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

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

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Yes, I do agree. The 70s weren´t a homogenous sound - they featured a lot of different sounds. The early 70s Cliff singles were different from his late 60s ones, and the difference was one of production, arrangement and engineering, I think. And yes, "IT´S ONLY ME YOU´VE LEFT BEHIND" was influenced by the nascent proto-disco records. ("JIVE TALKIN´" was released the same year, 1975, so it probably wasn´t an inspiration. George McRae´s "ROCK YOUR BABY" seems like a more obvious inspiration. Maybe.)

    I also agree that Hank Marvin´s influence during this period was a great boon. The songs he was involved with sounded more like pop and rock - apart from "SILVERY RAIN", which is even a tiny bit influenced by progressive rock. (That is, by the way, a sentence I never thought I would write in connection with Cliff´s music!)

    "SUNNY HONEY GIRL" sounds like diluted soul music to me - in a good way. "FLYING MACHINE" seems to be in a genre all by itself. Is "useless" a genre? He, he... Just kidding. I don´t like the song that much, but I still enjoy it in a nostalgic way.
     
    CheshireCat and mark ab like this.
  2. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Speaking of "useless"... He, he. "FLYING MACHINE" was the single that followed "SILVERY RAIN", and it peaked at No. 37 in the UK charts, and at No. 35 in Germany. I think it´s a valid question - what is the genre to which this song belongs? It starts of in a poppy, folky sort of a way, then the bridge starting with "people on the ground/that gathered all around to admire" is close to rock´n´roll; a bit rawer than the rest of the song. Most promising. The chorus never goes anywhere, though, and you get the feeling that although Cliff himself has been having a ball in his flying machine, while the listeners have been left behind on the ground, having moved not at all. The ultimate song that never goes anywhere. At least, that´s my feeling about it. It´s hard to imagine that the man behind this song also wrote Sailor´s "GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS". I usually enjoy hearing this song, but I realise that´s mainly because of memories I associate with the song.

    The song´s writer - and flautist - is an interesting character. Having written the song under the name George Hultgreen, there was more to the story. A lot more. This is his Wikipedia entry:
    Georg Johan Tjegodiev [or Tchegodaieff] Kajanus (born 9 February 1946) is a Norwegian composer and pop musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the British pop group Sailor.

    Early years
    Kajanus was born in Trondheim, Norway, to Prince Pavel [also Paulo] Tjegodiev of Russia and Johanna Kajanus, a French-Finnish sculptress, bronze medal winner for sculpture at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937), and granddaughter of Robert Kajanus, the Finnish composer, conductor, champion of Sibelius and founder of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the brother of the late actress and film-maker Eva Norvind and the uncle to Mexican theater and television actress Nailea Norvind.

    Kajanus moved with his mother and sister to Paris at the age of twelve where he studied music and classical guitar, as well as attending the Cité Universitaire’s flying school. The family then relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where Kajanus worked as a stained-glass window designer.

    Early musical career
    Kajanus was a member of UK-based folk rock band Eclection, who released a self-titled album in 1968 and wrote Cliff Richard's single "Flying Machine" (1971).

    Kajanus and Phil Pickett, who had been acquainted for some time, collaborated on an album, Hi Ho Silver! (1972), as Kajanus/Pickett. Deciding to form a group, tentatively named KP Packet, Kajanus and Pickett enlisted drummer and percussionist Grant Serpell (Affinity), and keyboard player and guitarist Henry Marsh (Gringo). In 1973, the foursome made their first recordings in a small studio in North London. Most of this material was not released at the time, but three demos are featured in Sailor's Buried Treasure 2-CD box set (2006).

    Sailor
    Main article: Sailor (band)
    Kajanus had developed a musical theater concept, Red Light Review, based on his memories of being a young man in places like Pigalle in Paris's red-light district. Encouraged by Grant Serpell to rework this material as pop songs, Kajanus devised the concept for Sailor.

