Cliff Richard - Back from the Wilderness Singles and Albums 1975 - 1995

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Jarleboy, Sep 28, 2016.

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  1. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Yes, I think you´re right. He stopped getting the "top of the crop" songs in the early 70s, and didn´t really get back on that particular gravy train until Bruce Welch started ferreting around for new songs in 1975.

    I forgot to mention - You have a very lovely capital, all members of the UK. I have been there twice now, and only stayed a few days, but I love walking around the "Streets of London", to quote Ralph McTell´s most famous song. I would have loved to have stayed longer, but I went there with my school.
     
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  2. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I am intrigued... I loved "STRONGER" and some of the albums that followed... Are you referring to "SOMETHING GOING ON" from 2004? Though it has too many ballads for my taste, I think it was Cliff´s last truly great album. Well, parts of it were. It didn´t sell all that well, so I guess Cliff was frightened from taking any chances, and went the way of so many stars - a duets album, a soul album, a standards album, a reunion album etc. To be honest, I don´t expect any more good albums from Cliff. Which is O.K. After all, he is 76. I enjoy the good ones he has already made. I got his latest album last week, but I haven´t dared playing it yet. I´m guessing I´ll be disappointed again. I´ll play it when the spirit moves me. :)
     
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  3. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Fully agree about not being a prolific songwriter. Many of the long-standing singer-songwriters can suffer from having their 'style'. As you say, Cliff can pick and choose, and change with the times. Although no more it seems, and from recent interviews, that's not likely to change. I'd like to think he has another great album still to record!
     
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  4. Beaneydave

    Beaneydave Forum Resident

    "Something's going on " is a very good album indeed.
    It's a shame he hasn't done an album since other than themed covers ,duets and the like.




    Peace and love✌
     
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  5. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Oh, I would love to have another great Cliff album before he leaves us. "GOLDEN" was a nice addition to his catalogue, though I prefer the live version from 2008. You never know, he might have been hoarding great songs and recorded them with Bruce Welch or John Farrar. I doubt it, but I would be very pleased to find out that he has. Now´s the time to pray... :righton:
     
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  6. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Yes, Something's Goin' On was my favourite - pushing Always Guaranteed down a peg. Of course, it's entirely subjective, what with AG being my first LP with my own money, and SGO remembered from going to the album signing in Birmingham (first and only time meeting Cliff) and being on the front row for the Castles in the Air tour at Chatsworth House, where several of the songs were played.

    I expect, without those 'attachments' I may have a different top 3. All the previous great albums, I wasn't listening or buying back then, although I do remember 'We don't talk anymore' being heard that summer of '79 - again when on another family holiday. There were three songs I recall sticking in my memory from before I was interested properly in music - Wings' Mull Of Kintyre, Cliff's We don't talk and Paul Young's Love of the common people. What that says about me, I'm not sure!
     
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  7. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I agree. I think the relative failure of that project made him wary of taking chances again, though I wish he would. His best songs usually came when he tried something different, and "SOMETHING GOING ON" is a good example. Love "WHAT CAR?"! :righton:
     
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  8. Beaneydave

    Beaneydave Forum Resident

    I love it too .... now , but I first heard / saw it when Cliff played it live on some TV show. I must say I don't like to watch him and his " moves " put me off the song at the time!


    Peace and love✌
     
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  9. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    To me, that reveals that you a good ear for good songs. I know "MULL OF KINTYRE" is ridiculed by many music snobs, but what does an ex-Cliff Richard fan care about that? :righton: Paul Young´s version of "LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE" is also great, I think.

    The music playing when you´re around 8-18 will always be special to you. I can pinpoint the year 1979 as the most important year for music as far as I am concerned. It helped that I fell in love for the first - and really only - time in my life in May 1979. Cliff´s records from that year, as well as ABBA´s and Bee Gees´ and many others´, will always be special to me. Music is so closely connected to emotions and memories.
     
