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

Yep. Wouldn´t pay more than £10 for it, and then only if the mastering was exceptional, or a SACD. I have got all those tracks about twenty times over. At least. O, the fate of a collector. By choice, of course.

 

£10 would be more than enough, especially as it's only 'volume 1' of the greatest hits... There again, I've just spent £9.99 on the STRONGER THRU THE YEARS... and they don't even spell 'through' correctly! Never mind the fact that we all on this thread could have been employed to create a far better compilation.

 

Now, there´s an idea and a half! Imagine you, me, Stephen, Tim, Phil et al"discussing" what songs to include! We might come to blows! I´d suggest "I´LL LOVE YOU FOREVER TODAY", and Stephen would veto that idea. He, he. We all have songs that we love and others that we dislike.

But I am sure, between all of us, we could make a better compilation that the ones the emerge through official channels. Actually, "STRONGER THRU THE YEARS" is one of the better ones, in some ways.

I think the reason they went for the US "normalized" spelling of "thru" because that´s the way it´s spelt in the title of "MONDAY THRU FRIDAY". That lovely, lovely song. Who said Cliff can´t rock? Not me.

 

But I expect we'd agree that this would belong on the 'pre-1975' disc of the two disc set. I'd include it...

 

Yes indeedy. To be honest, I´d rather see two separate 2CD releases, one covering all the pre-75 favourites, whereas the second disc would cover the post-1975 recordings. The early one would open and close with the two versions of "PEACE AND QUIET" - or the two-part "THE 31ST OF FEBRUARY STREET".

Ooh, I could spend months doing this.

Glad you appreciate the beauty of "I´LL LOVE YOU FOREVER TODAY".

 

Agree, seems very over priced for what it is, unless there is something we don't know.
Is it actually an official release?

 

I think it might be a release that was planned and printed, but then withdrawn from the market. There´s nothing special about the content, so I´m guessing it´s rare.

 

Enjoy this surprisingly not-horrible review of Silver from No.1 magazine. October 1983.

 

Lovely. While neither album is his best, it´s nice to read a review that focuses on the music that´s on the album, and not so much on what´s NOT there. And I agree with her - she´s not putting Cliff down, but she doesn´t shy away from the fact that Cliff doesn´t aim for the loftier stratas of art. (I know -pretentious, moi?) As she puts it, Cliff is just "likes singing nice songs". Well spotted. Sometimes that is enough.

Thanks for posting this, Bobby.

 

I love that the Roman Holliday album got a rave review only for the band to disappear (seemingly) after one hit (Don't Try To Stop It).

 

That proves two things: 1. Music buyers don´t always discover the good bands. 2. Reviewers don´t always know what they´re talking about.

But more importantly: Whether you enjoy music is entirely a subjective experience. Some reviewers pretend they know the answers for all of us.

 

If that's the case, then it does make it rare.
There's a few acetates on ebay at present, but as they are the same versions that have appeared on albums, no real rarity interest.

 

Nope. I did once consider buying the acetate of the "WHEN TWO WORLDS DRIFT APART" single, but I came to the same concljsion you did. Great minds, you know... He, he.

 

Hi!

Sorry for my absence these last few weeks. I hope absence makes the heart grow fonder. October and November aren´t the easiest months for teachers, and I´m afraid time has been scarce lately, and it won´t get better until December, I guess.

I won´t start with the events of 1958 yet, but I was thinking to myself on the bus home the other day. Not about anything earthshatteringly important, but this:

I regard Cliff first and foremost as a singer of pop songs. Sometimes the songs tend towards the rock´n´roll end of the spectrum, but it´s still a pop approach. Add some tender love ballads to that, plus a few dancier tracks, and you more or less have Cliff´s kind of music. To be honest, he seldom challenges you - easy songs performed in an agreeable manner. And sings with a warm and lovely voice, which I think is the main reason we still buy his records. (Oh, I feel old...)

There´s very little "deep" about his music, and very often his choices - especially for singles - seem too obvious and polished. Take "MY PRETTY ONE" as an example. A cover of a mostly unsuccessful single - a polished Tarney production, a well performed vocal by Cliff, a hummable tune and bob´s your uncle. Another hit single. Does it have any artistic merit apart from being catchy and well done? Not really. I like the song, but I won´t pretend that it´s a deep song or even an important one. And that´s O.K. Cliff has never really tried to be relevant or important in that sense. He may talk abut it, but Cliff isn´t about to make Big Art. He makes good - and sometimes great - pop records, and they are what he´ll be remembered for.

But I think there is an interesting divide between his secular and his gospel recordings. (I use the latter term to include all his religiously themed recordings.) Look at the album "SMALL CORNERS". Cliff is now a pop/MOR/easy listening artist in most people´s eyes and ears, and I tend to agree with that view. Again, nothing wrong with that. But it seems to me that Cliff is much more aware of choosing quality songs when he is recording for a religious project.

