I (or somebody else) may have posted this video before, but I can't find it right now. It's got Cliff assuming Hank's role and playing lead on Apache on British TV! My guess is it's from the late 1960 or early 1961. Cliff used to be on TV a lot at that time, with the Shadows backing him. I especially love the ending, with Hank showing up and looking a bit put out! Funny stuff. It also demonstrates that the tone is mostly in the player - Cliff is playing through Hank's own gear, and yet doesn't really sound a whole lot like Hank!

Having said that, it's interesting to see that Cliff was a fairly decent guitarist himself. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's obviously no Hank! (You can hear little fluffs all over the place, and his phrasing leaves a lot to be desired.) But still, he pulled off Apache! It actually supports one of my pet theories, which I've shared with the folks on the Shadow Music forum, and was greeted with much skepticism. I shared it with Bruce Welch himself in '01 and got the same reception from him. Bruce and Hank often stated that their first experiments with overdubbing didn't come until "Foot Tapper" in '62 - therefore all the earlier tracks were recorded live with just the four of them. but if you listen VERY closely you can hear a third guitar part, always rhythm, sometimes electric sometimes acoustic, on multiple earlier songs - "FBI", "Sleepwalk", "Shotgun", "Big Boy", maybe a few more that aren't coming to mind right now. I mentioned this to Bruce in '01, and he said he'd listen for it. When I saw him again in '03, I asked him about it, and he admitted that he COULD hear the third guitar part on all of those songs! (Wow, he actually remembered and did what he promised. What a guy!) When I asked him how he explains it, he simply said he didn't know! My theory (which Bruce dismissed, but admitted he just couldn't be sure) : Cliff played the third guitar part on those tracks. It's well-documented that Cliff played the Indian tom drum at the beginning of "Apache", and most of the Shadows tracks were recorded at the same time as they were recording stuff for Cliff's albums, so he was clearly around and willing to make himself useful. And here's the piece-de-resistance - check out this photo from Abbey Road studios, again circa late '60 or early '61:

It shows the Shadows recording, with their producer Norrie Paramor listening intently - and Cliff on an acoustic guitar, with a big ole' mic in front of that acoustic guitar! I mentioned this photo to Bruce, and he also had no explanation for it. I personally think this is the smoking gun, but alas, I haven't been able to persuade many Shadows fans of it! Oh well. I still stick by it!

Anyway, really 'anorak' kinda stuff! Really, who cares! But I enjoy it. I hope some of you do, too. And enjoy the video, I think it's a lot of fun!

Ivan
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I don't recall seeing the video before, but that photo does look familiar.

Never the less, VERY fascinating story. Nay, truth-bomb!

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

That is a great clip! Cliff plays pretty well. I think his mistakes make you realize it's not Hank, more than the tone, at least in this clip.

One of my favorite things to do with The Shadows songs is pan hard right , or hard left. Listen to Hank play, with almost no backing, or listen to Bruce and the rest play, with no backing. It's pretty obvious (at least to me) that almost anyone could sound "good" playing lead with the the rhythm section of the Shadows. And that's not a shot at Hank Marvin at all. The rest of the band is SO tight that he can take all sorts of risks with phrasing and such. That's what make the shadows The Shadows.

So, back to this clip. If I played it like Cliff does, it would sound horrible. But since he's playing with the rest of The Shadows, he gets away with it.

I'll have to listen to some of the others with more of a discerning ear to see if I can hear the mystery 3rd guitar. I've probably heard it, but didn't realize they didn't multi-track, or at least didn't give it much thought.

"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"

Last edited: Dec 23, 2015 17:51:11

Surfersaurus wrote:

Seems that the only person who is still around and who was there, apart from Hank & Bruce, is Cliff. Maybe we need to ask him?

Martin, I can't say I have the privilege of being quite that close to Cliff , but if you are, by all means, do it!

And Chris, I agree about how amazing Jet and Tony were, absolutely no question! Those primitive stereo mixes do allow us to really focus in on an instrument or two which can be very instructive. And my God, how beautiful are the recorded sounds on those early recordings?? Abbey Road + some truly gifted players = sheer magic.

Ivan
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Interesting stuff.

And Jet Harris sat on a stool is cooler than many other musicians in full rockin flow!

Ivan, I, like you, have always assumed that Cliff played more than just the drum on "Apache." I'd seen that video years ago and thought it was a gas. Cliff was no Hank for sure, but he did own the guitar Hank played, so I think that gave him a little "leverage" in many ways. I'd also seen the photo with the 3rd guitar, but didn't know it was Cliff as I was never really a fan of his. Maybe when Cliff wasn't messin' around with Jet's wife, he was at the studio...

Matt "tha Kat" Lentz
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