' is o.k. and I do play it a bit, I know it has a very different feel to the Shads normal sound but tracks like; 'Paperback Writer', 'Satisfaction', 'Get Back', 'Something', 'Memphis' are pretty good with a looser more experimental 'jamming' style to them

'Bony Moronie' I thought was pretty weak and I can see why some felt the album rather half hearted as it's not out and out Rock & Roll at all despite the title and 'fifties rocker' look of the cover

'String of Hits' I was VERY disappointed in at the time - to me they badly missed John Farrar here (ironic his one song - never written with The Shads in mind of course- was for me the weakest cover !)

but over the years I have warmed to it more - 'Parisienne Walkways' was great and should have been the single not 'Rodrigo' (which was o.k.)

'Bridge Over Troubled Water' sounded far more like a Hank Marvin solo track than The Shadows I felt and the use of keyboards began to drown out Bruce's guitar hence their very distinctive 'Shads group sound' began to alter - as denoted here - into something quite different, i.e. 'Hank with additional accompaniment'

I wasn't over impressed with most of the covers which leaned towards a more 'middle of the road' approach to pop songs, tho' 'Heart of Glass' and 'Classical Gas' I've grown to like, while 'Riders' was o.k. too even if disco wasn't their thing really

'Bright Eyes' and 'Baker Street' I've also grown to like more but at the time sounded very bland to me

'Song For Duke' - the one original - was good and maybe if 'Rusk' and 'Sweet Saturday Night' had been included, say in place of 'Bridge' and 'You're The One That I Want' to give a bit more much needed originality the album would have appealed to me alot more back then

tho' compared to what was to come on those Polydor covers albums with those awful Cliff Hall 'special arrangements' I'd say 'String of Hits' was a classic !!!

[Uncle Fiesta]

I only heard Shades Of Rock for the first time about a fortnight ago when I was searching You Tube for something to listen to while doing the ironing!

I though it was pretty awful I'm afraid. (Hate rock and roll anyway.)

For me its only saving grace were the touches of Mellotron on Paperback Writer and Something. I found myself wondering whether it was the same one the Beatles had originally used - they were in Abbey Road Studio 2 after all.

[Moderne]

You hate rock and roll...?!!!

[Uncle Fiesta]

You hate rock and roll...?!!!

Absolutely loathe it. This is called having an opinion. Allowed I hope?