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

I couldn´t agree more! Most of them are either just O.K. or downright terrible, but some, like "NEVER SAY DIE", "BORN TO ROCK´N´ROLL", "SOME PEOPLE" and a few others are really good. (Well, I´d like to have the O.K. and terrible ones as well, for completist reasons.)

 

Are you warming to her? He, he... Just kidding. But maybe she shrieks a little bit less here.

The song is good - I love it, really, but the arrangement sounds too 80s for me... And not the good kind. The rhythm marks the time more than propelling it. And yes, Cliff does the chorus better, I think. Too bad he never attempted a studio recording. It´s a quality song.

(O.K. Perhaps THAT´s why didn´t attempt it... )

 

And this is a message you can hardly disagree with. At least the atomic threat part.

Oh yes, there were some goodies on those remasters. I think some of them will be a pleasant surprise for people who mostly know the hits.

 

Well, perhaps - if they let it take the place of "UNDER YOUR SPELL" or "TWO HEARTS", I might agree! Not his worst song, obviously, but not one of my favourites. Glad you liked it.

 

Do you know, try as I may, I can´t find a single word I disagree with in this! Also agree about this being his second comeback, and, at least commercially, even more successful than the 1976 one.

 

The magical words - "might have been. I agree - he had hits with the Alan Tarney songs in the early 80s, so why not now? Another missed opportunity. Too bad.

 

He must have broke every pop 'rule' in history coming back again in the mid-80s. A man nearing 50 having some of the biggest hits of his career? Unthinkable.

It certainly wouldn't happen now.

 

Being as we'll be discussing 'Always Guaranteed' shortly, does anyone have a preference between the original 80s CD and the 2004 remaster? It's been so long since I compared them I can't remember which sounds best!

 

He, he... No, it wouldn´t. I remember that run of over-achieving singles, and loving it! Most of the songs weren´t quite as good as the ones in the first come-back, but they were good. And I loved the "STRONGER" album. The weakest of the singles 1987-1990 may have been the No. 1...

 

As far as I remember, they sounded more or less the same. Perhaps the remaster was a bit less crankable, but I can´t remember a big difference. Not "SILVER" bad, anyway...

 

Not too bad of a song, different to the earlier Alan Tarney sound. Got Cliff a hit again, gave him something to do doing inthe daytime while he was doing Time!
Can't say I play it too often, but don't dislike it.

 

Not one of Cliff's better self written songs in my humble opinion. Love the other song that was recorded there!
Wonder if the studio is still there at Cliff's offices, or indeed Cliff's offices!
Like the clip you showed, what song was Cliff actually singing. These clips that were on European tv shows had the "house" band playing for Cliff, guess they must have rehearsed their miming on their instruments!

 

I know what you mean. It´s one of those fluffy, yet solid hit singles - an oxymoron, perhaps? - that is good, but not quite as good as the late 70s/early 60s singles. I have nothing against the song, but it´s not in my Top Twenty.

 

I´m afraid I agree with you. A rather disposable track. I don´t think it´s bad, and not even the worst Cliff-penned song, but it is rather forgettable, I think. I haven´t played it for years!

Then again, as I mentioned earlier, there were some tracks on the album I wouldn´t mind deleting in favour of this...

 

Here is Cliff lip-synching to the song, and doing his moves.

 

I've been lurking and reading all the comments as this thread has developed, and have now decided it's time to sign up. My Pretty One was the first single I bought, and I thought it was great then, and still do! The start of buying thousands of LPs and CDs from all sorts of artist and bands...

 

A good time to start then!

Welcome to the board.

 

Cheers Bobby! I remember this single so well, it would have been July 1987, and we were on a family holiday in North Wales (I was 14). The track was played on a jukebox in a pub, and on a visit to Holyhead I bought it from the local Woolworths. Had no way of playing it until returning home, so made do with treating everyone, via the jukebox with both sides of the single. I thought at the time that Love Ya was nothing special. Certainly found it's home correctly on a 'B' side. I certainly wouldn't swap it with any track on Always Guaranteed - except perhaps 'Forever'.

 

Don't lurk, come in out of the cold....

 

It was very lucky that you happened on Cliff's latest comeback.

It was the start of a great time in his career. 'Always Guranteed' became his top-selling album ever, and he followed it with 'Private Collection', which contained his biggest single of the decade. After this came 'Stronger' of course.

Not a bad time to be Cliff.

 

This was a good time to start! Sadly, it didn't last too long, with the disappointing records coming thicker and faster (in my opinion) not too long after, especially once Stronger had been and gone. Mind you, I still think his best album is still several years ahead - and one which falls outside the scope of this thread... Luckily, for the next two or three years starting with My Pretty One, things were pretty good.

 

Good for you! And welcome to our friendly little corner of the Forums. I also remember the records that started it all off - my sister´s old 45s and albums, the Disneyland album I got when I was five, and the first album of my own - ABBA, Cliff and the rest. Memories...

 

Memories are usually golden, aren´t they? We all have our favourites on the "ALWAYS GUARANTEED" album - and the opposite. I used to like "FOREVER" - haven´t heard it for years - but I could live quite happily without "UNDER YOUR SPELL" and "TWO HEARTS". And the latter was even a single! I agree with you about "LOVE YA" - the very definition of a B-side, IMO.

 

Not at all. He´s had more comebacks than most entertainers. Guess we´ll never know why. I suspect it has something to do with his choice of musicians, producers and songwriters - he´s been pretty good at choosing those. I also think the warmth of his voice has got something to do with it - at least it does for me. He doesn´t have the strongest catalogue in terms of artistic content and ambition, but he has recorded some very good versions of some very good songs over the years. He inhabits his own little niche, and he is the master of that niche. What more does he need?

 

I think the fact that Cliff not being a prolific songwriter has extended his career. He can pick the very best songs available and keep up with the trends. Well, he used to be able to anyway.