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

As I´ve said before, we respond differently to different recordings of the same songs. Some of us prefer apples, some oranges. I happen to prefer Cliff´s version in this case,and I agree with Anthony about it being one of his best recordings of the 60s.

At the end of the day, it doesn´t really matter. The songs itself is great, and both Cliff and Brian acquit themselves well. And no need to feel sorry for liking another version better than Cliff´s! We may have a soft spot for Mr. Cliff, but that doesn´t mean we have to admire everything he does.

 

The 2008 box set commemorating his 50 years in the music business contained a very mixed bag of albums. One of the more unexpected ones was the 1972 live album originally released in Asia as "CLIFF LIVE IN JAPAN 1972", then as "CLIFF GOES EAST" in Singapore, which is the version in the box set. There had also been an edited version released on Music For Pleasure, which had a completely different cover shot.









This was one of the first live albums of Cliff´s I came across. My grandmother knew I was a Cliff fan, and gave me her cassette version of this album. I loved it, though it is a somewhat curious release. The Shadows and Cliff are joined by Olivia Newton-John and Pat Carroll Farrar, and this is a pleasant performance, but the versions of songs find here lack bite, as far as I´m concerned. Cliff was also right in the middle of his career nadir, and though I like and love many of the songs released during this era, commercially they were less successful than before. That´s the negative side. On the plus side, you do get to hear Cliff perform some songs that are very rare in live form, and even some that have never had a studio version released.

The original "CLIFF GOES EAST" was a double LP, and some of the Shadows tracks have been excised from this 2008 version of the concert. I´ll try to include most of the songs from the concert, as some of them at least are present on YouTube.

Tracklist
A1 Backscratcher
A2 Can't Let You Go
A3 Have A Little Talk With Myself
A4 Sunny Honey Girl
A5 The Minute You're Gone
A6 Flying Machine
A7 The Day I Met Marie
B1 Silvery Rain
B2 My Way
B3 Move It
B4 Living In Harmony
B5 Walk On By/The Look Of Love
B6 Early In The Morning
B7 Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha
C1 Living Doll
C2 Bachelor Boy
C3 The Young Ones
C4 Congratulations
Rock'n Roll Medley
C5 The Girl Can't Help It / Great Balls Of Fire / Lucille / Jailhouse Rock / Good Old Rock'n Roll / Do You Wanna Dance
C6 Sing A Song Of Freedom
C7 The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt
D1 Mr. Sun
D2 Apache
D3 Lonesome Wolf
D4 Tiny Robin
D5 A Thousand Conversations
D6 Bye Bye Love
D7 Something
D8 Keep The Customers Satisfied
Credits
Vocals – Olivia Newton-John, Pat Carrol

 

This NOT the same version of the song found on the live album. This is a version by the Brian Bennett Band, featuring many members of The Shadows. The song is about as heavy as this concert got, and I like it.

 

"CAN´T LET YOU GO" is the first Cliff track on the CD. It´s a Russ Ballard song that Cliff never recorded in the studio. It was, however, featured in the "hilarious" 1972 TV show "THE CASE". Which may not have been all that hilarious, but it did have its charm, featuring Olivia, Tim Brooke-Taylor and several Scandinavian bigwigs.

Robert Porter:
"...a rocking version of Russ Ballard's Can't Let You Go. This song, and the following number, Ray Stevens' Have A Little Talk With Myself, were songs that Cliff hadn't recorded in the studio and are only available as live performances."
Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (2008 - liner notes for Cliff "Live" In Japan '72 album in the ...And They Said It Wouldn't Last! {My 50 Years In Music} set)

Running Time: 2:25
Record Date: September 22/23 1972
Record Location: Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo Japan
Written By: Russ Ballard
Produced By: Unknown
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), John Farrar (bass), Brian Bennett (drums), Alan Hawkshaw (piano), Olivia Newton-John (backing vocals), Pat Carroll (backing vocals), Trevor Spencer (percussion), Alan Tarney (bass)

 

"HAVE A LITTLE TALK WITH MYSELF" is a gospel song that has more energy than most Cliff songs from this period. The song was written by novelty artist Ray Stevens, who also wrote Cliff´s "MR. BUSINESS MAN" from the 1974 "live" album "HELP IT ALONG". Ray is probably best known for "EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL", and the novelty hits "AHAB THE ARAB" and "THE STREAK".

