Tonni Iommi also did "wonderful land"
on the Twang cd.
tribute to the Shadows by classic rock and Metal guitar players.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

In the spirit or this week's zombie-fying of dead threads....

From the new Tony Iommi autobiography "Iorn Man" (just out on Tuesday):

"That's where my love of music originated, sitting in my room and listening to great instrumental bands like the Shadows on my little radio. It made me want to play the guitar as well. I really loved that sound, it was instrumental stuff and I knew: this is what I want to do.
....
So there I was with my little kit [Watkins Rapier guitar and Watkins Westminster amp], playing away in my room. I'd listen to the Top 20 and wait for the Shadows to come on to tape them with the microphone on this old reel to reel, so I could try to learn their songs. Later I'd get the album and learn the songs from playing that over and over. I've always liked going back to the Shadows, as I like melodies and tunes. And I've always tried to make my playing melodic, as music is all about melody. Me trying to do that came from those very early days. That stayed with me: it has always been part of my songwriting.

I liked the Beatles, but the Shadows and Cliff Richard were more based on rock'n'roll stuff than the Beatles, so they were more my thing. Of course I liked Elvis, but not as much as Cliff and the Shadows. They were it for me."

All of his early bands were doing a lot of Shadows covers, too, and his only guitar for years until shortly before recording the first Sabbath album was a Strat (the only reason he used his newly acquired backup SG for that album was that a pickup in his Strat died at the beginning of the recording session.)

So, Cliff Richard and the Shadows - Godfathers of Heavy Metal???? It seems they've got a much better case than Dick Dale!!

Here's Sabbath in '89 (with Cozy Powell on drums) performing Apache in Russia. The sound is typically late '80s - in other words, complete crap. you can see Cozy playing the signature ride part of that song, but none of it is coming through, making the whole thing sound pretty plodding. But still, pretty cool...

Ivan
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Thanks for digging this one back up, Ivan! T'was before my time here, so "new" to me.

N I C E !!!

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

Here's a nice edition to the list of British guitarists influenced by the Shads - Bill Nelson, formerly of Be Bop Deluxe. He's got a great quote in the January issue of the Classic Rock magazine:

"I saw the Shadows play at the Playhouse cinema in Wakefield while I was still at school. A life-changing experience at the time. Impossible to convey just how electrifying that concert was - the first time I'd experienced an electric guitar in a live situation. Nowadays electric guitars are everywhere, but back then, to see three Fiesta Red guitars played by guys in matching midnight blue mohair suits, and playing tunes such as Apache and Man of Mystery, was akin to a religious experience. I started out liking Duane Eddy, the Shadows, the Ventures, all the twangy groups. Then I heard Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins. I didn't discover the blues until the British version arrived with Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck."

Nice...

Ivan
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Billy,
if that's true, that's fucked up!!!
Bill is a great drummer, and part of the reason that Sabbath swinged while being heavy. I say they should sack up and pay the man a even share.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Yep!

IvanP wrote:

Here's a nice edition to the list of British guitarists influenced by the Shads - Bill Nelson, formerly of Be Bop Deluxe. He's got a great quote in the January issue of the Classic Rock magazine:

"I saw the Shadows play at the Playhouse cinema in Wakefield while I was still at school. A life-changing experience at the time. Impossible to convey just how electrifying that concert was - the first time I'd experienced an electric guitar in a live situation. Nowadays electric guitars are everywhere, but back then, to see three Fiesta Red guitars played by guys in matching midnight blue mohair suits, and playing tunes such as Apache and Man of Mystery, was akin to a religious experience. I started out liking Duane Eddy, the Shadows, the Ventures, all the twangy groups. Then I heard Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins. I didn't discover the blues until the British version arrived with Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck."

Nice...

Gee willikers Ivan.... Bill Nelson??? He made Modern Music on my radio. A tragically unsung guitar hero.

Thanks for the history lesson!

Wait, what... am I smarter now???

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

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