Best of: Shocking Blue

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.

Growing up, I'm sorry to say that I missed all of these songs except "Venus". Had this band's record company promoted them better in the U.S. back in the day, they would have been huge. Sadly, I only found out recently how good they really were, and this compilation goes a long way to let the listener hear what he/she has been missing. "Venus" sounds better and catchier than I originally remember, along with songs like "Love Buzz" and a solid "Shocking You." As with any compilation there will be stronger and lesser songs, and this CD is no different. However, the majority of the music stands the test of time with simple lyrics and musicianship second-to-none. Mariska Veres is able to capture a wide range of emotion in her vocals, and her English is nearly perfect. Sadly, Mariska passed away in 2006, but we all can celebrate her life in her music, and this best-of collection is a great addition to "Shocking Blue's" other CDs or 60s and 70s music in general.

I like the song Venus but I wasn't inspired to buy their albums until recently. The lead singer is a woman with a great voice named Mariska Veres. She continued singing after this group broke up down in South America. With this group she did great on these songs. Never Marry A Railroad Man being the best but most all are very good. The last two songs are from Mariska's solo work. This is worth getting just to hear her voice.

Las canciones de este grupo me traen recuerdos, aunque son algo antiguas para mi porque era muy pequeño cuando estaban de moda, pero seguían sonando en la radio como recuerdos del ayer; el estilo y forma de cantar de este grupo me agrado y finalmente me decidí a comprar, más la influencia de amigos que me recomendaban las canciones de Shocking Blue, fue lo que me hizo decidirme. Muy bueno el disco, llego muy bien y en perfecto estado.

5 standout tracks on disc. Send Me A Postcard, Long Lonesome Road, Venus, Mighty Joe, and Hot Sand. Some cool fuzz guitar on 3 of the 5 songs.The rest is mediocre and forgettable pop. I like a lot of lesser known stuff, but this falls a little short. The female lead singer (Mariska Veres) had a great voice and the potential was there. They might have done better if they had rocked a little harder.

60',70,'s rock Dutch band,with a twist some fuzz,some folk overall damn good, the popular hit Venus + hot sand and love buzz,Nirvana did an excellent cover of on their album bleach. Mariska's vocals will lighten and seduce your eardrums!! Great CD.

Shocking Blue was (is) a very viable band. Some of the tracks sound, to me, to be a little bit "country" flavored. (The guitar player/head composer even plays a Telecaster) But there is plenty of drive to make a rock and roll band.

Nice cd I was looking this cd long ago so I got it

pezzo nn facile da trovare

Super CD Merci

PERFECTO

Ich suchte eine Zusammenstellung mit den bekanntesten und erfolgreichsten Nummern. Diese CD entspricht meiner Suche und ist deshalb empfehlenswert.

There are many song which stand out as classics of their eras and "Venus" is one of them and make this record still relevant so many years later and fostered a remake by Banamarama later which was also decent but cannot compare to the original. Some of the other material on this disc is decent as well but there is only one Venus so like many of the other one hit wonders in rock history it will remain remembered and justifiably so.