Customer Reviews

The Tornados - Ridin' The Wind

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
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The liner notes claim that his double CD contains the entire recorded output of the group - 64 tracks! More than you need really - I felt distinctly light-headed after listening to the whole lot in one session. I loved their sound back then - Telstar was electrifying, and I played the hit singles Globetrotter, The Ice Cream Man, Robot, Dragonfly to death, as well as the ones that failed, inexplicably, to make the charts, like Hot Pot and Monte Carlo. Then there were the gorgeous B-sides and album tracks like Blue, Blue, Blue Beat, Chasing Moonbeams and Red Roses and A Sky of Blue, the haunting Love and Fury and the wonderful Ridin' The Wind [the US and UK versions both here].
But how does it all stand up today? The defining thing about all these numbers is that they have proper tunes - melodies that you can hum, and I think this is what makes them still listenable [though maybe not all in one go]. The Tornados' sound was original and unique. Anyone coming to these tracks for the first time will probably find them trite and corny, and it must be said that several sound like afterthoughts and that a few are just downright naff. The recordings [made in Joe Meek's bathroom by the sound of them] were not even state of the art in the early 60s, but the CDs make the best of them, faithfully recreating the raw sounds, minus the pops and scratches that blighted my 45s and LPs.
Tornados' fans - forget all the other compilations and go for it!! An absolute bargain.

My first exposure to The Tornados was their international hit "Telstar".

When my copy of the single started to wear out (the B side "Jungle Fever" is a great tune BTW), I started hunting for a better one. I ran across one of their old LP's that contained "Telstar" and was surprised at all of the other good music on it.

So, when I ran across this CD, I took a chance on it. It certainly did not disappoint me! The music is fantastic and around 30 tracks are just awesome.

Their cover versions of "The Breeze and I" (has real heavy bass guitar backbeat, probably enough to satisfy any bass head), "Stomping Through the Rye", and "Exodus" (with a rock beat) are truly inspired. Plus, there is a great amount of original material, "Shakedown", "Ridin' the Wind", "Love and Fury", "Robot", etc.

The style of music is varied ranging from a synthesized sound (remember, this was back in the early 60's) to rock versions of honky tonk and arcade. The CD even contains some really good vocals ("Ready Teddy", "The Fortune Teller", "No More You and Me" are good examples). Two of the songs sound like they could have been released in the 80's or the present.

The Tornados are definitely an underrated group. Though I am a fan of The Ventures and Duane Eddy, The Tornados outshine them both.

To sum it up, this album offers a LOT of creative and good music. I highly recommend it, and if you like rock instrumentals, it is a must!

My first exposure to The Tornados was their international hit "Telstar".

When my copy of the single started to wear out (the B side "Jungle Fever" is a great tune BTW), I started hunting for a better one. I ran across one of their albums that contained "Telstar" and was surprised at all of the other good music on it.

So, when I ran across this CD, I took a chance on it. It certainly did not disappoint me! The music is fantastic and around 30 tracks are just awesome.

Their cover versions of "The Breeze and I" (has real heavy bass guitar backbeat, probably enough to satisfy any bass head), "Stomping Through the Rye", and "Exodus" (with a rock beat) are truly inspired. Plus, there is a great amount of original material, "Shakedown", "Ridin' the Wind", "Love and Fury", "Robot", etc.

The style of music is varied ranging from a synthesized sound to a rock version of honky tonk and arcade. The CD even contains some really good vocals ("Ready Teddy" and "The Fortune Teller" are two good examples). Two of the songs sound like they could have been released in the 80's or the present.

The Tornados are definately an underrated group. Though I am a fan of The Ventures and Duane Eddy, The Tornados outshine them both.

To sum it up, if you like good music, I highly recommend this album. If you like rock instrumentals, it is a must!

Record producer Joe Meek had plenty of success in the early sixties, but none of artists became consistent hit-makers. In this, the Tornados were typical. They had one huge international hit that went all the way to number one in Britain and America, but while they had other hits including one that made the top five in Britain, they are only really remembered for one track, which is of course Telstar.

Like the communications satellite that provided the inspiration and the record`s title, Telstar was an experimental recording. It sounded like no other record had previously sounded and that was no doubt the reason for its huge success. The pioneering Telstar satellite had a short working life although it apparently still orbit's the earth and was an important part of the evolution of satellite technology. Some other, much more modern, satellites carry the Telstar name. Similarly, the Tornados made only limited impact after their early success with Telstar, but Joe Meek's experimental recordings were an important part of the evolution of pop and rock music.

The other big UK hit, Globetrotter, sounds a bit like the backing music for Venus in blue jeans, which had been an American hit for Jimmy Clanton and a UK hit for Mark Wynter only a few months previously. The title track to this anthology, Ridin' the wind, might have been a better choice as a follow-up than Globetrotter. The American record label obviously thought so as they added storm effects to the track and released it as their follow-up. Both the UK and USA versions of this track are featured here, along with the other UK hits for the Tornados (Robot, Ice cream man, Dragonfly), plus B-sides, singles that didn`t chart and album tracks.

Elsewhere, this anthology includes four vocal tracks (Ready Teddy, My babe, Blue moon of Kentucky, Long tall Sally) that were released together as an EP. Among the instrumental tracks there are plenty of original cuts as well as a few covers. Those who remember Popeye on TV will recognize Popeye twist as an adaptation of the Popeye TV theme.

Joe Meek groomed Heinz for solo stardom and his recordings are available separately on Just Like Eddie: The Heinz Anthology. Meanwhile, this anthology provides a good showcase for a group whose period of success was short but whose music was more influential than a bare reading of their char history might suggest.

This is 'THE Ultimate' album for all Tornados enthusiasts. Is has EVERY hit the band ever had, and then some. When they released Telstar (on 45), the 'B' side was a track called Jungle Fever (which was my all time favourite). Even IT is on the album. Of course it has other classics like Monty Carlo and Blue Blue Blue BEat to mention just a few.

It is a must for instrumental fans around the world. These guys were truly an ICON for British music. AND, being a 'double cd' t really is great value for money. Buy this one guys, and you'll have THE Tornados Collection at your finger tips !!

when i ordered this soundtrack and listened to the great and unique sound of the tornadoes i was not disappointed.it took me back to the time i first listened to their album telstar.i fell in love with their great and unique sound as like never heard before by any other group.they definately have it together like no other.tornado fans buy this soundtrack i highly recomend it as like their other cd the complete tornados.i could think of a greater thrill than to thank them and shake their hand in person.long live the tornados.-wally nelson-talladega ala.

This is the only group that could, and did, rival the great haunting western-ish sound of the Shadows.
It is almost eerie to listen to, this CD. I have about 20.000 mp3 songs, many converted from cd's I had but more good music is always welcome. Since I cannot download from amazon (I am in Iceland) I had to buy this CD to get the music in my ipod.
It was one of the best buys of the year, so far!

There is something sweeping and eerie to this organ music, combined with harps and fleeting background voices that must have made their Telstar the first UK nr.1 in the US. If you listen to this CD this song might still turn out to be their best, but at least you get the chance to listen to many more similar tunes, each a bit different, but all wonderful.
I made a list of how many I gave 5 stars for a playlist, and it turned out to be more than half of them! Not bad for an average CD you pull out of the shelve!
It makes it to probably one of my favorite CD's. My music collection is equivalent to around a 1000 CD's so that is reason enough to advice anyone to go for it: great tunes, from a long time ago.