by captainhaddock » 26 Jan 2010, 20:08
Gosh, the only time that I can follow Warren Bennett, without being arrested !.
I am glad that he brought up the subject of "Specs Appeal", this album seems to have been sadly overlooked maybe due to the Eurovision songs being included. I actually believe that the "Songs For Europe" were great, particularly "Stand Up Like A Man" with its beautiful close harmony vocals and growling Guitar work. The non Euro tracks represent again, The Shadows as a Group that has matured. The Welch/Rostill composition "Rose Rose" is a beautiful track that was apparently recorded as a Vocal by Bruce Welch but has never seen the light of day . "Colorado Songbird " is another track that shows the benefit of having John Farrar on board with its mid section change of direction. Honourable Puff-Puff with another awesome drum solo from Brian Bennett and various effects show that the days of "Dear Old Mrs Bell" had long gone. The album closes with the exquisite "Like Strangers" a Welch/Bennett composition that is a perfect way to close any album.
I believe that this album was to have been released without the Euro-Songs, there were six instrumentals removed from its original track listing to make way for the Euro-Songs. In his book "A Pocket Guide To Shadow Music", Malcolm Campbell reports that the "Euro-Songs" helped to sell "Specs Appeal", pushing it to the top 30 of the album charts. Was this an omen for the marketing of the later Cover Version LP's when inovation would be dropped in favour of Sales ?