Each of the titles are hotlinked back to the detailed entries in the discography, so this page won't cover the fine details of each release.
Essential. Generally accepted as the best of the band's three albums. Savvy Show Stoppers is a collection of most (but not all) of the songs from the first five singles, including "Having An Average Weekend", well known as the theme from The Kids In The Hall.
Availability: IN PRINT
Essential. My personal favorite of the band's three albums. The vinyl, CD and cassette each have a different bonus track. See the full entry for details.
Availability: IN PRINT
Sport Fishin' - The Lure Of The Bait, The Luck Of The Hook
Essential. Sometimes overlooked, but every bit as good as the first two albums.
Availability: IN PRINT
All four songs are are unique to this tape (two are only on this tape, two are different versions of songs that appear elsewhere). This is probably the rarest thing on the list because the tape wasn't ever sold in stores. The S-Men gave out copies to their friends and relatives. If you get a chance to get this tape - do it.
Availability: FRIGHTENINGLY RARE
All three songs are on Savvy Show Stoppers. Get this one if you want the actual single. There are several different variations to the cover art.
Availability: VERY RARE
All four songs are on Savvy Show Stoppers. Get this one if you want the actual single. There are several different variations to the cover art on this one too.
Availability: SOMEWHAT RARE
All four songs are on Savvy Show Stoppers. Get this one if you want the actual single. One of the neater singles because of all the game.
Availability: SOMEWHAT or VERY RARE - Depends on whether you want just the single or if you want the single with the "lunar bingo chips".
Live Record With Extra Bread And Cheese
"Laser Men" is hilarious, and the live "Shadowy Countdown" is a killer version. "You Spin Me Round '86" is on Savvy Show Stoppers and "Woman Shake" is fun, but strange. If you can get it, get it for "Laser Men" at a minimum.
Availability: FRIGHTENINGLY RARE
Both (excellent) songs are on Savvy Show Stoppers, so if you're getting this one, it's for the famous (or infamous) popcorn cover. It's very cool.
Availability: VERY RARE
Probably the goofiest single the Shadowy Men released. The A-side is a fun vocal medley of two Neil Diamond songs that show why Shadowy Men were a great instrumental band. The B-sides are silly, but fun. Worth getting for the A-side.
Availability: FRIGHTENINGLY RARE
A fantastic single. "Rover & Rusty" is one of the best Shadowy Men tracks, and the pet themes are a riot. Absolutely worth getting.
Availability: COMMON - Probably the easiest single to find on eBay. Comes up fairly often.
Another great one. The cover of The Diodes' "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" is great, and the Shadowy original "The Alouette ..." is among their best. Definitely get this one.
Availability: IN PRINT
Worth getting if you can find it. The cover of "The Chicken Dance" in the B-side medley is a blast.
Availability: FRIGHTENINGLY RARE
Two of the songs are on Sport Fishin' and the third ("Like You") is literally 15 seconds long. For completists only.
Availability: SOMEWHAT RARE
Definitely worth getting so you can hear the S-Men parody themselves. "Having An Average Weekend '78" is worth it alone, and "Vibrolux Delux" is another killer. The other tracks are on Sport Fishin'
Availability: SOMEWHAT RARE
An excellent single. No goofing around on this one, just two fantastic songs.
Availability: COMMON - A pretty easy single to find on eBay. Comes up reasonably often.
Another fantastic one. "Winterfresh" is a great song, the cover of "Deck The Halls" is a riot, and the long "Twelve Answering Machine Messages Of Christmas" is a must-hear. If you can find it, get it!
Availability: VERY RARE
This is essentially the fourth Shadowy Men album, although there's only about 15 minutes of Shadowy Men music on here. The songs are all unavailable anywhere else (although "Honey You're Wasting Ammo Again" is a new version of "Honey, You're Wasting Ammo" from Sport Fishin'). Most of the songs are very short, roughly akin to the link music from The Kids In The Hall although "Theme From Double Happiness" and "Credits! Credits! Credits!" are of normal Shadowy length and excellent. If you can find it, get it.
Side note: The movie itself is quite good and worth a rent!
Availability: SOMEWHAT RARE
various artists - Better Than The Average Weekend
22 artists (including ex-Phono-Comb Dallas Good's band The Sadies) pay fond tribute to Shadowy Men. The covers aren't just carbon-copies, so each band's personality shows through. Wonderful.
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable from Deep Eddy Records as well as the Shadowy Web's Shopping page.
If you like the B-52's, you'll probably like this. The songs with Shadowy Men are musically great, but Fred takes some getting used to. If you're not a B-52's fan, this is probably just a completer piece.
Availability: IN PRINT
Bruce McCulloch - Shame-Based Man
If you're a Kids In The Hall fan, you'll love this. The Shadowy contribution is the backing to "Daves I Know" (which, if you're a KITH fan, you're now singing to yourself). Worth it for a KITH fan, so-so for a non-KITH fan.