Robert Porter:
"[Can't Let You Go,] and the following number, Ray Stevens' Have A Little Talk With Myself, were songs that Cliff hadn't recorded in the studio and are only available as live performances."
Nigel Goodall & Peter Lewry (2008 - liner notes for Cliff "Live" In Japan '72 album in the ...And They Said It Wouldn't Last! {My 50 Years In Music} set)

Running Time: 3:22
Record Date: September 22/23 1972
Record Location: Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo Japan
Written By: Ray Stevens
Produced By: Unknown
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), John Farrar (bass), Brian Bennett (drums), Alan Hawkshaw (piano), Olivia Newton-John (backing vocals), Pat Carroll (backing vocals), Trevor Spencer (percussion), Alan Tarney (bass)

 

"SUNNY HONEY GIRL" is one of my favourite Cliff hits from the early 70s.

Robert Porter:
Running Time: 2:26 (3:26 if the introduction to the band before the song is included)
Record Date: September 22/23 1972
Record Location: Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo Japan
Written By: Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Johnnie Goodison & Tony Hiller
Produced By: Unknown
Engineered By: Unknown
Performed By: Cliff Richard (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), John Farrar (bass), Brian Bennett (drums), Alan Hawkshaw (piano), Olivia Newton-John (backing vocals), Pat Carroll (backing vocals), Trevor Spencer (percussion), Alan Tarney (bass)

 

Well newly discovered treasure, from the blog where you always learn something! You'd swear there was a teacher let loose here! Here's to education.........

 

He, he... I don´t know if you learn all that much that is new, but Robert Porter has a few tricks up his sleeve. But thanks, John-Adam - you´re always full of praise.

And yes, there might just be a teacher behind all my rambling...

 

Going back an album, "Lost And Found" is probably one of the best albums I love to listen to.
To the average listener.. Living Doll, Summer Holiday, We Don't Talk Anymore, Devil Woman, Wired For Sound and others this is Cliff. Most fans know all the album and single tracks. But some fans are not sure on some of the rarer singles like "Wouldn't You Know It" or "Back In Vaudeville".
This album has unreleased songs by some famous writers. It just pleases me that these songs are for the few who brought the box set or risked the stand alone album. Postmark Heaven is one of the highlights, big and powerful.
I wonder if there is still more in the vaults... If so bring it on..

 

I understand what you mean. It´s like getting a whole new Cliff album, including some extremely deep cuts we have never heard before, and, as you say,some songs written by big name composers. Very interesting, though I do think the quality of the songs vary quite a bit. The best are very good,though.

And, as you know from the website, there are unreleased tracks in the vault, at least enough to fill a full CD. Most of them are probably not that good, but I do hope we get to hear them. Personally, I would give my left kidney to hear the many outtakes from the "GREEN LIGHT" and "NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON´T"sessions. I think they could prove interesting, as most songs were of high quality in that period. I would also love to get a good quality studio recording of the "SMALL CORNERS" outtake "YOU CAN´T GET TO HEAVEN (BY LIVING LIKE HELL)". I dislike the lyrics intensely, but the tune is a good novelty kind of a song. I can disregard the lyrics. Just this once.

 

"THE MINUTE YOU´RE GONE", his 1965 No. 1 country cover, is given a more intimate treatment here. And it´s lovely. The reason I referred to this live album as having less bite than other Cliff live albums is the fact that the edited Music For Pleasure version I grew up with - sort of -cut out the first four tracks, and started with this extremely nice song. In other words, it skipped the exciting rock´n´roll tracks and went right for the easy listening part of the concert. Fair enough, but this only reinforced the image that Cliff would soon come to be associated with, that of a slightly younger, and better-looking, Val Doonican, easy-listening, MOR all-round entertainer. Nothing wrong with that,not at all -but it wasn´t really Cliff.