    Sailor signed to Epic Records-CBS Records and between 1974 and 1978 released five albums with Kajanus: Sailor, Trouble, The Third Step, Checkpoint (without Pickett) and Hideaway. Kajanus was the lead singer, guitarist and, for the first three albums, the sole songwriter for the band, penning its two major hits, "A Glass of Champagne" and "Girls, Girls, Girls".

    Kajanus then left Sailor, leaving Pickett as the creative force behind their next album, Dressed for Drowning.

    DATA and afterwards
    Main article: DATA (band)
    Kajanus then left Sailor in 1978 to experiment with electronic music, forming DATA with Frankie and Phil Boulter. The classical-oriented title track of DATA’s first album, Opera Electronica, was the theme music to the short film, Towers of Babel (1981). DATA then followed with two more studio albums, 2-TiME (1983) and Elegant Machinery (1985).

    Shortly after DATA disbanded, Kajanus formed And the Mamluks with Henry Marsh. They recorded only four songs, with two being released on a Razormaid! anthology on vinyl, Razormaid: The Epilogue: Back to Basics (1985). Kajanus and Marsh also collaborated on the soundtrack for the British TV series, The Kid (1986), starring actor/singer Steve Fairnie.

    He worked with the Japanese composer and musician Shigeru Umebayashi, co-writing and producing songs for his album, Ume (1988).

    Sailor again
    Main article: Sailor (band)
    In 1989, Kajanus reunited with Henry Marsh and Phil Pickett to write and record some new material. This was not released at the time, but three songs are featured in Sailor's Buried Treasure 2-CD box set (2006).[6]

    Kajanus, Marsh, Pickett and Grant Serpell reformed Sailor in 1990. The group recorded two albums, Sailor (1991) and Street Lamp (1992), with Kajanus once again writing and arranging all the material. They achieved further chart success in continental Europe with singles such as "La Cumbia" and "The Secretary".

    Noir
    In the late nineties, Kajanus formed the "poetic-techno" duo Noir with Tim Dry (previously of Tik and Tok). Noir’s single "Walking" was used extensively in the 1997 Channel 4 television series Feast, an avant-garde culinary program directed by TV food maestro David Pritchard. Feast was hosted by Noir and also starred French TV chef Jean Christophe Novelli.

    Noir's album Strange Desire, recorded in 1995, was eventually released on Angel Air Records in 2007.

    Other projects
    Kajanus composed the soundtracks for two documentaries directed by German filmmaker Monika Treut: Didn't Do It for Love (1997) and the award-winning Gendernauts (1999).

    In 2008, Kajanus began working with Roberto Trippini and Barbie Wilde on a new version of the Sailor musical - an update of his original Red Light Review concept - which he describes as "a bittersweet musical about two people searching for love in the ruins of post-War Marseille".

    Kajanus's other current musical project is People Industry, which he describes as "an exuberant, musical exploration of the human journey."

    In other words, a man with more than one talent to wield.

    Robert Porter:
    "Flying Machine was written by a Swedish guy-- somebody Hultgreen, I think. And I... He actually played on the session. He played that funny kind of Indian flute thing that's on there."
    Cliff Richard (1974 - The Music And Life Of Cliff Richard collection)
    "June 26, 1971: Cliff's 54th single Flying Machine is released. One reviewer writes: '...days from now... we shall all have joined the butcher's boys and milk roundsmen in whistling its happy tune.' August 1971: Flying Machine becomes Cliff's first-ever single not to make the Top 30. September 1971: Cliff's Flying Machine tops the chart in Denmark. October 1971: Cliff's Flying Machine tops the Malaysian charts. "
    Mike Read, Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1995 - The Complete Chronicle)

    "Cliff was in the era of performing songs like Flying Machine and Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha [sic]. It was all a bit iffy."
    Trevor Spencer (2008 May - The Bachelor Boy)

    Running Time: 3:02
    Record Date: March 20, 1971
    Record Location: Abbey Road, London
    Written By: George Hultgreen
    Arranged By: Norrie Paramor
    Produced By: Norrie Paramor
    Engineered By: Unknown
    Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), George Hultgreen (flute), Big Jim Sullivan (guitar)

     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  3. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I first heard the B-side of "FLYING MACHINE" on a compilation of German-language recordings. I sort of liked it - it seemed like a very German, "oompa"-sounding song. (Sorry if my stereotypes are showing...) "KLEINE TAUBE" was the German version, and I didn´t mind it. Then I finally bought a vinyl 45 of the single, and heard the English-language version, "PIGEON". Once again written by Guy Fletcher and Douglas Flett, this was one of their more typical songs. Breezy, catchy... and annoying. sorry, but I have to be honest. I´ll be so happy if you like this song, but I can easily do without it. I don´t hate it - I just don´t need it.

