The Shadows - Greatest Hits (1963) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

A straightforward summary of the Shadows' first three years of habitual hit-making, opening with the pounding flurry of "Apache," then tracing through the next eight smash singles, with a handful of attendant B-sides (and one EP cut, the title track from The Boys) to round the package out. There is no denying the sheer brilliance of this early sequence. Hits like "Wonderful Land," "FBI," and "Man of Mystery" utterly rewrote the guitar's role in rock, not only musically, but culturally as well. Unquestionably, the Shadows' importance and impact diminished as the years passed, but at the outset of their career – the period documented here – they were untouchable. It is for that reason that The Shadows' Greatest Hits is still regarded in some quarters as the finest Shadows album of them all, an accolade which no other compilation (and goodness knows, there's been enough of them) has ever been able to dismiss. Even the sleeve screams "masterpiece." Dave Thompson, AllMusic

Track listing:

A1. Apache
A2. Man of Mystery
A3. The Stranger
A4. F.B.I.
A5. Midnight
A6. The Frightened City
A7. Kon-Tiki

B1. 36-24-36
B2. The Savage
B3. Peace Pipe
B4. Wonderful Land
B5. Stars Fell On Stockton
B6. Guitar Tango
B7. The Boys
B8. Dance On

Personnel:

Hank Marvin – Lead Guitar
Bruce Welch – Rhythm Guitar
Jet Harris – Bass Guitar
Tony Meehan – Drums
Brian Bennett – Drums on B5, B6, B7 & B8
Brian ‘Licorice’ Locking – Bass Guitar on B6, B7 & B8
Recorded at Abbey Road, Studio 2, London
Engineer Malcolm Addey
Produced by Norrie Paramor