Man Of Mystery
The Shadows released Man of Mystery in October of 1960. It was really a theme tune from a movie series called Edgar Wallace Mysteries based on the books by Edgar Wallace. It was originally written by Michael Carr a rather interesting character to read up on actually. Apparently the in first three series Man Of Mystery had a “slow and haunting” arrangement featuring the flute. It wasn’t until the fourth series that the piece mutated into an upbeat arrangement with drums and electric guitar.
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I am not sure who recorded that version. However, the Shadows recorded their version of Man Of Mystery in October of 1960 and released it as a double single with The Stranger. Man Of Mystery was released in the USA and Canada in February of 1962. The Flip Side, Kon Tiki, is available on this channel and website also with free tab and scrolling video play along.
Man Of Mystery: Technical Considerations
Although Man Of Mystery is a very playable tune, but like much of the Shadow’s catalogue it is not entirely suited for complete beginners. Determined upper level beginners who are willing to make some adjustments will enjoy this track. Complete beginners may want to look at it like a project tune. Working on it over time mastering techniques and theoretical points along the way. Saying that if you are will to make adjustments like for instance playing simpler fingerings, slowing the tempo and feel, replacing the frenetic solo with a more melodic James Bond type thing, well then go for it.
Man Of Mystery: Theoretical Considerations
I would say the discussion here should be limited to the broad strokes. This is really A Harmonic minor with a dip into the Melodic minor. The resulting chords and melody is a chicken and egg story I guess. Did he get the nicely resolving line cliché from the chords? Or did he get the diminished chord resolution into the major four chord into the subdominant minor function from the from the melodic line cliché? Dunno, pretty cool though really.
Reviewing for Disc, Don Nicholl wrote of "Man of Mystery" that the "melody is forceful without being complicated. The instrumentalists play it with inbuilt excitement that ought to have jukes rattling everywhere". He also described "The Stranger" as "another fairly solid instrumental with a theme that's rather reminiscent of some western tunes which have gone before"
To Play Man Of Mystery
If you are a beginner guitar player and like these kinds of instrumental electric guitar “songs” like Man Of Mystery and other great Shadows tunes, you’re in luck really.
The Shadows and other artists like them have an interesting dichotomy in their music. They can sound and be simple to figure out, transcribe and play, but to play them in an expressive and emotive and accurate way takes, well accurate technique in order to be expressive and emotive to the listener.
When I think I “know” something or I can “do” something, a lot of the time I’m wrong about that.
Even just the ubiquitous pentatonic scale that “everyone knows”, do we really know it? I can’t play all the possible diatonic configurations. I can’t every possible anything in any scale!
The point is that you can learn a lot from things that are playable. I’ve heard some music get diminished in value or put down as being too simple or repetitive or too similar sounding in a context of genre. I’ve heard it from people about the Blues, AD/DC, some types of classical music…
To get playing these tunes you don’t even need to know the chords. It would be really sensible if you did though. You don’t even need to know a scale. It would be really sensible if you did though.
So, what is the bare minimum to actually work on as a beginner wanting develop a set of these kinds of electric guitar tracks?
The eight open position chords
CAGED and Amin D min and E min
Three Scales in “closed’ position (no open strings you can add that later)
The two octave Major Scale
The two octave Minor Scale
The two octave Pentatonic Scale Root Position minor first finger on the low E string.
If you can do the Root Position minor first finger on the low E string, than you just start on you fourth finger on the low e string. Just “pretend” to have played the first note and start on you pinkie. Now you also are playing the Major Pentatonic Scale Root Position with your fourth finger on the root. (Listen to the beginning of the song My Girl by the Temptations. That IS THE major Pentatonic Scale.)
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