Jigsaw – THE SHADOWS***

Jigsaw/Tennessee Waltz/Prelude In E Major/Cathy’s Clown/Stardust/Semi Detached Suburban/Trains & Boats & Planes/Friday On My Mind/Winchester Cathedral/Waiting For Rosie/Chelsea Boot/Maria Elena/With A Hmm Hmm On My Knee/Green Eyes

Jigsaw unfortunately established the formula that the Shadows would adopt for several decades to come, namely a heavy dependence on instrumental versions of recent pop hits. Album would have benefited from the inclusion of their final new instrumental (minor) hit Maroc 7/Bombay Duck. The Shadows legend rests almost entirely on their instrumental releases from 1960-65. (UK:8)

"1967 - The Summer of Love. San Francisco, flowers in your hair...and the dear old Shadows, still be-suited and a-twanging, a-grooving, and a-moving, and so firmly locked in a bygone age that even grandma thought they were a little square."

"The late John Rostill was the first to run a bass guitar through distortion. Listen to Tennessee Waltz to hear what I mean. Friday On My Mind as an instrumental? Only the Shads could do this. By the time they recorded this their singles sales were falling, after all they had been going for nine years so were trying new things. Sad to say a lot of the critics were stuck in Apache days and did not realise The Shads had moved on. Waiting For Rosie is a jazz number reflecting Nivram slightly. With A Hmm-Hmm On My Knee, we hear Hank playing banjo which he used to do before his Dad bought him his first guitar. Chelsea Boot with acoustic guitars is terrific and borrows a bit from the Goons and Pinky & Perky, highlighting the Shads humour."

"This album is one of the most rocky albums that they did in the 60s, but not one of their best in my opinion."

"Jigsaw caused some surprise at the time of release by disregarding current trends and avoiding vocal material entirely. Nonetheless, it proved to be an exuberant and entertaining album and, aided rather than hindered by instrumental interpretations of relatively recent high performers like Friday On My Mind and Winchester Cathedral, it found its way into the UK Top Ten."