3 out of 5

Label: YepRoc Records

Produced by: Coyote Shivers, Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, Peter J. Moore (remastered by)

Collecting the early Shadowy Men singles as their first album results in a very fun compilation… that nonetheless is a compilation, with the kind of scattered listening effect in which that normally results. Countering this, the S.Men crew have shuffled the sequence of the collected 7″s and comps to better provide a beginning, middle and end – notably saving their Kids in the Hall theme, Having an Average Weekend as the original closer – but nonetheless, 7″s have a tendency towards filler B-sides (or more experimental, or looser tracks), and that’s proved out here with some Feller-filler-esque blurbs and tracks that sound comparatively alike when they’re grouped together. The band’s youth is surely notable as well: Who Knew where this all was going for these initial singles; on the one hand, that things are so polished and flowing this early on is really satisfying, and there’s absolutely no doubt this would’ve been a kick live – but on the other hand, the group, at this less-developed point, hewed closer to the generic surf rock tag they wanted to avoid, resulting in the soundalikeness I’ve mentioned. Of course there are standouts, particularly from their ’86 Wow Flutter Hiss ‘6 EP and the ’87 Schlagers! EP, but when you stand back from classics like ‘Weekend,’ separate from nostalgia, it’s more pleasant as compared to the uniqueness expressed in those standouts, or on later albums.

The reissue brings with it several extra tracks, erring towards the pleasant / generic surf column, but played with the same enjoyable gusto and suaveness as the rest of the album, the entirety remastered to bring it all to consistent, clean levels. YepRoc also provides us some good historical rundowns in the liner notes and images of the source EPs, though it would’ve been nice if the album more clearly identified which tracks came from what release.