    The version on the 2008 box set CD - the one we´re discussing now - is an edit, 2:37. Eight seconds shorter than the original. Good... :D

    Robert Porter:
    Running Time: 2:45
    Record Date: February 12, 1971
    Record Location: Chappell Studios, London
    Written By: Guy Fletcher & Doug Flett
    Arranged By: Nick Ingman
    Produced By: Norrie Paramor
    Engineered By: Unknown
    Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Nick Ingman (orchestra conductor), Nick Ingman Orchestra (all other instruments)

     
    mark ab likes this.
  4. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    And here´s the German version: "KLEINE TAUBE".

     
    mark ab likes this.
  5. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    "FLYING MACHINE" was followed by the one and only Cliff single to be banned in South Africa. Now, that´s what I call impressive. It´s hard to understand, though. It´s one of Cliff´s message songs, but it´s a pretty harmless message, one should think. (I can´t help but agree with Steve Turner´s comment below about the lyric.) Written by the Guy Fletcher/Douglas Flett team again, this was far more substantial than any pigeons could have been. It was a pretty big hit - charting at No. 13 in the UK, No. 14 in Sweden and No. 42 in Germany. It was one of only three singles from "BEST OF CLIFF, VOL. 2" to be included on the "40 GOLDEN GREATS" compilation in 1977. Despite my love for the former compilation, I have to admit that that fact tells a story. (Not only faces tell stories.)

    If I had to pick three songs from "BEST OF CLIFF, VOL. 2", I can´t protest that "THROW DOWN A LINE", "GOODBYE SAM, HELLO SAMANTHA" and this one were the ones chosen. They do stick out - in a good way. "SING A SONG OF FREEDOM" became the song that ended all his concerts well into the 70s, and it is, without a doubt, a BIG song. It´s strange, but after all these years, I still like it. It´s even one of my favourites. It may be bland, but it sounds soo good.

    Robert Porter:
    "Sing A Song Of Freedom became the most successful [single of the 1971 to 1974 years], reaching the No.13 spot and spending more weeks on the chart than any of the previous 1971 singles. [...] October 30 1971: Sing A Song Of Freedom/A Thousand Conversations is Cliff's 55th single. One reviewer comments: 'Cliff plays it safe by treading the well-worn path to freedom.' November 1971: Sing A Song Of Freedom is banned in South Africa because of the political repressiveness. [...] October 1974: The Daily Express reports that local Tory parties in Scotland using Cliff's Sing A Song Of Freedom as their anthem have been told to pay performing rights."
    Mike Read, Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1995 - The Complete Chronicle)
    (My edit: Eh.. No, that´s just plain wrong. The biggest hit in the 1971 to 1974 era was, of course, "POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS", which went all the way to No. 4.)
    "Guy Fletcher & Doug Flett were prolific songwriters who wrote several songs for Cliff including Sing A Song Of Freedom and Power To All Our Friends..."
    Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (2008 - liner notes for Lost And Found (From The Archives) album in the ...And They Said It Wouldn't Last! {My 50 Years In Music} set)

    "...Sing A Song Of Freedom was an all-purpose anthem with no real message which drew upon the popular banner-waving slogans of campus politics."
    Steve Turner (2008 January - Cliff Richard - The Biography (revised edition))

    Running Time: 3:24
    Record Date: August 24, 1971
    Record Location: Abbey Road, London
    Written By: Guy Fletcher & Doug Flett
    Arranged By: Brian Bennett
    Produced By: Norrie Paramor
    Engineered By: Unknown
    Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Brian Bennett (orchestra conductor), Big Jim Sullivan (guitar)

