The Shadows
"The Shadows Are Go!"
(Scamp 9711)

The Shadows Are Go! is a 23 track collection by The Shadows, the band that arguably has influenced more of the world's top rock guitarists than any other.

Between the years 1960 and 1963 the Shadows reigned unchallenged as Britain's top group. By concentrating on instrumentals, The Shadows produced what would become one of the most distinctive and influential guitar sounds ever.

"The Shadows will always be a living myth to me - a legend - even though I can now prop up the bar with any one of them - talk music, family, religion. They are frozen in my mind as one of the greatest passions of my life, one I have not after over 30 years come close to outliving." --- Pete Townshend

In addition to Pete Townshend, you can add Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Richard Thompson, Bill Nelson, among many many others who acknowledge the influence of The Shadows. Even the Beatles recorded a homage to them, aptly called "Cry For A Shadow," during their Hamburg days, which can be heard on The Beatles Anthology #1.

Unlike the American surf band sound, The Shadows music brings to mind images of '60s wide screen Technicolor spaghetti westerns and spy flicks. The international success of "Apache" and many other Shadows' western-themed hits no doubt inspired Ennio Morricone's classic soundtracks for "A Fistful Of Dollars," "For A Few Dollars More," and "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly."

So why have The Shadows been ignored for so long in America (despite "Apache" being released the same time as The Ventures "Walk Don't Run" and one year prior to what many consider the first surf rock single - Dick Dale's "Let's Go Trippin'")? It's probably due to the fact that when surf / guitar instrumental rock hit big, there were already hundreds of American bands crowding the airwaves leaving no room for a British import.

Shadows Are Go!, featuring liner notes by musicologist Irwin Chusid, will hopefully bring to light the far too long neglected, seminal twang of The Shadows that sounds as fresh today as when these recordings were originally released.

Apache...Man Of Mystery...The Stranger...FBI - Midnight...The Frightened City...Kon Tiki...36-24-36...The Savage...Peace Pipe...Mustang...Wonderful Land...Guitar Tango...Dance On...Spring Is Nearly Here...Perfidia...Atlantis...Shotgun...Theme For Young Lovers...The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Blunt...Stingray...A Place In The Sun...Thunderbirds Theme


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