The Shadows Greatest Hits (2004 remasters)

I think I have mentioned before that I grew up in a musically starved household. My favourite albums amongst the meagre collection where Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture and the Shadows greatest hits. The Shadows greatest hits was originally released in 1963 and re-issued in stereo in 1974, I think dad’s copy may have been the re-issue because he told me that when I was a baby he had walked into a chip shop with the record under his arm and it warped in the heat. I would spend my time listening to this album mesmerized by the motion of the stylus undulating up and down on the wobbliest record in history.

A few days ago, while trawling youtube in a silly competition to find the best or unusual rock/metal covers of unlikely songs I stumbled across the shadows again. I say that like I had forgotten them but that’s not quite true, I had several mp3 tracks on my computer, but after several hours of listening to dodgy live recordings and the odd TV appearance I decided that my CD collection was incomplete.
A quick search of Amazon and the HMV website showed that there where dozens of releases. Too many compilations to choose from all with slightly varying track listings, I was then struck by a sudden recognition, there it was, the same cover that dad had, I had to have it, and now I have.

So here I sit, drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate, not very rock and roll I know but hey, we’re all getting older. I just keep thinking back in ‘92/’93 I would have put this album to a completely different activity. The CD doesn’t warble or produce its own visuals but satisfying none the less.

Wolfsbane - Massive noise injection

We are finally entering one of my favourite seasons, I love the autumn, for some reason it makes me feel that little bit more alive. My other favourite seasons are winter, summer and spring.

Wolfsbane are I think one terribly overlooked band, relegated to a footnote in Iron Maidens history. There was an interview I saw with a band featuring at this years download festival (I don’t remember who) who were talking about iron maiden and said something along the lines of “I love everything about maiden except when they had that terrible wolfsbane guy in it”(from memory, probably not correct but that’s the gist of it). Well bollocks to them I say.

I not one for live albums as a rule but Massive noise injection is good, not because of any spectacular musicianship or nostalgic “I was there “ness (I wasn’t) but the dialogue from blaze bailey just makes me laugh, a lot. Recorded at the Marquee in February 1993 it (according to people in the know) captures their live energy extremely well.
I really wish I had seen these chaps when I had the chance, having been in the Marquee it is so get a sense of the atmosphere there must have been at this gig.

Massive noise injection as a cycling album does not do much I am afraid but then live albums rarely work for this 3/10
Reading while listening to this is also on a loser, you just cannot concentrate on a book and listen to it at the same time, it’s to distracting 2/10
Now cooking or general pottering about is another matter, while the album starts off as just background noise you are soon drawn in and it always makes you chuckle(well it works for me) 8/10

4.3333/10 ok so its not the highest scoring multi use album in the world bit I still enjoy it and I think its well worth a listen

long live Wolfsbane