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

"JUST ANOTHER GUY" was released as the B-side to the No. 1 hit "THE MINUTE YOU´RE GONE". Another one of those songs recorded in Nashville, it sounds great. Cliff has recorded a few Neil Diamond songs over the years - "SOLITARY MAN", "GIRL, YOU´LL BE A WOMAN SOON" and "I´LL COME RUNNIN´" - and this one, which happens to be the first one he recorded. Like most Neil Diamond songs, it´s a great pop track, and Cliff does it so well. Lovely.

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo mix of this song are the same take and edit.

Running Time: 2:05
Record Date: August 25, 1964
Record Location: Columbia Studios, Nashville
Written By: Neil Diamond
Produced By: Bob Morgan & Billy Sherrill
Engineered By: Mort Thomason
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), The Jordanaires (backing vocals), all other instruments and artists unknown
Released On: Cliff & The Shadows '65 LP album (1965 — Germany — Columbia SMC 83977) [stereo]

 

"JUST A LITTLE BIT TOO LATE" is the similarly-sounding B-side to his next single - "ON MY WORD". So far, I have covered every one of the A-sides to the singles in my posts for the "40 GOLDEN GREATS" compilation, but "ON MY WORD" was not big enough of a hit to qualify for that exclusive album. It was another song recorded in Nashville, and it was a biggish hit, peaking at No. 12 in the UK charts, No. 20 in the Dutch charts and No. 31 in the Australian charts.

It may not be remembered by many these days, probably not even Cliff, but I always think of it as a summery, happy-go-lucky sort of a song. That I enjoy very much.

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:27
Record Date: August 24, 1964
Record Location: Columbia Studios, Nashville
Written By: John Talley & Bob Montgomery
Produced By: Bob Morgan & Billy Sherrill
Engineered By: Mort Thomason
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), The Jordanaires (backing vocals), all other instruments and artists unknown

 

The Jordanaires backing? Elvis' Jordanaires? Cool!

 

The B-side, "JUST A LITTLE BIT TOO LATE" was another Hank Marvin composition. Jaunty and fresh, it came from a time when "B-side" was not a disparaging word. In other words, a great little song. (And it was recorded exactly eight days before I was born, so... )

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:35
Record Date: April 4, 1965
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Hank Marvin
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), Bruce Welch (guitar), John Rostill (bass), Brian Bennett (drums)

 

Yes, they were featured on some of his Nashville recordings. And yes, VERY cool indeed!

Edit: Yeah! Beat Bob60 to the 5000 mark. I can rest.

 

"SOMEBODY LOSES" was the B-side of the - IMO - great and unusual Cliff single "BLUE TURNS TO GREY" in 1966, a song written by two semi-famous names, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the beat combo Rolling Stones fame. Some Cliff fans don´t like this song, but I do. It was a UK No. 15 hit, and went as high as No. 11 in the New Zealand charts. More modest placings of No. 18 and No. 20 in the Dutch and the Australian chart respectively make for a decent, though not massive hit. This was indicative of the tastes back then - the time when a Cliff single was an automatic Top Ten hit was coming to an end.

The B-side was written by two almost as famous songwriters, Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. They had contributed a lot of hits already to Cliff´s career - "TRAVELLIN´ LIGHT" and "THE YOUNG ONES", to mention just two. This one was recorded the same year as the title song to the "FINDERS KEEPERS" film and soundtrack album, and you might get the idea that simple rhymes like that were popular that year.

This is one of those cozy, sing-along-a-Cliff tracks that used to make us happy. Not a bad epitaph for any song.

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 1:52
Record Date: January 17, 1966
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), Bruce Welch (guitar), John Rostill (bass), Brian Bennett (drums)

 

"I GET THE FEELIN´" was the B-side of the forgotten single "I´LL COME RUNNIN´". The A-side peaked at No. 26 in the UK charts, No. 10 in New Zealand, No. 31 in the Dutch Charts and No. 69 in the Australian charts. Not a huge hit, in other words. I wonder how many times Cliff has mentioned this song in his interviews?