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  10. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    He, he... I know exactly what you mean! I prefer it the way he does it in concerts now - with his two dancers/backing singers/musicians... They are quite good!
     
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  11. StephenB

    StephenB Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Something Going On was and is a terrific album and so, too, is Soulicious. I know not many people like the latter album but I think it is very good indeed. Bold as Brass has its moments but is not one I play very often and, although they are full of covers, the two latest rock and roll albums are very rarely off of my playlist, especially when played LOUD!!
     
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  12. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    "SOULICIOUS" had some good moments, I agree, but the project didn´t seem "natural" coming from Cliff. I played it once, and didn´t like it all that much, but I went back to it after having seen the live DVD. (I was completely charmed by Percy Sledge, who has since sadly passed away. What a great man!) And I liked the album a whole lot better. "BOLD AS BRASS", as you say, is not a bad album - it had some good tracks and some less successful recordings. my point wasn´t that these albums were bad, but they were the path most chosen. An easy option. Nothing wrong with that, but I prefer to have some new songs to listen to.

    Glad you get a kick out of them. :righton:
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
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  13. RonBaker

    RonBaker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jackson, Ohio USA
    I have "Soulicious" but I haven't played it yet. I'm almost afraid to! I didn't buy the "Bold as Brass" cd, but I got the DVD, so I do have it, more or less. Not as awful as I feared it would be. A lot better than Bob Dylan's Dracula impressions on his last two albums of Frank Sinatra songs.
     
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  14. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    No, BAB is not awful. I would have preferred an album of new songs, but the arrangements on BAB are good, and Cliff sings some of them quite well. (If you want to hear bad Cliff vocals, check out some of the new songs on the 2005 Christmas album. "WINTER WONDERLAND" is one of my favourite Christmas songs, but Cliff´s version... Well, he doesn´t do it justice.

    And the Blu-ray is great - especially the first part. I need to play that soon.

    Don´t fear "SOULICIOUS". It is far from my favourite album of his, but it is not as awful as I had feared.
     
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  15. mark ab

    mark ab Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I haven't heard those two Cliff albums but must admit to being a big fan of the Dylan ones! All a matter of opinion but I thought Dylan's vocals were outstanding ....then again I love his voice in all its guises so am biased!
     
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  16. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Funny you should both mention Bob Dylan... I heard his Christmas album playing in the shops a few years back. I haven´t bought it yet, but I actually liked it. It´s "different", to say the least, but I loved hearing THAT voice tackle some of the Christmas classics.
     
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  17. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    At some point you need to know when to stop. You just look desperate. Look at Olivia. Doing greatest hits shows is one thing. Albums are harder to pull off. Better to be remembered for the good times rather than not knowing when the party is over.
     
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  18. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I suppose you´re right. A whole new project would showcase how old he´s got. With artists of the calibre of Cohen, Bowie, Joni Mitchell and Dylan, that wouldn´t matter, but I think Cliff still wants to look cool. And that gets harder every day. I don´t mind how he looks, but I think he would.
     
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  19. mark ab

    mark ab Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    It's my favourite Christmas album! Made with care I think, some deliberately tongue in cheek bits ( where he adds the names of US Presidents to the list of donkeys in Must Be Santa!) but also very heartfelt. His touring schedule always ends in November because he supposedly makes a big deal out of Christmas...perhaps that explains the Nobel no show !
     
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  20. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Single No. 102: 1987 August 17 — UK — EMI EM 18
    A-side: "SOME PEOPLE" (Written Alan Tarney)
    B-side: "ONE TIME LOVER MAN" (Written by Cliff Richard)
    12": "REUNION OF THE HEART" (Written by Maldwyn Pope)
    A-side arranged and produced by Alan Tarney, and B-sides produced by Cliff Richard, Keith Bessey & Alan Park

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    How do you follow up a Top Ten hit single? With a Top 5 hit single. Which Cliff did. "SOME PEOPLE" is even fluffier than "MY PRETTY ONE", it´s like a confection made of sugar, chocolate and marshmallows. With added honey. Only sweeter. It got a lot of airplay in Norway, and it was a sort of "bubbling under" situation here - it got a lot of attention, but didn´t actually make the charts. It rose to No. 3 in the UK, and one better at No. 2 in Belgium. It was a Top Ten hit in at least six countries, and as far as I remember, it generally received good reviews.

    I liked it back in 1987 - even better than "MY PRETTY ONE", was my view. Especially when I heard the extended version, which is an improvement on the standard version. Looking back at it now, the charm may have waned a little bit, but I still see why it was a big hit. There was absolutely nothing organic about it, apart from Cliff´s voice, but it works.

    There were several version of the single - standard issue, gatefold single with six pages of Cliff photos, a picture disc version, a 12" single and also a CD video, which is technically Cliff´s first CD single. (Though that honour usually goes to the next release, "REMEMBER ME".)

    Here´s what Robert Porter has collected of facts about this release:
    "Yes, [Some People] is going to be the second single [from Always Guaranteed]. It doesn't really matter [if Belouis Some has a song by the same title], it's a different song. The themes... It's not the words that are [not] different, it's the themes. There are only seven plots. Shakespeare said there are only seven stories. So you have to write the stories all the same. It's inevitable that if you write a story about people who hurt each other, it could be called Some People-- something to do with this-- something to do with that."
    Cliff Richard (circa 1987 - unknown interview from the Baktabak interview disc (BAK 2063))

    "Some People, we were talking about this the other day... Some People is... I haven't... You know, it's been released... I recorded it nearly two years ago. And sometimes, after a long time, I hear it again and I think, 'Oh, it's classic!' It's classic pop rock. So I would pick those as my favorites."
    Cliff Richard (circa 1989 - unknown interview from interview disc (The Young1))

    "Here's another of Cliff's own favorites at #3 [in the BBC Radio 2 Cliff Toppers program].""
    Mike Read (May 1992 - Cliff Toppers BBC radio special)

    "Some People is serious, great pop rock. To me, Some People is goosebumps... It's everything. It's a song that has... not a story, but it's actually saying something that's really good to sing. It's actually saying that we actually hurt each other. That we tease and spoil our relationships. But fortunately there are some people who really love and are just happy to stand and talk or walk holding hands. It had something to say about us as people."
    Cliff Richard (May 1992 - Cliff Toppers BBC radio special)

    "Two tracks, My Pretty One and Some People, culled from the Always Guaranteed album, were selected for single release and became Cliff's two top ten hits in a row for 1987. August 17, 1987: Cliff's new single-- Some People is released with One Time Lover Man on the 'B' side and Reunion Of The Heart on the 12-inch version."
    Mike Read, Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1995 - The Complete Chronicle)

    "Both My Pretty One and Some People, the first tasters for Always Guaranteed reached #3 and #6 respectively. Those two tracks, probably more than any other at the time, marked the rehabilitation of Cliff Richard as an artist who although hugely popular with his public had never been taken to the heart of the rock aristocracy and had received a flood of unnecessary critical abuse over the years. According to Turner's biography [of Cliff], 'Alan liked to work on his own,' remembers engineer Gerry Kitchingham. 'He would start the day wandering around strumming the guitar and then he'd come up with a tune and he'd call me in and we'd get something on tape. That's the way he wrote Some People. He came in with nothing and by the next day he'd got a hit song.' Not that Tarney was convinced it would end up on the album or even if Cliff would consider it as a possibility for recording. He was unsure about it says Cliff. 'He had just dug it out of his loft when we recorded it. He said he started it, and finished it, but didn't know if it was any good. When he played it to me, I said, what do you mean it's not any good, it's fantastic.' [...] 'Alan Tarney really understands pop music', wrote Cliff in the programme nots for his 1994 Hit List tour. 'Almost everything [he writes] seems to have that commercial feel which many writers find so elusive.' And perhaps that's why today some still say that Cliff's video for Tarney's Some People-- the second single from the album, released in August 1987, was and still remains one of his most creative and best to date. Released in August 1987 Some People entered the UK charts on 19 August 1987 and reached #3 during its 10 week spell on the chart. This single was also issued as a gatefold sleeve (EMG 18), as a Cliff shaped picture disc (EMP 18) and as a 12-inch single which featured an extended version of Some People and an additional track, Reunion Of The Heart (12EM 18). Some People was awarded a silver disc by the BPI. [Remember Me] became the first Cliff Richard single to be issued as a CD (CDEM 31). The CD included Some People and the 12-inch version of Remember Me."
    Peter Lewry & Nigel Goodall (January 2004 - liner notes for Always Guaranteed remaster album)

