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That’s pretty good. Clearly evokes the records but uses the capacity of an orchestra to make something different. I see much more mileage in something like this where there is no need to involve the original performers or their pre-existing material. The musicians and arrangers are there - you’ve only to marvel at the house bands for “Strictly Come Dancing” or “The Voice.” All it needs is for the right people to want to do it well - and someone to make it happen.

Iain Purdon wrote:That’s pretty good. Clearly evokes the records but uses the capacity of an orchestra to make something different. I see much more mileage in something like this where there is no need to involve the original performers or their pre-existing material. The musicians and arrangers are there - you’ve only to marvel at the house bands for “Strictly Come Dancing” or “The Voice.” All it needs is for the right people to want to do it well - and someone to make it happen.

Yes I also admire the house bands in Strickly and the Voice ( I would rather watch them than the dancers!) and they would make good records. But no one knows them, so adding an orchestra to Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, even The Shadows etc. is using their name to sell the records.

russ wrote:Maybe perhaps a brand new purely Orchestral album without the original Shadows soundtracks?

I could see that, possibly, working, but it all depends on the arrangement - I still have nightmares about those awful 'Classic Rock' albums from the late 70s, where all the orchestra did was squeeze the life out of everything.

On balance, I just wish people would leave things alone!

(This is why I wouldn't cross the road to hear a band doing covers.)

Every time someone on this site plays a Shads number they’re doing a cover.

Some people can't stand covers, because the original is always that and most of the time 'better' ....
This regards most of the time music post WWII....R&R etc.

Funny enough you never hear this in the world of old world classical music, because every performance is almost always a cover...
The composer is dead , the first preforming original artist is dead(sometimes the same person)...nobody cares when other artists play the old music in the last 100 years.
When Khachaturian or Horowitz played in the days, people travelled the world over to hear....covers of old composers, apart from the original compositions they wrote themself.
But low and behold when somebody plays nowadays a R&R song/tune 50 years later, the world isn't big enough and you have to hide under the nearest stone...
A cover shame you!!!

Just my 2p

Cheers Rob

It could be said that its the cover/tribute bands that keeps the music going.

Does it matter if anything is a cover, as long as it’s well done? Just to remind everyone Apache, Quatermassters, Man of Mystery, possibly Frighthened City were all covers, not forgetting some of the album tracks down the years, think only the MWF albums were only 100% original.
On the other comment about Classic Rock, perhaps you were thinking of “Hooked on Classics?” Interesting connection there as Louis Clark of ELO fame was behind those albums and also “The Shadows Medley” from Instrumental Classics by the BBC Concert Orchestra

russ wrote:Does it matter if anything is a cover, as long as it’s well done? Just to remind everyone Apache, Quatermassters, Man of Mystery, possibly Frighthened City were all covers, not forgetting some of the album tracks down the years, think only the MWF albums were only 100% original.

neil2726 wrote:It could be said that its the cover/tribute bands that keeps the music going.

My point exactly!

Some peoples minds need a to get over it somehow, because when we follow their opinions about covers....we have to stop enjoy the tunes(live) because the originals can only be preformed by the original artists/composers.
Listen to the original recording on single/LP/Cassette/CD is ok... but (re-)recording by others isn't ok apparently.
If we had follow this...the world would be boring.
3 Feb 1959 would kinda be really the day music died.
30 Jan 1969 after that only the original recordings are "allowed" to listen
16 Aug 1977 " " "
8 Dec 1980 after this date, never a live version of Imagine is allowed...

Don't forget we all have to stop with our hobby because we all playing covers for the most part...

Just my

Cheers Rob

russ wrote:Does it matter if anything is a cover, as long as it’s well done? Just to remind everyone Apache, Quatermassters, Man of Mystery, possibly Frighthened City were all covers, not forgetting some of the album tracks down the years, think only the MWF albums were only 100% original.
On the other comment about Classic Rock, perhaps you were thinking of “Hooked on Classics?” Interesting connection there as Louis Clark of ELO fame was behind those albums and also “The Shadows Medley” from Instrumental Classics by the BBC Concert Orchestra

It depends on how define a cover. "Apache" wasn't written by group members, but I think you can call The Shadows' version the original version. Bert Weedon recorded it first, but released it later. Likewise, some tracks on the albums "The Sound Of The Shadows", "Shadow Music", "Jigsaw", "From Hank, Bruce, Brian And John", "Specs Appeal", "Life In The Jungle", "XXV", "Guardian Angel", Simply...Shadows" and "Steppin' To The Shadows" were written for the group, so I think can be called Shadows originals.
But back on topic, an orchestral interpretation of The Shadows' music would be quite interesting. I kinda liked Norrie Paramor's album "Shadows In Latin" and Cliff Hall's album "Shadows In Ivory".

What is a cover anyway?

The first time I heard Apache it was played on TV by Bert Weedon. On the strength of that I asked my Dad if he would buy me the record. He came home with the Shadows’ version, which was not what I’d asked for. Who covered what? Doesn’t matter really, it’s the performance that counts.

I see mention of “Hooked on Classics” in this thread. I was told all about the recording by the guy who’d been booked to play bass guitar on the session. I expect most of you know who it was!