Both sides of the single were written by Neil Diamond, and both are good songs, though hardly hit single material. "I GET THE FEELIN´" is an easily recognisable Neil Diamond composition, and it´s a perfectly good song. Neil Diamond didn´t write many stinkers.

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:17
Record Date: April 24, 1967
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Neil Diamond
Arranged By: Mike Leander
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Mike Leander (orchestra conductor), Mike Leander Orchestra (orchestra and all other instruments)

 

"OUR STORY BOOK" was released as the B-side of "THE DAY I MET MARIE" single in 1967. As most of you know, this was Cliff´s favourite song to perform, alongside "MOVE IT!", I presume, until "MISS YOU NIGHTS" came along. Written by Hank Marvin, it peaked at No. 10 in the UK charts, but rose to No. 4 in the New Zealand charts and No. 5 in the Australian charts. (It also reached No. 7 in the Dutch charts, and No. 10 in the Irish ones.)

The B-side, "OUR STORY BOOK", is quite typical of the material that Cliff recorded in the mid-to-late 60s. A nice enough song, it´s not all that memorable, IMO. The lyrics are somewhat sophisticated in form, but the content is very familiar. A love song, from Cliff? It reminds me of "BANG BANG (I SHOT MY BABY DOWN", recorded a few years later.

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:31
Record Date: April 24, 1967
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Lor Crane & Joan Kingsbury
Arranged By: Mike Leander
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), The Mike Leander Orchestra (orchestra and all other instruments)

 

NB! Just a hint: When I first searched YouTube for "BACK IN VAUDEVILLE", I couldn´t find it. I then stumbled across this series of compilations, presenting some of Cliff´s best and least known songs. It´s easy to lose yourself in these compilations, even though they are edited using a machine saw. The series is called DISCOGRAPHY COLLECTION, and you´ll find one compilation for each letter.

To find "BACK IN VAUDEVILLE", it starts around the 2:00 mark. So glad I finally found it.

NB! May contain Olivia Newton-Johns.

 

Neil's recordings of these songs were the absolute best...and "The Boat That I Row" (covered by Lulu) also came from this time period--Neil's Bang records recordings.

 

I love BLUE TURN TO GREY". As you say, it's unlike the other singles of the time. It's got the Rolling Stones sound all over it. I also felt that "TRUE TRUE LOVIN'" was very Beatles-esque. Loved that one too.

 

Agree. He wrote them, he sang them. He´s a great writer, and just as impressive as a performer.

 

"SWEET LITTLE JESUS BOY" was released in 1967 as the B-side to "ALL MY LOVE", or "SOLO TU" in its original Italian guise. The A-side was a by then rather uncommonly big hit - No. 6 in the UK charts, while peaking at No. 3 in Belgium, No. 5 in New Zealand, No. 8 in Ireland, No. 9 in Australia and No. 12 in The Netherlands. One of Cliff´s big ballads - a simple, repetitive and catchy ballad.

The B-side was one of Cliff´s first overtly religious songs. Written by Robert MacGimsey, and performed with an orchestra. The song was re-recorded for the mostly spoken word album "ABOUT THAT MAN" in 1970. According to experts, Cliff recorded a new vocal for this second version of the song. It´s a cute and pleasant song, but I think I prefer the version without the orchestra.

Robert Porter:
The mono and stereo recordings are the same take and edit, but different mixes.

Running Time: 2:19
Record Date: April 28, 1967
Record Location: Abbey Road, London
Written By: Robert MacGimsey
Produced By: Norrie Paramor
Engineered By: Peter Vince & Mike Stone
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), The Norrie Paramor Orchestra (orchestra and all other instruments)

This version is obviously taken from a mono 45 - not just slightly worn.

