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

Wonder how Cliff would have worked with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, now that you all mention it . . .

 

Now that is a wholly different kettle of fish! Pete Bellotte´s work with Elton John aside - "VICTIM OF LOVE", anyone? - most things Moroder and Bellotte lent their hands to became quality products. I am not sure Cliff´s voice would be strong enough to survive their songs - he´s not a belter, so that would have had to have been addressed. Apart from that, I think you might actually be on to a good thing - well, then, not now. Could have been interesting if the songs were good enough.

 

Yes! We´ve made it to a hundred pages! I never thought could happen with a Cliff thread. And now we have two! I am pleased.

And still six years of hits to go, and then back for some compilations, special albums and live albums. Much to look forward to - or to dread...

 

He could have made an album with Pet Shop Boys, just like Dusty... I don't think a cover of West End Girls would suit though.

 

No... Too young. "SO HARD" would be wrong for his sensibilities, too. (Though I love the lines "We´ve bought given up smoking/´Cause it´s fatal/So, whose matches are these". Subtlety´s the word.

But it would be interesting to see whether they could create something new together. I like both artists, but I can´t really see them gel. I hope they could prove me wrong!

 

PSB have written some brilliant songs, but I'm not sure how they'd suit our Cliff. It'd have been interesting! After all, who've thought Dusty would sing their songs...

 

I was 17 when 'I Just Don't Have The Heart' was released and while I had no real vested interest in Cliff at the time I still thought it was a 'sell out' or that Cliff was jumping on a bandwagon that I believed he had no right to jump on. A year earlier I had even liked a few of the SAW singles with Kylie Minogue etc. but suddenly it seemed every other song was another Soul-less And Wretched hit from that team and they were beginning to irk me. Also I was getting into Bob Dylan so obviously it was all just wrong!
Ah, the sweet passing of time... hormones settled and with a much more balanced way of thinking (ha!) I can now tolerate much more. Yes, the mist has cleared and I can listen to this without grimacing or turning off in disgust and actually don't mind it at all, quite partial to the B side too (courtesy of the 'Stronger Expanded Edition'). I'll admit the instrumental version from the aforementioned CD and the extended version as on '...And They Said It Wouldn't Last!' don't get many plays at all but there you go, all in all a solid pairing and I can no longer blame Cliff for wanting an almost guaranteed hit from the SAW team.

 

If we are going to team Cliff up with dance music/electronic music artists, there are only two that I think would be stellar: Erasure or the Pet Shop Boys. PSB resurrected Dusty Springfield's career, Liza's career, got Yoko Ono a #1 single. They might be able to do the same for Cliff...I would love to hear Cliff sing "A Little Respect"...so Erasure too...

 

As much as I'd like Cliff to make a contemporary pop album again, I'm not sure acts like Erasure and PSB are a good match.. For one thing, both these have seen better days themselves. I'm not sure they're in a position to help anyone anymore.

 

Cliff's worst album bar none!

 

I think 'Real As I Wanna Be' is his worst. It's far too long. None of the songs are much cop. 'Butterfly Kisses' is like someone pouring treacle down your throat. Even the album title is horrible!

 

It isn't prime Cliff material, for sure, although I do like "Climbing Up Mount Everest" and in the US, the album also had his duet with Olivia of "Had to Be". So, two decent songs...the rest weren't so great. "Can't Keep This Feeling In" probably the best of the remainder.

 

I don´t quite see Cliff in that scenario, but I would to hear what it would sound like! Interesting.

They did wonders with Dusty - or did she do wonders with them? A match made quite near heaven, anyway.

 

I remember thinking much the same way, and I fully expected to hate the song. Proved to be an OK single for Cliff - a diversion, not a real classic, but I enjoyed it. It had all the strengths and the weaknesses of a SAW production. It was not as good as "NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP", which I still like, but it was comfortably better than a lot of the dreck that came before and after it. It can hold its head high among Cliff singles - it´s good enough.

The B-side is a bit flat to me, but not a bad song.

 

He, he... Let´s see if any of them are up to it. Could prove interesting.

 

Yes, indeedy! I played it once, then stored it on a shelf and forgot about it. Cliff and Alan Tarney at their worst.

 

Agree about the album in general, but three tracks rise above the dreck: "REAL AS I WANNA BE" is a great song, and "SHE MAKES ME FEEL LIKE A MAN" and "THE MIRACLE" are OK in my book. The rest is booooring.

 

Agree with Bobby about "BUTTERFLY KISSES" I tried hard to like it, but it was futile. I normally like country music, but this was taking the sugary aspect to infinity - and beyond. Best forgotten.

I never liked "CAN´T KEEP THIS FEELING IN" - I was near the end of my time as a Cliff fan, and I played it over and over again, but never did like it very much. He was trying something new, but I don´t think he nailed it.

 

Which is more than could be said for Ms. Springfield's 1987 record with Richard Carpenter, "Something In Your Eyes." While Dusty, on her own merits, ranks among the best amongst singers, she was no Karen Carpenter . . .

 

I love both, for different reasons. Two great voices, and neither was easy to replace.

 

Playing the 'Love Songs' CD the other day (very nice, BTW), I was struck by how much better his voice was on the 60s songs. No vibrato or falsetto at all. I don't mind a bit of either used sparingly, but at some point during the 70s he decided they were his 'thing'..

Jumping forward to 'Can't Keep This Feeling In', it's a song that's overloaded with both. Really gets on your wick!

 

I don't mind 'Climbing Up Mount Everest' either. The album was very much Cliff's latest attempt to sound 'modern'. At the expense of decent material, IMO.