     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  6. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    The B-side of "SING A SONG OF FREEDOM" was one of those many B-sides taken from the Marvin, Welch & Farrar oeuvre and then covered by Cliff - and Olivia a few years later. Why not? It´s a lovely song. Written by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, it´s a quiet, lovely ballad. It has one thing in common with the B-side of the "MISS YOU NIGHTS" single, "LOVE ENOUGH": The sound on the recording is a bit muffled, as though the treble is missing. Never mind, it´s one of Cliff´s best B-sides ever. And he has quite a few good ones.

    Robert Porter:
    "October 30, 1971: Sing A Song Of Freedom/A Thousand Conversations is Cliff's 55th single."
    Mike Read, Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1995 - The Complete Chronicle)
    "...Cliff's final single of the year [1971], Sing A Song Of Freedom was paired with the Hank Marvin/Bruce Welch composition A Thousand Conversations."
    Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (2008 - liner notes for Rare B-Sides 1963 - 1989 album in the ...And They Said It Wouldn't Last! {My 50 Years In Music} set)

    Running Time: 2:18
    Record Date: August 24, 1971
    Record Location: Abbey Road, London
    Written By: Hank Marvin & Bruce Welch
    Arranged By: Brian Bennett
    Produced By: Norrie Paramor
    Engineered By: Unknown
    Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Brian Bennett (orchestra conductor), Brian Bennett Orchestra (orchestra and all other instruments)

     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2017
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  7. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Here´s the Marvin, Welch & Farrar version. It sounds like a Gordon Lightfoot song. Coming from me, that´s a huge compliment. Hank´s voice may not threaten Cliff or Gordon´s, but there´s an honesty to it that I like a lot. Lovely song.

     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  8. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    And here´s the lovely Olivia´s version of the song, recorded for the 1976 album "DON´T STOP BELIEVIN´". That makes three good recordings of this song.

     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  9. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Now, I don't find SING A SONG OF FREEDOM bland, in fact I find it to be quite uplifting. And it certainly stands out amongst its neighbours on 'Best Of Cliff Vol. 2'. A worthy hit single. And the 'B' side A THOUSAND CONVERSATIONS is, as you say, a lovely ballad, whether by Cliff, Olivia, or by the first act I heard it by, Marvin, Welch and Farrar. Such a shame they didn't have any real success of their own.
     
    mark ab and Jarleboy like this.
  10. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Agree 100% about Marvin, Welch & Farrar - they deserved so much more success than they ever enjoyed. I find their music a lot more interesting than that of The Shadows. They were more about singer-songwriter types of songs, and that´s much more my thing than guitar instrumentals. (Though I don´t mind those, either.)

    When I used the word "bland" about "SING A SONG OF FREEDOM", I was thinking about the instrumentation on it. I like the song, I love the handclaps, and yes, I also find it uplifting. Like I said - I have been listening to it pretty often since we first got the album around 1973, and I´m still not tired of it.

    And what´s more to say about "A THOUSAND CONVERSATIONS"... I guess we could have more than a thousand conversations about that subject!

    Is this one of the best "double A-side" singles by Cliff ever? (It´s not technically a double A-side - this time I only mean a song that has equally good songs on both sides of the single.)
     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  11. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I forgot to mention this: Rumour has it that the ones doing the handclaps after Cliff goes: "So clap your hands together" were none other than Olivia Newton-John and Pat Carroll Farrar.

