Shocking Blue

Обсуждение еще одной великой группы...

Мне всегда нравилась группа Shocking Blue. Но, к стыду своему, я почти ничего про нее не знаю. Знаю лишь, что в 1973 году песня Venus якобы три недели возглавляла американский хит-парад, и что это группа из Нидерландов (согласитесь, это уже феноменально). Мне очень было бы интересно узнать побольше о Shocking Blue: состав, историю (хотя бы вкратце), дискографию, лучшие, на взгляд участников форума, альбомы, судьбу коллектива, оставившего несомненно яркий след в истории рок-музыки, и, конечно, отношение к Shocking Blue любителей музыки.

Искренне Ваш Alice Cooper.

Маришка щас такая плотная домашнего вида дама - так ее описал Артемий Троицкий

Alice Cooper:
Я вам искренне завидую - знакомство с ними у вас еще впереди... все равно, что впервые прочитать "Трех мушкетеров".

AlexV:
... к тому же владелица ресторана в Амстердаме... на что Андрей Макаревич на него отвязался - мол, Тема, кто тебя за язык тянул, ты только что разрушил секс-символ нашей молодости!...

ой - не хотел никого обидеть еще одним упоминанием о том какая она стала. да и сейчас все секс символы сместились у людей всех поколений - наверное о том что Наталья Орейро величайший секс символ современности никто не поспорит :) я вот ничего не имею против - на рабочем столе висит :)
(пишу и покатываюсь со смеху)

AlexV: (осторожно оглядываясь, шепотом) а кто это - Наталья Орейро?..

самая звестная роль - это в сериале Дикий Ангел - толи аргентинский толи типа того - на этой мордашке и держался - она там то служанку в доме изображает то светскую даму то просто в джинсах с мальчишками в футбол гоняет - многие на нее запали.

Alice Cooper: есть сильная опасность, что предмет будет переоценен, все же это в чистом виде продукт 60-х. В двух словах - самая знаменитая голландская поп-группа конца 60-х, интерес представляют первые два альбома (At Home и Scorpio's Dance, оба - 1969), последующие их просто бледно клонировали. Песня Venus в 69-м была всемирным мега-хитом. Инструментарий классический - бас, гитара (Робби ван Лейвен, очень крепкий гитарист и автор большинства песен) и ударные. Не очень мощный, но завораживающий женский вокал с пронзительными интонациями. Одна из лучших поп-групп в истории. Для подробного знакомства, однако, вполне хватит нормально составленного сборника треков на 15-20. Подробная информация - http://members.aol.com/uheep2/shocking.htm

Сейчас они меня совсем не заводят по музыке,только в порядке ностальгии.А на рубеже 60/70-х это был главный мейнстрим (сорри за тавтологию)в студенческой среде наряду с Криденсами.Альбомов у них было около трёх,а в основном сборники в разных комбинациях.Лично владел неделю альбомом Scorpio's Dance ,любовался Маришкой.Честно говоря,были в то время группы в Голландии и получше,Фокус к примеру,но ни у кого не было Маришки:-)

Gene, ну а как хоть солистку-то зовут? Одного красавца из группы ты назвал, ну, а двое остальных? Заранее благодарен.

Mariska Veres. Вроде, цыганских кровей

Group Members : Cornelius VanDer Beek , Kassje VanDer Wal , Robby VanLeeuwen , Mariska Veres

Наполовину венгерская цыганка кажется

А может не цыганка, а с Суринама, как Рууд Гуллит и Франк Райкаард?

Да, кстати, я тут взял послушать CD содержащий альбомы At Home и Scorpio's Dance. Супер!!! А вообще, впервые я услышал эту группу в середине 90-х, на ташкентском виниле, который назывался не то Best Of Shocking Blue, не то Greatest Hits, с темно-голубой обложкой. Мне прекрасно известно, что узбеки писали тогда свой винил с оригинальных CD, при этом выкидывая некоторые песни, а оставшиеся трэки писали не в оригинальном порядке. Но оригинальной компашки я никогда не видел, хотелось бы знать есть ли она. Но как бы там ни было - Alaska Country!!!!!! Yes!!!

Мр. Купер! В бывшем совке настругали столько "левых" изданий, что обсуждать это бессмысленно. Альбом, о котором идет речь, насколько помнится, содержал неплохую подборку. Но если уже есть At Home и Scorpio's Dance, то считай, 95 % лучшего материала SB ты охватил.