 

I think the change came most markedly in the early 80s. Until then, as you say, vibrato and falsetto were two of his tools - the latter after "I CAN´T ASK FOR ANYMORE THAN YOU", really - and I agree that he embraced too often and too warmly by the 90s. It gets annoying, and some perfectly good ballads were ruined by too much of one or both of those tools. The traits of "old age" - yes, I do exaggerate! - was also noticable from the release of 1992´s "I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU". He can still sing with the best of them, but he has acquired some bad habits, and the strength of the voice is a bit diminished by now. (As we should expect it to be.) It´s still more than serviceable, but I´m glad he recorded "MISS YOU NIGHTS" in 1975 and not 2015.

And yes, "CAN´T KEEP THIS FEELING IN" is drowned by all these habits/problems. I never play that album - if I do, I pick out the three songs I like and forget about the rest.

 

Have you been working out, Bobby? Those arms in your avatar look pretty lean and mean.

 

Single No. 108: 1989 October 2 — UK — EMI EM 105
A-side: "LEAN ON YOU" (Written by Alan Tarney)
B-side: "HEY MISTER" (Written by Alan Tarney)
12"/CD single bonus track: "LEAN ON YOU" (Extended Version)
A-side and B-side arranged and produced by Alan Tarney









I decided to forego the myriad versions of the single - cassette single, 12", CD single etc. They more or less all look the same. I did feel inclined to include the shaped Picture disc. I know some of you out ther love them.

This was the third single lifted from the "STRONGER" album, but the first one to feature the imprint of Alan Tarney, the main songwriter and producer on yet another Cliff album. Tarney has been quite vocal about being bitter about not being given the responsibility for the whole album. Several other teams of producers and songwriters contributed to this album, and Tarney would have preferred to be given complete artitistic freedom. In principle, I agree with him, and I think he has a right to feel a tiny bit slighted. On the other hand, "STRONGER" is a much... well... stronger album than the former studio album, "ALWAYS GUARANTEED", which had been an Alan Tarney production in every sense of the word - Cliff was just a featured vocalist on that one. (Take away "UNDER YOUR SPELL - and I wish they had... Just kidding.) What had been a strength on the "I´M NO HERO" - a cohesive sound - became a bit of a bore on this album, and the sound was a bit fluffier than on "I´M NO HERO".

In other words, I think pulling in other producers and songwriters helped this album a lot. "THE BEST OF ME" may not be my favourite single, but it works well as an ordinary" ballad in the land of Tarneyed disco tracks. "I JUST DON´T HAVE THE HEART" doesn´t fit in as well, but is wisely used as the opening track on side 2 of the LP, and offers a bit of variety as well. "SHARE A DREAM"... Well, not all the inclusions were successful...

Anyway, "LEAN ON YOU" is a more sophisticated take on the "SOME PEOPLE" sound/arrangement, and I like this song a whole lot better. Some people - yes! - may prefer the edited radio version, because the album version does tend to on a bit, but I love this track. My brother-in-law, who usually dismisses Cliff´s songs, really fell for this in a big way. I´m big on melancholy, and this song has this in spades, and a wonderful Alan Tarney backing to bring out the nuances in the song. Well done!

It wasn´t as big a hit as the previous three singles, peaking at No. 17 in the UK and No. 10 in Ireland, which is resepctable for a third single. (A less impressive No. 60 in Germany, No. 66 in the Netherlands and No. 93 in Australia notwithstanding.) I even like the extended version, though just a bit over eight minutes is pushing it a bit.

This is what Robert Porter has to say about the single:
Lean On You
(Alan Tarney)
Running Time: 5:01
This is the same as on the Stronger album.
Hey Mister
(Alan Tarney)
Running Time: 3:54
This is an original B-side. Lean On You (Extended Mix)
(Alan Tarney)
Running Time: 8:16
This extended version is extended from the Stronger album version, greatly extending the intro with additional instrumentation. In addition, the vocal bridge part is extended with Cliff's lines broken up by instrumental parts; and the repeated fade is extended with an additional guitar solo and a heavy drum effect.
Lean On You (Radio Edit)
(Alan Tarney)
Running Time: 3:45
This version is edited from the Stronger album version, cutting a short instrumental part of the intro and everything from the second half of the second chorus to the third chorus (including the instrumental and vocal bridges), thus merging these two choruses into one.

The picture disc for this single uses some distinctive packaging. The picture disc itself has a playing surface of a typical 7" single, but the plastic is extended along the edges to show the rest of Cliff's head and shoulders. There is a single sheet 11" x 11" cardboard insert with the picture disc, showing that this is a "limited edition picture disc" on the front and the song credits on the back side. Both the picture disc and the insert are then placed inside a 12" x 12" clear plastic sleeve.

"April 3, 1989: 2,000 fans are invited to the London Palladium, where Cliff and Mike Read present six of Cliff's new recordings for the fans to select their favourites-- (This was the order of popularity1. Stronger Than That
2. Best Of Me [sic]
3. Just Don't Have The Heart
4. Joanna
5. Lean On You
6. Forever You'll Be Mine [sic]
October 4, 1989: Cliff's 102nd solo single-- Lean On You is released. It eventually reaches No.17."
Mike Read, Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (1995 - The Complete Chronicle)

"Released in October 1989 Lean On You entered the charts on 14 October 1989 and reached #17 during its 6 week stay on the chart. On the extended mix of Lean On You, the additional track Hey Mister featured on the 12-inch single (12EM 105) and the CD single (CDEM 105). A 7-inch picture disc (EMPD 105) was also issued."
Peter Lewry & Nigel Goodall (January 2004 - liner notes for Stronger remaster album)