    Nice factoid, but I have no idea whether it´s true or not. I read it somewhere, but it sounds like it could be a made-up "fact".
     
    mark ab likes this.
  12. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    I was having the very same thoughts on a 'best double A side'. It's certainly up there. Will need to look through the discography again to consider some others. TRAVELLIN LIGHT/DYNAMITE, WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE/COUNT ME OUT, and there's probably a good few others.
     
    mark ab and Jarleboy like this.
  13. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Lovely! Both those singles were on my mind when I wrote what I wrote! Very good examples. "I CAN´T ASK FOR ANYMORE THAN YOU/JUNIOR COWBOY" qualifies for me, as well as "GREEN LIGHT/IMAGINE LOVE". I´ll have to think about the others - I don´t think there are all that many.
     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  14. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    There's quite a few where I think that the 'B' side is better than the 'A' side. One I'm particularly enjoying at present is I'M AFRAID TO GO HOME, the 'B' side to THE 12th OF NEVER. And 12th OF NEVER is OK in my book.
     
    mark ab and Jarleboy like this.
  15. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Good one! I love both, though "I´M AFRAID TO GO HOME" has the edge, slightly. Lovely, bluesy Cliff. Wish he´d done more of those. Imagine Cliff doing "SENSITIVE KIND" (J.J. Cale/John Mayall). Or some Chris Rea songs? They share more than initials...
     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  16. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I had this - or a similar - conversation with my record-dealing friend a decade ago, and he made a case for the "MISTLETOE & WINE"/"MARMADUKE" single. I didn´t have the heart to tell him that I love the B-side, but find the A-side too weak for being contemplated as a double A-side!
     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  17. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    I had the same thoughts about the 'bluesiness' of I'M AFRAID TO GO HOME, and wondered how an album like that - recorded in the mid 60s would be looked back on now.
     
    mark ab and Jarleboy like this.
  18. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    I suppose we could make one. Widen the net, and include r&b tracks like "I´M THE LONELY ONE"/"WATCH WHAT YOU DO WITH MY BABY", "I WANT YOU TO KNOW", "TIME DRAGS BY" etc. We could have an album´s worth.

    But seriously, I do wish Cliff had recorded more bluesy material. The contrast between raw backing and his sweet voice could have been wonderful.
     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  19. Tim Cooper

    Tim Cooper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southampton UK
    I love trivia like this!
     
    CheshireCat, mark ab and Jarleboy like this.
  20. Tim Cooper

    Tim Cooper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southampton UK
    Agree about the B-side here, I love it, especially Cliff's version.
     
    CheshireCat, mark ab and Jarleboy like this.
  21. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Me, too. I just hope it´s true. I think it was Cliff himself who said it in an interview once upon a time. But I could be wrong. I often am...
     
    CheshireCat and mark ab like this.
  22. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    It´s one of his best - his kind of rock´n´roll, which is not too hard, but still recognisable as exciting "rock´n´pop". This, along with "BORN TO ROCK´N´ROLL", is what Cliff does best, I think.

    A former pupil of mine, who is no longer with us, didn´t respond with the usual quizzical looks when I told him I was a Cliff fan. He was a very cool kid, very much in love with the "deep pop" of his day - for him, that mean Technotronics. (Remember "Pump Up the Jam"?) He surprised me by telling that his older sister had the "MISTLETOE & WINE" single, and that he loved the B-side. Kids never fail to surprise you...
     
    RonBaker, CheshireCat and mark ab like this.
  23. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Or "Simple Song Of Freedom" that Bobby Darin had written for Tim Hardin . . .
     
    CheshireCat, Jarleboy and mark ab like this.
  24. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love Thread Starter

    Location:
    Norway
    Oh yes, that would have been great. I usually love all the songs recorded by Tim Hardin, but for some reason I was never that impressed with "SIMPLE SONG OF FREEDOM". I like the song, but I don´t think Tim did. I think Cliff could have recorded a great version of this.

    And of the subject of the near-genius that is Tim Hardin: Cliff recorded some of his songs, and I love his versions of "HANG ON TO A DREAM" and "THE LADY CAME FROM BALTIMORE". Cliff´s voice is really suited to those kinds of songs. Let´s throw in some Gordon Lightfoot covers, as well - "IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND", "SUNDOWN", "EARLY MORNIN´RAIN", "FOR LOVIN´ ME" and the grandest of them all, "MINSTREL OF THE DAWN".
     
    mark ab and CheshireCat like this.
  25. RonBaker

    RonBaker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jackson, Ohio USA
    I really like "Marmaduke"
     
    CheshireCat and Jarleboy like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine