The BBC have now taken down just about all mention of Stuart Maconie's old Critical List show on Radio 2. Hopefully it's on an archive somewhere. You can read some records of the shows, but they miss the first three years, which were the best (it began at Easter 2001). I mean, if you set yourself the task of profiling great albums, with one "must have" each week, it stands to reason that after 150 programmes the best is behind you.
It was during the first year that Maconie made the observation that no home should be without a Shangri-Las compilation. There was something about the way he said it that made it seem a self-evident truth. I went looking for something to complete my home. It turns out that the number of different compilations called "Best of the Shangri-las" is greater than the number of studio albums the Shangri-Las released during their career.
This particular one was most readily available at the time. There are others that have more tracks, but even this one, with 20, starts to wilt about two thirds of the way through. They put out 15 A sides, and perhaps the original judgement in selecting those was sound.
Yet there's much more to The Shangri-Las than Leader of the Pack and Remember (Walkin' in the Sand). He Cried took my breath away the first time I heard it. It still brings a lump to my throat. Fantastic Nitzschean arrangement combined with that trademark counterpoint of Mary Weiss belting it out from the opposite corner of the room while the Chorus whispers its affirmation, along with the exhaled smoke, in your ear.
And then I had another of those I-can't-believe-I-didn't-notice-that-before but maybe-I-did-and-I-just-forgot things, while listening to Give Him a Great Big Kiss. The lines
Is he a good dancer
What do you mean, is he a good dancer?
Well, how does he dance?
Close. Very, very close
are clearly the source of the "indiscretions" on the League of Gentlemen album when one woman asks "How should I dance to this music?" and another replies, "Close, very close". It takes on a whole different meaning when removed from its original context. I can understand that you wouldn't care about that, but it was a nice little A-ha moment for me.
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Wikipedia entry for this album Some metadata about this album at Last.fm Listen to this album in full at We7 Listen to a very similar album in full at Spotify |
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