    "'Alan liked to work on his own,' remembers engineer Gerry Kitchingham. 'He would start the day wondering around strumming the guitar and then he'd come up with a tune and he'd call me in and we'd get something on tape. That's the way he wrote Some People. He came in with nothing and by the next day he'd got a hit song.'"
    Steve Turner (2008 January - Cliff Richard - The Biography (revised edition))

    "Always Guaranteed found Tarney back in control as songwriter, arranger, producer and musician. The result was another four hit singles, including Some People, and a Top 5 album."
    Peter Lewry & Nigel Goodall (July 2010 - liner notes for The Collection album)

    "Thirty years later [after the release of Living Doll], I had two records on the U.S. charts: Stronger [sic], which came in at No. 16 on the Disco dance chart, and a song called Some People, from a failed album that came out a few years before, had made it onto the Adult Contemporary charts. EMI was throwing a big party for me, and I said to them, 'Look, these two tracks have happened all by themselves, so there is an interest in my music in the States; let's get going.' And then the MD [music director] said, 'I don't know how to tell you this, but EMI America is not excited by Cliff Richard material.' I went, 'Oh, no; I wish they had told me that earlier.' "
    Cliff Richard (2015 January 15 - Goldmine)

    "Wired for Sound and Devil Woman, obviously [are on the 75 At 75 compilation]. Move It of course. We Don’t Talk Anymore and Some People are there. Because, yes, they are wonderful."
    Simon Sweetman (December 7, 2015 - Off The Tracks website)

    "SOME PEOPLE" is a perfect vehicle for Cliff, and it´s easy to see why it became a big hit. There is not a hint of substance here either, but it has lots of what it takes to become a hit single.

    Except a good video. I really dislike this video, but I know that some of you like it. It all comes down to appreciating different things in it, and it´s all a matter of taste.

     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
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  21. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    As usual by 1987, there was also an extended version of the A-side released on a 12" single. This is even better than the 7" version. It may not be a favourite anymore, but I really loved this song back in 1987.

    The Cliff Richard Song Database states that this version has never been released on a CD. This is the first time I have discovered a mistake in this database - ot actually was released on a compilation called Hi-NRG Classics CD album (1997 — Canada — SPG Music Ltd. SPG 6001). (To be fair, he mentions this on the song page, but not on the single page.) Do I have this compilation in my collection? Of course I do. I used to be a nerdy collector. Still am...

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  22. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
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    The single featured a B-side written by Cliff. Business as usual. It´s an O.K. song, slightly above average for Cliff, I think. Once again, it´s easy to hear that Alan Tarney did not produce the B-side...

    Unfortunately, this song is not on YouTube. If someone is able to upload it, I would be grateful. :agree:

    Feast your eyes on this promo for the album. Won´t be long till we get to it...

     
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  23. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    The bonus B-side for the 12" single, REUNION OF THE HEART", was much better, I think. It builds a contemplative mood, and there´s melancholy and joy in there. It sort of peters out around the choruses, but I have grown to love this song quite a lot. It keeps popping up in compilations I make. It´s not A-side material, perhaps, but it would have been a great album track. Only my opinion, of course. Feel free to disagree. :agree:

    The song was written by Maldwyn Pope. Here is what Wikipedia writes about him:
    Maldwyn "Mal" Pope (born 18 May 1960) is a Welsh musician and composer, who is notable for his contribution to music theatre portraying Welsh national identities and themes. He lives at the village of Mumbles, Swansea.

    Early life and career
    Pope's parents were teachers and members of the Open (Plymouth) Brethren in the Brynhyfryd area of Swansea. In childhood he is said to have demonstrated unusual talent as a singer and songwriter.

    In the early 1970s, a tape of Pope's songs was sent by his brother to BBC Radio 1 presenter John Peel, who invited Pope to perform at the BBC. The session resulted in a recording contract with Elton John's record label named The Rocket Record Company. He performed while also studying at Christ's College, Cambridge, from which he graduated in 1981. On leaving Cambridge, Pope resided in London, under the management of rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith.

    In 1982, Pope returned to Wales, working for BBC Radio Wales in Cardiff. Combining the activities of singer, songwriter and broadcaster, he was managed by Larry Page, wrote songs for Cliff Richard and The Hollies, duetted with Bonnie Tyler and Aled Jones, and toured with Art Garfunkel and Belinda Carlisle.

    Radio and television
    From February 2016, Pope will present the weekday early breakfast show on BBC Radio Wales from the Corporation's Swansea studios.

    Pope presented a Radio 4 series on black gospel music called Gospel Train. His HTV series Heaven's Sound on the same subject, won an award at the New York Film and Television Awards in 2001.

    In the 1990s, a late-night music chat show for HTV, The Mal Pope Show, won a number of Welsh BAFTA Awards. The show featured interviews with personalities John Cale, The Bee Gees, George Melly, David Gray, Lloyd Cole, Evelyn Glennie and Neil Kinnock. He also sang the theme songs of the Welsh children's television shows Fireman Sam (1987), SuperTed (1982), Satellite City (1988) and Joshua Jones (1991).

    He is married to Hilary Pope, a teacher at a local school, Grange Primary School.

    Choral and music-theatre career
    He was the President of the Welsh male voice choir Gwalia Singers between 2005 and 2010. He and his daughter, Miss Daisy Blue, performed at the choir's 40th anniversary concert in 2006, together with The Storys and the Vivace Singers.

    His 2005 musical Amazing Grace, based on the 1904 Welsh Revival, and directed by Laurence Olivier Award winner Michael Bogdanov, received acclaim in performances at the Swansea Grand Theatre, the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre, at the Sherman Theatre, and at Theatr Clwyd in Mold. In 2006, it was performed to standing ovations at the Wales Millennium Centre, the first original Welsh musical to be presented there.[1]

    In 2007, Pope's next musical, Contender, about the career of heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Farr, exploited an even more popular Welsh national legend. In a highlight scene set during 1937, the title character sings the Welsh national anthem "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" before his third-round knockout of the Nazi German opponent Walter Neusel,[2] for whom "Deutschland über alles" has been played. Contender was premièred at the United Nations building in New York,[3] followed by seasons at Swansea's Grand Theatre and the Aberystwyth Arts Centre. A theme of the musical is that Farr's controversial loss to Joe Louis,[4] and his disproportionate lack of success in the United States, may have resulted from his refusal to co-operate with fight-fixing American mobsters and bookmakers.

    A new musical, Cappuccino Girls, opened in February 2009, treating contemporary themes and relationships.

    Pope was the main vocalist, along with Julie Costello, on religious albums composed by the musician, Phil Baggaley, and his co-writer Ian Blythe. Released in 1996, the debut album City of Gold won awards and sparked international critical acclaim, followed by a number of concerts throughout England. The success of this led Pope to become involved in other albums and concerts including Shipwrecks and Islands, Road to the City, Strands of Gold and, most recently, The Time Project.


     
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  24. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I certainly liked it. Must remember to buy it. :wiggle:
     
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  25. StephenB

    StephenB Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    There are two Cliff songs I always skip and they are the dreadful I'll Love You Forever Today and Some People. For some reason, I have never taken to this song. I can't put my finger on why it is but I just can't stand it!!
     
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