Ну, не знаю, все-таки третий альбом - обязателен. Да и на синглах много дельного вышло.

Серг ЦветкOFF (Ph.D.): как раз оставшиеся 5 %

25% я бы сказал 75% - At home и Scorpio...

Although glibly labelled by many as one-hit wonders - albeit international ones, due to the US chart-topping success of 'Venus' - Shocking Blue have recently had their music rediscovered and reassessed by critics and public alike.

Though the band reached the peak of their commercial success at the start of the Seventies, their origins lay further back in the diverse, exciting and woefully ignored Dutch scene of the mid-Sixties.

The Dutch beat boom started when Johnny Kendall and the Heralds' version of 'St James' Infirmary' charted in late 1964. Prior to that, most of the home- grown acts to find success had either been wholesome teen stars or guitar instrumental acts in the style of the Shadows.

Many of the leading lights of the beat boom got their start in these guitar groups. In several instances, the groups themselves evolved and changed styles: ZZ and the Maskers dropped the leader's name for several singles and backed Chubby Checker when he was based in the country (after marrying the Netherlands' representative in a Miss World contest!)

While major cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam all had bands of note, the Hague was undoubtedly the Netherlands' musical hotbed. Almost everything was covered, from cultural outlaws such as Q65, through beat groupssuch as The Hunters (Focus star Jan Akkerman's first major act) through many pop acts the Sandy Coast and Golden Earring (who at this time could be compared with the Hollies). But one band alone captured the style and energy of British Mod acts like the Small Faces and the Action: that was the Motions.

Robbie van Leeuwen, guitarist, songwriter and effectively leader of Shocking Blue, had previously held a similar position in the Motions in their early hit making phase. Those hits included 'It's Gone', 'Wasted Words' (a paean to Dr. Martin Luther King), 'Every Step I Take' and 'Everything That's Mine' the latter one of the finest slices of Mod/Art Pop produced anywhere in the world.

The Shocking Blue story effectively started when Van Leeuwen left the Motions in 1967 due to conflicts with lead singer Rudy Bennett. He recruited members from other Hague bands for his new group: the line-up for the first Shocking Blue singles, up to and including the first hit, 'Lucy Brown Is Back In Town', was Van Leeuwen (guitar), Fred de Wilde (vocals), Klaasje van de Waal (bass) and Cor van Beek (drums). The single charted well, things were about to change.

About the same time as Lucy Brown's release, fellow Hague band Golden Earring had hit the jackpot with the pure bubblegum of 'Dong Dong Di Ki Di Gi Dong'. A band was hired to play at the party they held to celebrate their first Number 1; named the Bumble Bees, they were fronted by a strong and striking female vocalist. Shocking Blue's manager and publisher both attended the party, and both felt certain this singer would be ideal for their band. The woman in question was Mariska Veres.

The new line-ups' first single, 'Send Me A Postcard', was a runaway success in the Netherlands, while the follow-up 'Long Lonesome Road', also made the domestic Top 20. But it was the third single with Veres that would seal the band's fate. 'Venus' made Number 3 in Holland, but significantly topped the charts in several countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

The record came to the attention of a newly formed American record label, Colossus. The label's head Jerry Ross signed Shocking Blue for the States and was rewarded when 'Venus' hit the top there in February 1970. Ross also signed two other Dutch acts, the Tee Set (formed by former After Tea singer Peter Tetteroo) and the George Baker Selection: the Tee Set's 'Ma Belle Amie' also rose high in the US charts to Number 5, while Baker's biggest hit for Colossus, 'Little Green Bag', was later used on the soundtrack of the 90s film "Reservoir Dogs".

Shocking Blue's follow-up to 'Venus', 'Mighty Joe', made Number 1 in Holland and charted almost everywhere its predecessor had. But the international success 'Venus' had appeared to herald failed to materialise. Although the band was still releasing excellent and often innovative singles and still charting in Europe, Van Leeuwen was dissatisfied and increasingly frustrated by the limits of Shocking Blue's chart success. When mainland European bands once again returned in vogue on the back of ABBA's Eurovision victory, the band failed to capitalise and eventually split.