I mentioned "SMALL CORNERS". He chose songs from "serious" songwriters like Larry Norman, Kris Kristofferson, Allan Shiers, Annie Herring, Malcolm & Alwyn, Randy Stonehill and Terry Britten. He later recorded songs by Garth Hewitt, Paul Fields, Graham Kendrick and many others, and it seems to me that a lot more thought and care go into those albums than his usual pop fodder. I´m an atheist, so Christian music isn´t really something I go looking for, but I often find that I enjoy Cliff´s Christian songs. Tracks like "THIEF IN THE NIGHT", "WHY SHOULD THE DEVIL HAVE ALL THE GOOD MUSIC", "I WISH WE`D ALL BEEN READY", "UP IN CANADA", "UNDER THE INFLUENCE", "DISCOVERING" and many others seem to bring out the best in Cliff as a performer.

So, while we´re waiting for the next installment in Cliff´s discography, starting with the demo recordings he made in 1958, let´s ponder these little questions:

* Do songs that reflect his faith bring out the best in Cliff´s performances?

* Is Cliff more careful and picky when choosing this kind of material?

* Should he be more picky about choosing quality songs for his ordinary albums?

I´d love to hear your views!

 

I have only had limited exposure to the religious music but I'd say he does take a more 'artistic' approach to the material - it's all from the heart and without the pressure he otherwise seems to put on himself to have hit records.

 

Well put, Mark. I think he does feel a pressure to keep having hits to feel "relevant". I wish he would choose songs up to the same standard when he makes his "secular" albums. I don´t mind a catchy, lightweight single or three, but I would love for there to be some "heavier" songs, as well. He has a lovely voice, and I wish that he would have been a tad more experimental with his albums.

That´s the main reason I prefer the 1976-1982 period of his career. He took some chances then, and mostly they paid off. I don´t expect him to release a free-form jazz triple album, but something with a bit more bite to it than most of his singles.

 

I agree- that period was great.

 

Yes, I agree the religious albums do seem to be more "like" Cliff.
A lot of them are self produced, so it is mainly Cliff's ideas, so it would seem that Cliff might put more into them.
Having said that, he still puts 100% into all his recordings, but guess if others are producing them, he is under them and his managermant team.
A lot of different ideas Cliff has tried over the years, some more successful then others, but credit for trying them.
One person in Cliff's team, who I know was responsible for quite a lot of music/recording decisions in Cliff's career, especially the late 70s onwards, by the occasional comment you read about him, is the late David Bryce.
Obviously it is Cliff at the end of the day, but I think David should take a lot of credit too.

 

I agree that Cliff always puts in a 100% to make a good record, and very often he succeeds. I do get a feeling, however, that Cliff´s goal when he´s making his ordinary records is to aim for the charts with a couple of good singles. Again, he most often succeeds at that, too. When he´s freed from the constraints of scoring yet another hit, it seems to free him up for exploring more interesting avenues of music.

And yes, I also agree that Cliff had good people around him to advise him on choices for singles and albums, David Bryce being one of them. Obviously they did pretty well, chartwise, and they managed to keep Cliff in the public eye with decent songs for a long time. I wish that Cliff had recorded songs by some less MOR composers. (Nothing wrong with those - I mean, I love the songs on "THE BEST OF CLIFF, VOL. 2", and songs don´t come more MOR than those! Yet I love them. Really love them.)

But I digress. My point is: How great would it have been to hear Cliff cover someone like Nick Drake, Van Morrison or some other "deep" artist like those? He did great with the Tim Hardin songs he recorded, and I would love for him to have gone in that direction more often. Not just covers - seek out new writers, or established artists. (A brave choice was to cover "BROKEN DOLL", which turned out to be one of the highlights of the "WIRED FOR SOUND".

Anyway, Cliff must want to records songs like these for my wishes to be of any consequence. We all know that he loves early rock´n´roll and ballads, and I´m not suggesting that he records songs he doesn´t like. That would be silly. But his gospel recordings seems to suggest that Cliff has a wider. more eclectic taste then he is given credit for, and I would love for this to be reflected on his albums. (It did, for a while - 1976-1982 ring a bell.)

It is, of course, a bit late in the game to suggest this now. I am also not considering the critics here - I don´t care whether his albums are lauded as masterpieces or not. I just wish to hear that lovely, warm voice of his embrace some interesting songs.

 

Who does Cliff have looking after his interests, career wise, now? Not John the Priest, is it?

 

Sir Cliff Richard's devoted team rally round
Some info on his support 'team' in thus article. It's a few years old so might be out of date.

 

Thanks to you both for clearing that up! Good to know that Cliff still has good people around him, even after some have died and others have retired. I remember him being quite sad at seeing Peter Gormley go.

 

Well, the new compilation album should be winging it's way here today. Can't say I'm overly excited, and to be honest, I'll be quite surprised to see a high chart placing.

 

I don´t think it will bother the chart compilers. At all. Would be very surprised if it crept into any charts.

I am a bit excited about it, though. I want to listen to the flow of the album - how much the older songs ruin the flow, and most importantly: Hearing the rare choices and how they flow. "SCI-FI", "MONDAY THRU FRIDAY" et al. I like the idea of the album. Too bad they botched the track selection. It could have been so great.

 

Well, it's here. The front cover doesn't look any better! All seem to be remasters from 2000-2004 or thereabouts, except MISS YOU NIGHTS which is a 2010 remaster according to the notes. It could have been a great 1976 onwards double CD compilation. Will give it a play through later. Probably.