Its 50 years since guitarist Hank Marvin momentarily stepped from his group, The Shadows and released his solo debut. The title for a new triple CD collection, Gold, therefore, couldn’t be more appropriate chronicling Hank’s 50 year solo journey from his eponymous album debut right through to 2018’s Without A Word.
Whether Hank’s initial solo recordings (which began with the 1968 single, London’s Not Too Far) were intentional or not, a solo career seemed a natural progression following the break-up of The Shadows in 1968. Although featuring regularly on television and recording several singles (including two with Cliff Richard) Hank’s solo career ticked over while he continued his involvement with other projects including Shadows reunions and a setting up a vocal trio with Bruce Welch and John Farrar, namely Marvin, Welch and Farrar. The result over the next twenty years were a clutch of solo albums released at a leisurely pace. As the 1990s arrived and The Shadows recorded their final studio albums Hank stepped up his solo output with a series of albums including Into the Light and Heartbeat.
Hank Marvin releases a triple CD set spanning 50 years of solo recordings, Gold on June 28, 2019
Gold, curated with co-operation from Hank himself, features 59 cherry-picked tracks from all of Hank’s solo albums such as Don’t Talk (a minor UK hit in 1982), Flamingo and Sacha (a chart-topper in Australia).
The release also features covers including Hank’s collaboration with Brian May on We Are The Champions, a stirring rendition of The Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps and a long overdue treatment of the Doctor Who theme.
There are nods to Hank’s own music career along the way including Move It!, the debut hit of old buddy Cliff Richard and a rerecording of The Shadows biggest hit Wonderful Land, of which Hank duets with Mark Knopfler.
Hank Marvin releases a triple CD set spanning 50 years of solo recordings, Gold on June 28, 2019
Perhaps the most pleasing inclusions are some of Hank’s vocal performances of his own compositions, Lifeline, Hawk and The Dove and Rainy-Day Goodbye, all of which feature excellent vocal performances.
All in all, Gold is a timely celebratory release from one of the UK’s greatest guitarists and as well as a brilliant overview of Hank’s solo career, a neat introduction to his solo material away from The Shadows.
HANK MARVIN GOLD – Release Date: 28th June 2019
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CD cat no: CRIMCD634 – Barcode: 654378063428 3 CD
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LP cat no: DEMREC436 – Barcode: 5014797899698 – 180g Gold colour Vinyl LP