The+shadows

The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) are an English instrumental rock group.

Both as ‘solo’ Artists/Bands and collaboratively, Cliff Richard and The Shadows have amassed more than 100 charting singles between them, as well as album sales upwards of ¼ Billion.

The wildest of the Shadows' early albums, Dance With may not possess the most inspiring track listing on earth (how many great albums can you think of which open with "Chattanooga Choo Choo"?), but overcome those qualms and Dance With draws you in from, indeed, that opening number. There are a couple of low-key pieces – a sensitive take on "Tonight," from West Side Story, offers nothing more than some tasteful playing to an already overwrought song. "In The Mood," too, is a touch corny – by 1964, the Shadows' sound was so firmly entrenched that they could have rehearsed this one in their sleep. But "That's the Way It Goes," a self-composed variation on Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy," is primal British beat, while Bruce Bennett's "Big B" is convoluted melody over tricky rhythms and percussion, and every bit as masterful as predecessor Tony Meehan's percussion showcase on the band's first LP. The movie theme "The High and the Mighty" is suitably stirring, and "Don't It Make You Feel Good" could have slipped effortlessly onto any of the Beatles' early albums. Cut at a time – the early days of Beatlemania – when the Shadows were going to be requiring every last ounce of ingenuity to survive, Dance With the Shadows does more than simply acquit itself. It reminds the listener how the band had already spent so long (six years) at the top; and confirms that it was going to take more than bunch of long-haired moptops to displace them. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide

Specs Appeal: What a great title! To two generations of fans, the Shadows' most instantly familiar trademark was Hank Marvin's spectacles – long before Elton John elevated eye glasses to the height of sartorial chic, there was Hank, playing away and smiling behind a gentle pair of horn rims. So, when the band re-formed in 1975, relaunching their career on the back of their Eurovision entry "Let Me Be the One," what better device could there have been to remind us all who they were?

"Shades of Rock" is the 8th rock album by British instrumental (and sometimes vocal) group The Shadows, released in 1970 through Columbia (EMI).