 

In Canada there was a "Blue Turns to Grey" album (which I bought...of course). Cliff Richard - Blue Turns To Grey

I could not find an online picture of the album.

 

I'd put BLUE TURNS TO GREY as one of Cliff's best '60s singles! That and THROW DOWN A LINE.

 

I now feel the need to own a copy of this LP...

 

I'm gonna whisper this but I think Cliff's 'Blue turns to Grey' is better than the Stones own version!

 

You can shout it if you want! It quite definitely is better!

 

No argument here. I love them both.

 

I never knew that. I think the song deserves to have an album named after it. I wish Cliff would record more songs in this vein.

 

I wouldn´t contradict you. Strange thing is, I like the sequence of "VISIONS" and "BLUE TURNS TO GREY". Two more different Cliff singles you won´t find, and I think both of them are great. "THROW DOWN A LINE" is a direction I wish Cliff would pursue - just like "BLUE TURNS TO GREY". He is best known as a MOR singer, and he does that well, but I love it when he rocks out. That´s why I also like songs like "BORN TO ROCK´N´ROLL", "LOVE STEALER", "MONDAY THRU FRIDAY" and all the rest.

 

I love to see the passion in your posts. To think I thought I was more or less alone in thinking "BLUE TURNS TO GREY" was a great entry in Cliff´s catalogue.

 

The period of singles from 1965's MINUTE YOU'RE GONE through to the end of the decade (and perhaps a little longer) are great. The singles become far more varied than the ones in the earlier phase, as you say, from BLUE TURNS TO GREY, to VISIONS, then IN THE COUNTRY, IT'S ALL OVER, I'LL COME RUNNING and THE DAY I MET MARIE, all very different. Maybe now that the top 3 chart placings were in the past, there was an opportunity to be more adventurous. (or maybe it was trying to find a single which would be a big hit again, so trying all sorts of styles - I like to imagine it was due to being more artistically adventurous!)

 

Reportedly, this is the same period that Cliff began losing interest in his career. (And wanting to become a teacher, no less.) I agree with you, and I think we have Ron Baker on our side, for one. I like the singles covered on the "BEST OF CLIFF"s, volumes 1 and 2. I also think the "ESTABLISHED 1958" album gave us many unusual and fun Cliff tracks. (And also the beautiful "DON´T FORGET TO CATCH ME" single, that was not included in either of the best ofs. Cliff at his easy listening best.)

As you say, it could be just latching on to each and every genre going, hoping to get a hit, or it could be, as we both hope, a genuine search for worthwhile material. And I for one think that many of these were.

 

There was a time when I was ONLY playing Cliff's records! At that time my collection was a little more manageable...only 150 singles by Cliff...by 1989 it had grown to over 200...now it's around 280 or so LOL. There are definitely some great songs recorded and released during that time frame in the mid-60s on. I even bought all the foreign language records as well. There is a great one on the "When in France" album called "La Ballade De Baltimore" (at least I think it's great). In the USA, we sort of had the misfortune of getting an album of ballads called "It's All in the Game" because Cliff had a hit single of the title song. It is all ballads. "Where the Four Winds Blow" isn't as good on that album as it is on the single from Japan...it's a different mix I think. I think if Capitol in the USA had released the "Blue Turns to Grey" album, things might have been a bit different. (The album cover, by the way, is the same photo and layout as "When in Rome" but the image is reversed).

Contents:
Tracklist
A1 Blue Turns to Grey Featuring - The Shadows
A2 Somebody Loses Featuring – The Shadows
A3 Sweet And Gentle Featuring – The Shadows
A4 Wind Me Up
A5 My Heart Is An Open Book
A6 Lies & Kisses
B1 The Night Featuring – The Shadows
B2 I Only Came To Say Goodbye
B3 Just A Little Bit Too Late Featuring – The Shadows
B4 The Time In Between Featuring – The Shadows
B5 Oh My Word
B6 Look Before You Love