Customer Reviews

Best of

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

.
I initially only knew 'Venus' in the 1960s.

I was travelling to Greece via Italy in 1971. By the time my plane landed, I quickly heard what I was missing. I lived in Greece during the early 1970s; their rock stations played Shocking Blue songs in heavy rotation. Likewise, music programming from BBC World Service and throughout Europe included their grand discography with steady airplay. I was satisfyingly thrilled with their styles.

I picked up a few records when I travelled to the Nederlands where they were absolutely - obviously - top-of-the-charts.

I returned 'home' saddened. How disappointing travelling cross-country during these years that U.S.A. markets still limit themselves to 'Venus'! Nothing changed during my absence - and since then. How disheartening hearing deejays and so-called musicologist experts deride them as a 'one hit wonder'. I knew better. I carried a secret that everyone is eventually learning on their own.

It is a pleasant sense of satisfaction whenever I hear their music from my collection - as well as hear their music covered by other artists or used in movies and television.

The Beatles are my number one band. Shocking Blue and Focus are two outstanding Dutch bands which clearly rival the Beatles for uniqueness, variety, and ingenuity. American radio stations neglected their audiences - they denied you the treat of both of them during their prime.

Deny yourself no longer. You will be pleased with any Shocking Blue music.

.

YOU'D BE A FOOL IF YOU DON'T CHECK THIS DISC OUT FOR IT'S FABULOUS YET DATED SOUNDS.... SITARS TO THE FORE AND A SUPER STRONG FEMALE VOICE THAT WILL CRUSH ANY CHICK AROUND TODAY. GOOD SONGWRITING AND INTERESTING COUNTRY/PSYCHEDELIC HYBRID GUITAR VAMPS. I LOVE EM!!!

Iam a huge fan of the new indie-rock scene (check out WOXY, the internet-only station, which is the best source in the country for indie-rock, bar none), but I love to go back to my roots as well, and growing up in Belgium, the Dutch band Shocking Blue was a huge influence on me. Here in the US, the band is known as the one-hit wonder of "Venus", but the fact is that they are so much better than that.

"The Best of Shocking Blue" (20 tracks; 60 min.) brings the (thankfully chronological) tale of Shocking Blue, mostly their singles, with a couple of choice album tracks. From the humble beginnings of 1968's "Lucy Brown in Back in Town", the band began an incredible 5 year run of hit after hit in many European countries, establishing themselves as the real "zeitgeist" of the era. Female lead singer Mariksa Veres (who had an uncanny resemblance to Grace Slick, both physically and vocally) and main composer whatshisname proved to be a magic formula for success, the main one of course being 1969's "Venus", but as this compilation proves, there were tons of other great songs: "Might Joe", "Never Marry a Railroad Man", "Hello Darkness", "Shocking You" (clever take on the band's name), etc. The best songs for me, though, are the latter day (1972) trifecta of "Inkpot", "Rock In the Sea" and "Eve and the Apple", all of them an outstanding reflection of the best of what the European "pop" sound was in those days, just outstanding (and of them hits).

In all, this is a superb collection. I bought this many years ago on one of my trips back to Belgium, and I couldn't believe my luck when I snapped this up. It brings back many memories of my early singles-collecting days, yes, when singles were an event....

A criminally underrated band. Im not trying to say that every track on this compilation is a knockout, but considering the success of the jefferson airplaine, shocking blue should have been huge! first off, they were way better than jefferson airplaine, and second they were an original genuially hard rocking band devoid of all the self rightouess indignation that jefferson airplaine tried to cramm down the listeners ears. So many of these songs could have been hits here in america, I honestly do not know why there music didnt catch on here in the states. Send me a postcard, hot sand, never marry a rairoad man are my favorites on this compilation (wich is suprising considering Venus was there huge U.S. hit). All in all this is a band worth checking out if your into the late sixties psych rock thing.

Many more people need to buy this album, if for no other reason than to dispel the impression of Shocking Blue as just "that Dutch band that originally played that Bananarama song." "Venus" may have been their only hit (aside from lead singer Mariska Veres, of course), but this best-of album is a far more solid compilation than you're likely to hear from most alleged supergroups.

The band complements Veres' powerful voice with a steady supply of thumping drumbeats and heavy bass, producing a high-energy sound that never grows repetitive or stale. This consistent freshness is thanks largely to lead guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen, who is credited with writing all 18 songs on the album.

"Send Me a Postcard" certainly deserved to be a hit, as did "Never Marry a Railroad Man," "Out Of Sight Out Of Mind," "Hot Sand" and many others. It's a wonder that most of the songs on this album haven't been covered by actual rock n' roll bands in the decades that have followed.

Nothing against those girls from Bananarama, but really.

I got to have this 1970's classic rock from the Netherlands and saw them live concert. The great classic rock and roll music. Love every minutes of their music. I am glad I bought it from Amazon.

Most reviews sound like they are funnin' at the Dutch band Shocking Blue? I always thought this band was pretty wild, for sixties pop. They did the song VENUS. That chick has a cool voice... sometimes her accent slips a little bit..., the riffs are a little bit simplistic, but they are up loud on most tracks. Some edgy stuff. Jefferson Airplane was obnoxious and snompous. The Shocking Blue... were here to be shocking you. And the music was never really ever released in the states. I guess we just aren't ready for sixties Dutch-pop. Too bad, cuz,... while there are a slew of candy coated songs... which, still have a good mix of psychelica, and even some weird sixties electro beats, and are catchy, there are still some decent psychedelic rock. The worst are the two of three tunes where the dudes in the band sing, and a song called This America, which is both insulting, and just an all around awful song. What are you talking trash, blue?, I couldn't quite understand. There is also one or two disco songs, must have been the comeback era... But the rest is good bar rock to me. With some heavy cool psychedelic stuff mixed in. SEND ME A POSTCARD rocks, NEVER MARRY A RAILROAD MAN is nice and bluesy, LOVE BUZZ is a good flower punkish type tune (was also covered by Nirvana in their early days btw)...SHOCKING YOU etc. Lotsa goods. I bet you'll play it again. Which is something I don't really say about my Jefferson Airplane.

Only other available albums are expensive imports. You can buy this import used for under ten bucks.

Ok,reading Googanders review I have to agree and at the same time disagree.It is not terribly bad,but just simple, very catchy pop tunes,that was the norm at the time,ehh I guess still is.You listen to any pop song these days and it follows the same structure.Anyways,Venus needs no introduction(exept
the fact that it has been #1 in the US 3 times by 3 different artists(a first)).Send me a Postcard was the song that got me hooked way back,and is a pulsating,psychedelic-ish dinger of a song.The rest of this disc is a pleasant postcard from the past of Dutch pop.

Years ago I first heard Nirvana do this cover called "Love Buzz". Great song, rocked. I knew it was a cover but didn't know who wrote it. Well, later in some Absinth addled fit I'm introduced to Shocking Blue. My friend says "listen to this" and it's Love Buzz. It was awesome. I made him play the whole album for me. Shocking Blue is essentially terrible. It's like they wanted to be Jefferson Airplane but couldn't quite pull it off. But for some reason I really like it. I don't think I'll ever be able to put my finger on why I listen to this album other than it's really bad and really good at the same time. Oh, they do 'Venus" as well. So just buy this album 'cause it's worth having. It's just plain wierd.