Search - Shangri-Las :: The Best Of The Shangri-Las

Leaders of the Pack

Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 01/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Though not racking up as many hits as the Shirelles or Supremes, the Shangri-Las rank up there with the most remarkable girl groups of the era. No other girl group of their time earned both the fame and notoriety for their pushing of the musical envelope. Going beyond the boy-infatuation or dance-craze dominant themes of girl group tunes of the mid-60s, the Shangri-Las presented the music buying public with sometimes remarkably sophisticated, sometimes marginally mainstream acceptable and often over-the-top musical melodrama. The dramatic lyrics were often accompanied by complicated and extravagant productions and topped off with the powerful readings given the songs by the girls themselves. No wonder the girl group sound was lurched forward, lost all its innocence and made way for many future artists that owe much to these tunes. This compilation brings together all 11 of the Shangri-Las Red Bird-label charting tunes along with b-sides, a few album cuts and a few Mercury singles. After the demise of Red Bird, the girls moved to Mercury (with no further success) and therefore this collection comes from Polygram. The down side here, and the reason for less than a five-star rating, is that the entire CD is in mono, and while some tracks are clean and crisp, some are muddy-sounding and these tunes exhibit none of the life found in the stereo versions that have since appeared on the Red Bird compilations from Taragon and Varese Vintage. Notwithstanding the less than stellar sound quality, for the best and most complete Shangri-Las collection, this is the one to go for. An absolute necessity for 60s pop music collectors."

What's A Girl Supposed To Do?

noisyspoon | Colorado, US of A | 01/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I became obsessed with 60's girl groups because of the Ronettes "Be My Baby." While looking for everything I could on the phenomenon, I came upon a short documentry on girl groups in the used bin of a local video store for .99 cents. $1.08 later, I was home and glued to the tube. The nararator began talking about Shadow Morton and his creation, "The Shangri-La's". The stills that flashed on the screen were of bad girls. Leather jackets, motorcycles, big hair, and bad boys. I was instantly hooked. Two days later, I owned this CD. The Shangri-La's fit every requirement of the day, songs about crushes, teen love, and broken hearts... but then took it further. This CD is, for the most part, quite dark. Boyfirends die in flaming carwrecks, mothers shun their daughters for teen pregnancy, and subtle hints about rape are all fodder for songs here. Luckily for us, it's ballanced nicely with more bubblegum fare like "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", and "Sophisticated Boom-Boom". Mary Weiss is one of the best singers of this era. This is an essential for anyone interested in music of this era. The Shangri-La's sound can also be heard echoed in much of the indie rock of today... like the Aislers Set, Clinic, and Le Tigre."

Fine anthology of stellar girlgroup

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 06/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Shangri-Las early-60s sides for Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird Records were among the very best girlgroup recordings ever made. In addition to their own bad-girl charms (epitomized by lead vocalist Mary Weiss), the group was the recipient of some of Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich's finest songs. Having worked with Phil Spector, their songs readily adapted themselves to producer Shadow Morton's own operatic grandeur. Morton also penned many fine sides for the Shangri-Las, including their towering hit, "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" and the tortured pair, "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" and "Past, Present and Future."Mercury's 25-track collection hits all of the classic highpoints, though it doesn't quite measure up on breadth of Red Bird sides to RPM's anthology, "Myrmidons of Melodrama." On the other hand, Mercury's collection includes four post-Red Bird singles (tracks 22-25), not on the RPM release. Though none of the latter-day tracks were commercial successes ("The Sweet Sounds of Summer" scrapped the bottom of the chart at #123), they're still quite good, and must-haves for Shangri-Las fans. (To complicate matters further, RPM has issued two different versions of "Myrmidons," with slightly different track lineups and mono/stereo sound!). This Mercury edition is a fine starter, and a definite follow-on purchase (despite the duplication of everything but the last four tracks) to any completist who starts with "Myrmidons.""