Mariska Veres continued as a solo singer, Van Leeuwen producing her on songs like 'Too Young' and 'Loving You' (both included as bonus tracks on this compilation), he also enjoyed local success in the mid-Seventies with a group, Galaxy Lin.

But Shocking Blue returned to the fray, albeit for one night only, in 1984 at a Back to the Sixties festival in Den Bosch along with the surviving members of Q65, the Shoes and members of other Hague groups. It proved to be a night to remember: Van Leeuwen still had style, and Veres still had one of the greatest female rock voices: the band's interpretations of Jefferson Airplane's 'Somebody To Love' and 'White Rabbit' were just as strong as their own songs.

The continuing interest in Sixties music, along with the realisation that bands whose mother tongue is not English are as musically valid as British, American and Antipodean acts, has led to an increasing appreciation of Shocking Blue's music. Their songs receive radio and club play, while bands have also covered the songs: the most significant re-recording came from grunge supergroup Nirvana, whose debut release on the Sub Pop label was a version of 'Love Buzz' that's rather different to the one you hear here. 'Venus', meanwhile, has proved to have a life of its own. It's been used in television advertisements, while Bananarama's version equalled the original chart position in the US in 1986.

Photos of the band indicate that Shocking Blue seems to trade on Veres' striking, essentially female appearance. Yet it fails to smack of exploitation simply because of the sheer power of the woman. Much has been made of her ancestry - part-German, part-Hungarian Gypsy, and the resulting dark, sultry features. Here was a woman in control. Her voice had and still has a strength and quality that puts her on a par with other powerful female contemporaries like Julie Driscoll and Grace Slick. Maybe the time has come to acknowledge this fact as we enjoy a collection of Shocking Blue classics.

Lynne Aldridge
Taken from the liner notes of the 1994 CD, "Best of Shocking Blue", Connoisseur label.

1. Beat With Us - Karussell 1968 (70)
Rating : 4
2. At Home - Pink Elephant 1969
Rating : 6
3. Scorpio's Dance - Pink Elephant 1970
Rating : 5
4. Third Album - Metronome 1971
Rating : 6
5. Inkpot - Polydor 1971
Rating : 6
6. Attila - Pink Elephant 1972
Rating : 6
7. Dream On Dreamer - Polydor 1973
Rating : 7
8. Good Times - Pink Elephant 1974
Rating : 6

http://www.angelfire.com/nv/Badfinger/BANDshockingblue.html

All the albums except "Beat With Us" and "Live in Japan" were released on CD's. "Eve & The Apple" and "Ham" were not released on CD's, but these albums are almost the same as "Atilla" and "Dream On Dreamer" correspondingly.

Singles

1967 Love Is In The Air/What You Gonna Do, Polydor
1968 Lucy Brown Is Back In Town/Fix Your Hair Darling, Pink Elephant
1969 Venus/Hot Sand, Pink Elephant
1969 Mighty Joe/Wild Wind, Metronome
1969 Send Me a Postcard/Harley Davidson, Metronome
1969 Long And Lonesome Road/Fireball Of Love, Metronome
1969 Scorpio's Dance/Sally Was A Good Old Girl (promo)
1970 Never Marry A Railroad Man/Roll Engine Roll, Metronome
1970 Hello Darkness/Pickin' Tomatoes, Metronome
1971 Shocking You/Waterloo, Metronome
1971 Blossom Lady/Is This A Dream, Polydor
1971 Out Of Sight Out Of Mind/I Like You, Polydor
1972 Inkpot/Give My Love To The Sunrise, Polydor
1972 Eve And The Apple/When I Was a Girl, Polydor
1972 Rock In The Sea/Broken Heart, Polydor
1973 Let Me Carry Your Bag/I Saw You In June, Polydor
1973 Oh Lord/In My Time Of Dying, Polydor
1973 Oh Lord/Everything That's Mine, Pink Elephant
1974 This America/I Won't be lonely Long, Polydor
1974 Dream On Dreamer/Where The Pick-Nick Was, Polydor
1974 Good Times/Come My Way, Pink Elephant
1975 Gonna Sing Me A Song/Get It On, Decca
1986 The Jury And The Judge/I Am Hanging On To Love, Polydor
1994 Body And Soul/Angel, Red Bullet

http://www.geocities.com/ofmang/greg/discograp.html