Cliff in His Prime !

This two-CD, digipak set, with 42 songs, is a great package for Cliff Richard fans. The songs were recorded from approximately 1961 to 1965, one of the most productive and memorable periods of a long career that continues to this day.





By 1961, Cliff was getting away from his early, wild rock n' roll persona, to a smoother, more sophisticated image that only enhanced his appeal and popularity. His voice continued to improve and become more versatile, which accounts for the wide variety of songs in this collection. We have a lot of his hits here, along with "B" sides and EP tracks.





While Cliff became a more assured and polished entertainer, he certainly didn't abandon rock n' roll, and there are some examples here--"I'm the Lonely One", "Forty Days", "Gee Whiz It's You", "True, True Lovin'" to name a few. At the same time, we also have some of his most memorable ballads--


"Constantly", "A Matter of Moments", "The Minute You're Gone", and his fine revival of the Johnny Mathis song, "The Twelfth of Never". The title song, "I Could Easily Fall in Love With You", is "easily" one of the best of his many hits, a nice mixture of rock and country. A personal favourite of mine--although strangely only a minor hit--is the fast-paced, bossa nova


"Time In Between".





On most of these songs, Cliff is accompanied by the Shadows, who, by this time, were stars in their own right--with their own string of instrumental hits. It would be an understatement to say that there was always a special chemistry between Cliff and the Shadows. To this day, it is hard to think of one without the other, and it is no surprise that many of Cliff's best recordings were backed by Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Co.


This collection is proof--in spades !





The sound of these discs is fantastic ! Sometimes you notice that a CD has been "remastered", and you wonder what happened--not here--the sound is clean and just sparkles through your speakers !





Bottom line--for Cliff Richard fans, this is an essential collection, and I would give it my highest recommendation.