Availability: IN PRINT
Bruce McCulloch - Drunk Baby Project
Not really a Shadowy Men-related project (since only Brian is on it), but like Shame-Based Man, you'll love this if you're a Kids In The Hall fan. Brian Connelly co-wrote most of the songs and plays guitar on the whole album. The style is very similar to Shame-Based Man. Basically, it's a combination of songs an monologues set to music. Worth getting if you're a KITH fan.
Availability: IN PRINT
A pre-Shadowy Men release with Don and Reid that sounds nothing like the Shadowy Men. For completists only.
Availability: VERY RARE
Musically, this is a dazzling album, and very much in the Shadowy Men vein. The difference is that there's a lead vocalist this time around, and Jad Fair is definitely an unusual lyricist and singer. To be honest, I didn't care for it at first, but it's grown on me over repeated listenings. Once you "get" Jad's singing, the album gets very catchy very fast. Lots of fun. The music was written by the Shadowy Men and the lyrics by Jad Fair. Brian Connelly doesn't appear on the record, hence the name change to "Phono-Comb". See the review from Drop-D magazine on The Written Word page for more details.
Availability: IN PRINT
Essential. Recorded as an instrumental quartet after Phono-Comb finished working with Jad Fair, and easily the best of post-Shadowy Men albums. Similar to the Shadowy Men albums sound-wise, but with an second guitar and little country flavor to give the sound a new shape.
Availability: IN PRINT
Basically a Halloween novelty record with much the same feel as Monsters, Lullabies ... and the Occasional Flying Saucer (see the review above). It's basically a one-sided single. The b-side is just a bunch of people making scary noises.
Availability: VERY RARE
Fantastic single with a killer cover of The Ramones "53rd & 3rd". Recored by Reid, Don and Dallas Good before Beverly joined on bass and Reid switched to second guitar.
Availability: VERY RARE
A very good single with a Shadowy feel. Worth getting if you can actually find it!
Availability: FRIGHTENINGLY RARE
Another very good single with a Shadowy feel. Also worth getting if you can find it!
Availability: FRIGHTENINGLY RARE
Essential. Brian Connelly's Atomic 7 shares a lot of the "Shadowy" sound (notably from Brian's distinctive guitar work), but the influences sound less punk and more '50s and '60s. As a result, Atomic 7 sounds more like the S Men than Phono-Comb, but it's definitely not just a rehash. There's lots of different styles of music on here from the rockin' "She's Got Haggar Party Slacks" and "Guitar For Sale" through the Hawaiian-flavored "Her Sassy Kiss" to the laid-back "Seven Stranded Castanets".
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable from Mint Records.
Atomic 7's second album treads fairly similar territory to the first, mixing rockabilly and surf with Brian Connelly's twangy guitar work. "Daddy's Little World" is the big highlight - it's an unreleased Shadowy Men rocker that sounds great with Brian's current band. Irresistably catchy, a ton of fun, and just as good as the debut album.
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable from Mint Records.
... Something For The Girl With Everything
In between the last Atomic 7 album, 2004's ...en Hillbilly Caliente, and this one, Atomic 7 leader Brian Connelly started up a side band called Ancient Chinese Secret that focused on instrumental covers of old-school country. ... Something For The Girl With Everything shows the influence of this work on songs like "Junior Miss Chop Shop" and "Children's Letters To God". The album mixes these with rockers like "Lava Devils!", "Glow In The Dark Underpants" and "The Whirly Girly Revue" (a rework of an unreleased Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet song). Great stuff.
Availability: UMMM ... TOUGH TO SAY. Should be available at Atomic 7 shows, and orderable from Atomic 7's Web Site, assuming it ever actually comes online.
A wildly different record from anything else in this list. Very experimental in points, catchy and poppy in others. Available on vinyl only.
Be aware: The cover and liner art contain some gay sexual images. If that's going to bother you, then consider yourself warned.
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable through Comatonse Records or Art Metropole.
A hypnotic, five song mini-album of new material and remixes of tracks from Messin' With Greek Buck. Contains "Minimal Peach" that was used in Queer As Folk (but it does NOT contain the QAF title track).
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable through Art Metropole.
Don Pyle + Andrew Zealley - The Law Of Enclosures
The lush, evocative soundtrack from The Law Of Enclosures is gorgeous music, falling somewhere between classical music and the dense soundscapes of Bucquiem.
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable through Art Metropole.
No Time is easily the most "rock and roll" sounding work in Greek Buck's catalog. The sound is a combination of the experimental sounds from the first two Greek Buck albums combined with a punk edge.
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable through Art Metropole.
Don Pyle + Andrew Zealley - Proteus
The soundtrack to Proteus follows a style similar to the The Law Of Enclosures, with native South African influences all throughout. Gorgeous, evocative and hypnotic.
Availability: IN PRINT. Orderable through Art Metropole.
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