Search - Shadows of Knight :: Dark Sides: The Best of the Shadows of Knight

Review by an insider...

Paul Scarpelli | Ivins, UT United States | 03/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From 1969 through 1972, Shadows singer Jim Sohns always introduced me as "Paul, the guy who sits behind me at work." Although uncredited, I'm the drummer on "I am the Hunter," the newest song (1970) on "Dark Sides."The Shadows were not only unappreciated, but scorned locally because we didn't have horns, we weren't "funky" and we didn't have a technical virtuoso as a singer. But after listening to this compilation, you'll agree this was a breakthrough band, far ahead of it's time. In retrospect, Jim Sohns vocals were brilliant in their simplicity, humor, and energy. Listen to Light Bulb Blues and I am the Hunter for classic Sohns, the king of garage-punk vocals...never taking himself seriously. I'll bet he's the same hamburger-and-fries-with-ketchup and musclecar punk today at age 57 that he was back then.I replaced Ken Turkin, who was the drummer when Woody Woodruff and John Fisher were in the band. Looking back, my hard punk-funk style may have pulled the band too much away from it's roots and into a harder, nastier, funk-psychedelic direction. "Hunter" is an indication of the band's direction in the '70s. The eventual hiring of ex-Edgar Winter bassist Jorge Gonzales and "Hawkeye" Daniels on guitar moved us into even more of an insane/acid/funk instrumental direction, with Jim Sohns screaming harder and harder, trying to fit. After thirty years, I can see we should have eschewed "creativity" and stayed with the formula of good blues-oriented rock 'n' roll with one of the greatest vocal stylists in the history of pop music. (Seriously, click on "Light Bulb Blues" and listen to a bit...)There are a few clinkers on this CD, but most of the songs by the first Shadows are clean and distinctive, sounding like no one else. The fact that a one-hit-wonder band with a 1966 hit record could have a "best-of" CD that would sell for ten years after it's release in 1994 is an indication that The Shadows of Knight have survived the test of time as one of the greatest garage bands ever."

Please shut the window!

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 07/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Shadows of Knight were a blues based garage rock band best known for their Top Ten hit cover of Them's "Gloria". They were never able to duplicate the success of "Gloria", although they made some good attempts. The only other real hit they had was a cover of Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah", which barely managed to crack the Top 40. This CD features most of their singles (a-sides and b-sides) and some notable album tracks. The first seven tracks are from their first album, and they are blues based rock songs at their best. After that, they decided to experiment a bit more on their second album, with somewhat mixed results. There are six songs from their second album, plus three non-LP singles from about the same time period. After that the group broke up, but singer Jim Sohns hired some new musicians to continue the group name. This new Shadows (actually Sohns and some studio musicians) almost had a hit with the bubblegum song "Shake". That was followed up by another fine bubblegum song, "My Fire Department Needs a Fireman", which was a total flop. The "new" Shadows recorded the group's third album, which was a strange mishmash of blues based garage rock and bubblegum. Significantly, only one song from that album is included here. The Shadows of Knight struggled on and recorded one final single, the early 70s hard rock style "I am the Hunter". It flopped, and the band was never heard from again. Let's get outta here! I'm done now!"

Great Chicago Punk Garage Compilation

J. E FELL | Carterville, Illinois United States | 12/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rhino's "Dark Sides: The Best Of The Shadows Of Knight" compilation provides 20 tracks of prime Chicago garage punk. The majority of the disk (except for the last 4 tracks) comes from their excellent tenure on Dunwich Records. These cuts contain the recordings from the original band memebers. The set contains their biggest hits like covers of Them's "Gloria", Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah", the Wheels "Bad Little Women" and "I'm Gonna Make You Mine". However, the set also contains cuts like "Light Bulb Blues", and "I'll Make You Sorry" among others which are just as good. The music is raw and aggressive with a little blues/rock influence shown in covers like Muddy Waters' "I Got My Mojo Working" and another Bo Diddley cover "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover." The set also contains some rare non-lp single sides. The last four tracks were cut after Jim Sohns reformed the band with all new members. Cuts like "I Am A Hunter" illustrate the heavier direction the band was taking. The weakest cut in my opinion is the non-lp side "Willie Jean" which is uncharacteristic of their other work. The set could have perhaps benefitted from a few more of their great covers like Muddy Waters' "I Just Want To Make Love To You", Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful" or the Leaves "Hey Joe". Suggestions aside this is an excellent introduction to the Chicago garage punk of Chicago's finest the Shadows Of Knight."