Los Shakers In The U.S.A. (Part Four)

 The later half of 1966 was without a doubt the most intense and stressful period of Los Shakers’ original tenure. Work on their highly anticipated second studio album ‘Shakers For You’ was still ongoing but heavily interrupted by the group’s gruelling schedules of global touring, especially as the group insisted on recording at their familiar surroundings of the EMI Studios in Argentina. In August 1966, the group again appeared in the United States in what would prove to be the final US tour undertaken by The Beatles as support acts alongside The Ronettes and The Remains. By September after nearly six months, the final recording session of ‘Shakers For You’ took place with the artwork and mixing rushed to meet its scheduled release date in October 1966 for South America.


Due to the group’s success performing on The Beatles’ US tour, there was an increase in demand for Los Shakers records which Capitol Records met by reissuing the group’s previous American releases. Some of the material which would comprise ‘Shakers For You’ was previewed during their American engagements that August and a few filmed inserts that would air on television during that September. By October, demand for the new album was beginning to mount in the US resulting in the slightly dubious act of South American pressings being imported to the country. The initial reaction to the album in the States was mixed. Some people loved the originality and forward-thinking sound incorporating elements of bossa-nova, jangle pop and psychedelia whilst others thought it a cheap imitation of the new sounds and trends dominating the music scene of the time. Although previously, Capitol had rush-released products after increased demand, in this instance they decided to wait out until December to release the album likely to provide additional product to the lucrative holiday season, a season in which no new Beatles or Beach Boys album could be introduced.


Perhaps the biggest influence of the overwhelming demand of this new album in the United States however was Richard Lester. As additional promotional material in Argentina, Odeon Pops had commissioned a short film to be produced following Los Shakers across the country with short clips interspersed of material from the ‘Shakers For You’ album. At this point in time Lester had been filming his upcoming feature ‘How I Won The War’ starring John Lennon who at the time had been raving about Los Shakers’ recent material having heard an acetate of it whilst on the Beatles tour which ended that August. After much persuasion and negotiations, it was decided the new short would be shown before Lester’s latest release ‘A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum’ which would premiere on 16th of October 1966. This would last until January 1967 when in the film’s final weeks the short would cease showings. 


Unlike previous Los Shakers albums by Capitol, the US edition of ‘Shakers For You’ was only subject to minor changes. The largest one being the song ‘Too Late’ being dropped from the tracklisting due to its inclusion on ‘Invasion Of The Uruguayans’ that same year. Several slightly different mixes also slipped out on the mono release of the album, the most notable being an earlier mix of ‘I Hope You’ll Like It 042’ which featured backwards guitars at the beginning of the track. Only one single from this album was released in January 1967, being a coupling of ‘Never, Never’ and ‘Got Any Money,’ the later of which also contained an alternate mix which featured an alternate guitar solo not featured on the American album. 


The album released on the 6th of December 1966 itself did well on the charts reaching #56 on the Billboard Top 200. Although the album got well promoted, the delay Capitol created had left a negative impact on sales with many refusing to buy Capitol’s version which was missing a track, rather holding onto their previously imported copies. Matters were also not helped by the Richard Lester film the album was promoted with being only a moderate success reaching $3.4 million on a $2 million budget. The single although a huge seller in other nations got to a mere #73 on the Billboard Top 100. As Los Shakers’ commercial success began to decline in the United States, the more they ventured into alternate music territory ultimately forming them into the cult figures of rock and jazz music the group would become by the 1970s. The group ultimately took a break from American activities as they would spend the following months promoting the most recent material in other parts of the world.


Shakers For You (6th December 1966)
Side One:
1. Never, Never
2. The Child And Me
3. Hear My Words
4. Picking Up Troubles
5. Let Me Tell You
6. Got Any Money?

Side Two:
1. You'll Find Another Girl
2. Smile Again
3. Reviens Ma Cherie
4. Waiting
5. I Hope You'll Like It 042

(This post originally released on the 14th of July 2023)

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