And that´s why he needed Bruce Welch and "I´M NEARLY FAMOUS". Just imagine, for a second, the contrast between these recordings and the songs found on the latter album. I happen to enjoy both, but there´s no doubt in my mind which I prefer.

 

"FLYING MACHINE"is not one of Cliff´s best songs, to be frank. There are elements in the song that works, but, eventually, it never goes anywhere.It just sits there - and that´s not the purpose of a flying machine. This live version is a bit faster, and shows a way they might have improved the song.

But I would prefer a complete re-write.

 

"THE DAY I MET MARIE" was for a long time Cliff´s favourite song. next to "MOVE IT". I like the dreamy ballad part, but I have little love for the "oompa-pa" chorus. A hit, and deservedly so, but not one that I play all that often.

 

"SILVERY RAIN", like the song above, was written by Hank Marvin. It hasn´t met with universal acclaim, but I love it. One of Cliff´s strongest songs ever.

 

"MY WAY" is, in fact, Cliff´s take on the French song "ET MAINTENANT" - "AND NOW" - translated by Paul Anka to become one of Frank Sinatra´signature tunes. As weall know, David Bowie was furious that his translation didn´t win through.

 

And back to the beginning - Ian Samwell´s "MOVE IT!". This is a song that really needs no introduction anymore, but glad to hear it.

 

"LIVING IN HARMONY" was his current single, and is another Tarney/Spencer co-write. I know opinion is divided about this song. I love it - most of the time.

 

Another nail in the coffin - two easy listening classics performed by Mr. Easy Listening... Thankfully, both songs are top-notch, and what the performances lack in polish, they make up for with enthusiasm. And plenty of it. "THE LOOK OF LOVE" from the hilarious "CASINO ROYALE", originally performed by Dusty Springfield, and "WALK ON BY", a Bacharach-David song recorded by Dionne Warwick. What pedigrees!

 

"EARLY IN THE MORNING" was a huge hit for Cliff in Asia,whereas the band Vanity Fayre had a hit with it in the rest of the world. Catchy.

(Don´t worry - the 1976 on the video is a mistake. Olivia had moved on to her own somewhat successful solo career by then...)

 

'Never goes anywhere'! What do you mean! It goes up, it goes down, it goes round and round!

 

What a belter. I love "Move It" it's just great! Although a number two in the charts it should have been a chart topper.

 

Certainly. It started Cliff´s career with a bang, and even though it has whispered a bit of late, it was an auspicious start. Even John Lennon opined that British rock´n´roll started with "Move It".

But what did he know?

 

I absolutely LOVE this album! My parents had a copy of the MFP release long before I was born and I think I probably played it to death. Imagine my delight when I found out that there was a double album version of it released in the Asian market. I spent a while looking for it and ended up paying something like £95 for it at a record fair one day, long before I was married and didn't have to justify spending that amount of money on records to anyone. Ah, those were the days!

Although, as you said, Cliff was smack bang in the middle of his career nadir at this point, this album shows just how good a performer he still was even if sales were not that great for him at the time.

Can't Let You Go and Have A Little Talk With Myself are just great songs to sing along to and I actually rather rate his version of My Way quite highly. It would be good to hear a modern day performance of this song I think, personally.

 

Interesting. I don´t think it´s even close to being his best live album, but I do love it - partly because it documents this period of his career. And yes, I agree with you - some of these songs are amazing. "CAN´T LET YOU GO" is one of them.

Yes - why not? How would Cliff handle "MY WAY" now that the lyrics are becoming more and more apposite?

 

You're right, this isn't his best live album as that title belongs to Japan Tour '74, another album I paid silly money for back in my single days. I think it was something like £150!!